DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons walked into Game 7 hoping to make a statement and instead got hit with a Cleveland Cavaliers blowout that felt like a fire alarm nobody could turn off. Detroit lost by 31 points in front of a stunned Little Caesars Arena crowd, trailing for almost the entire night and looking completely disconnected on both ends. It was ugly basketball. Not “bad shooting night” ugly either. This was the kind of performance where fans start staring at the roster page before the fourth quarter even ends. Naturally, conversations about the Pistons offseason immediately shifted toward who stays, who goes and which Pistons are untouchable moving forward.
After Shocking Cavaliers Blowout, Which Pistons Are Untouchable This Offseason?
The good news for Detroit is this isn’t a franchise stuck in neutral. Far from it actually. The Pistons have 11 players under contract for next season at roughly $136 million in salary commitments, giving them flexibility beneath the projected $165 million salary cap for 2026-27. Between expiring deals, restricted free agency decisions and movable veteran contracts, the front office has enough flexibility to tweak the roster around Cade Cunningham without detonating the foundation entirely. That’s the important distinction here. One terrible Game 7 shouldn’t erase an entire season of progress, even if the Cavaliers blowout made everybody briefly consider launching their television into Lake Michigan.
Tier 1: The Untouchables
If we’re talking about which Pistons are untouchable, the list starts with Cunningham and immediately ends with Ausar Thompson right after. That’s the list. Cunningham just averaged 28.1 points and 7.5 assists in the postseason during only his second playoff appearance. Even with the turnovers and occasional rough possessions, he showed exactly why Detroit handed him the franchise keys. Players capable of averaging nearly 30 in playoff basketball don’t become available often. Detroit already crossed the hardest bridge by finding “the guy.” Now comes the harder part: building a true contender around him.
Then there’s Thompson, whose offensive limitations remain frustrating at times, but his defensive ceiling is outrageous. Thompson already is one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders. There were possessions in this series where Cleveland’s offense visibly changed direction just to avoid him. That’s not normal for a player this young. Detroit simply cannot afford to lose a wing defender with that kind of versatility, especially considering the direction playoff basketball continues to trend. The jumper still needs work, yes. The spacing concerns are real, yes. But elite defense at that age is harder to find than Pistons fans finding peace after watching that third quarter collapse in game 4.
Financially, both players also align perfectly with Detroit’s timeline. Cunningham’s max extension already sits atop the books at roughly $50 million annually, while Thompson remains on a controllable rookie-scale deal. That’s kind of cost-controlled star pairing won’t last forever though as Thompson is set to enter restricted free agency after next season.
