Earlier this week, I answered questions regarding Monty Williams’ future, Trajan Langdon’s potential as the president and more in Part 1 of my Detroit Pistons mailbag.
Part 2 is now here. In this edition, I’ll dive into more roster-centric questions, potential trade outcomes and more. Let’s get into it.
Editor’s note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
What’s the likelihood of Cade (Cunningham) getting extended this offseason? — @UncleOswald1
I’m 99.9 percent sure that Cunningham gets an extension this offseason. I don’t want to say 100 percent because you never know what can happen, but I’d be stunned if the 2021 No. 1 overall pick doesn’t sign a max rookie extension.
Cunningham is one of the few good things the organization currently has going for it. It needs something to show for these last few years of rebuilding/disastrous losing. Furthermore, a year removed from an injury and surgery that forced him to miss most of his second season, Cunningham put up numbers nearly identical to All-Star Paolo Banchero. He did that playing with a roster that was not best suited to his strengths and one that had 30 players suit up throughout the course of the season. Think about that. The 22-year-old averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds while bumping his 3-point percentage up to a respectable 35 percent from 30.8 percent through his first two seasons. Both his field goal and true shooting percentages made significant jumps this season, too.
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Cunningham made meaningful improvements on a team that just won 14 games and had a 28-game losing streak. He came out stronger on the other end. I find it hard to believe that the Pistons’ decision-makers didn’t walk away from this past season thinking Cunningham is wort building around for the long haul.
So, yeah, I think Cunningham gets the extension.
Who would be the equivalent of Stan Van Gundy’s Ersan Ilyasova, Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris for Langdon this summer? Guys that can be gotten for second-round picks or expendable assets because their current teams need to shed salary or don’t want to pay the extension. — @kylemetz23
I can’t definitively say that Langdon and his staff would target these players I’m about to list, but I believe these players fit your criteria.
Let’s start with Andrew Wiggins. The Golden State Warriors are in a tight financial situation and still have Stephen Curry playing at a high level. Wiggins was not very good this past season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Golden State has interest in getting rid of the remaining $84 million on Wiggins’ four-year deal. Moving Wiggins for just picks would give the Warriors some wiggle room to upgrade the roster.
Another name could be De’Andre Hunter. The Atlanta Hawks got lucky this year and landed the No. 1 pick and if they take Zacharrie Risacher, Hunter would a luxury for a team with no interest in paying the luxury tax. Atlanta could move on from Hunter, who will get north of $20 million the next three seasons, just to shed some salary and open up minutes for others.
Lastly, Zach LaVine! The oft-injured All-Star has a hefty contract. The Chicago Bulls reportedly have interest in getting off the deal, and it doesn’t sound like they’re getting anywhere near the value they want given LaVine’s status in the league.
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Again, I’m not reporting that these names are targets for Detroit. These are players who fit your scenario and could be pivots if any of the Pistons’ plans don’t work out.
Do you think internal growth, addition of two NBA-level players and addition by subtraction (Killian Hayes) may be the best route for the future? — @Hogaboom18
There is a world where this is the case. Detroit has spent the last four years investing in young players, so it’s possible that they’re not ready to part with any of the blue-chippers quite yet. Furthermore, it’s also possible that Langdon wants to evaluate the likes of Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and others for a season before making any drastic decisions. All of those guys have real potential and upside.
With that said, the case could be made that relegating the likes of Ivey and Duren to more limited roles could improve their development, both in the short-term and long-term plans. I don’t think it’s off-base to say that those two, specifically, were thrown into the fire and may have been asked to do a lot more than they were ready for given the Pistons’ situation. Bringing in proven players in free agency like, let’s say, Malik Monk and Nic Claxton would move the two youngsters to the bench and limit their responsibilities. It would also lead to healthy competition.
Let’s say Detroit signed Monk and Claxton to three-year deals. By the end of those contracts, Ivey will be 25 years old and Duren will be 23. Neither will even be in their primes by then. Both would boost Detroit’s bench in the interim and, potentially, lead to development that’ll prepare them for bigger roles once again in the not-too-distant future.
There’s no scientific equation to get the perfect outcome. There will need to be risks taken either way —whether that’s allowing Ivey, Duren and Thompson to continue to learn on the fly in bigger roles and hope it pays off, or bringing in players to limit their roles until they’re ready for bigger ones.
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We likely won’t know which way Langdon is leaning until his introductory press conference.
What are the Pistons’ No. 1 weakness defensively? How will they resolve that weakness? — @prod_by_key
To me, there are two things at the top of the list: Off-ball defense and rim protection.
Detroit struggled with teams that —well, they struggled with nearly every team —had good off-ball movement and emphasized cutting. Players often looked lost. They fell asleep. They got caught watching the ball way too much. The attention to detail needs to be better, and I do think adding more instinctual defenders could help in that regard.
As for rim protection, Detroit’s guards didn’t do their centers many favors this season. Opposing teams often had a conga line to the rim. However, the last line of defense wasn’t feared or a big deterrent at the rim. Isaiah Stewart was the team’s best rim protector this season. He did a good job of causing offensive players to alter their shots. The second-best rim protector was Thompson, a wing. Detroit didn’t get a ton from the center position in this regard. Duren has all the physical tools to be a great rim protector but still has to greatly improve when it comes to timing and positioning. The same goes for James Wiseman, but he likely won’t be back next season.
The Pistons need to find out if Duren’s struggles defensively are due to his inexperience, the team’s bad situation or if it is an area they’re worried won’t get much better. Duren has a lot of potential — I’d be afraid to trade him — but that potential won’t be reached until he turns a corner defensively.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Detroit elected to bring in a more seasoned center in order to lessen Duren’s workload and allow him to develop without the stakes being so high.
What do you think Langdon’s top priority is as far as the roster is concerned? — @cb_kinney
Good question.
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I think he’ll certainly want to get in players who are proven at the NBA level. I also don’t think he’ll part ways with every young player not named Cunningham. It’s important for Detroit to get better now while still prioritizing the future. The Pistons have the resources to do both, even if it diminishes the role of a young player or two.
As for specifics, I think Langdon has to prioritize 3-point shooting, defense and IQ. “You think, James?” I know every team prioritizes these three things, but Detroit was the worst team in the league because it couldn’t shoot, it couldn’t defend and it turned the ball over at a ridiculously high rate. It wasn’t because of rebounding issues or the lack of a go-to scorer or lack of players who can get to the rim and create good shots for others.
The Pistons can address these three qualities in one player, and not for a ton of money. A free agent like Gary Harris provides shooting, defense and experience/IQ. The same could be said for free agents like Claxton or Isaiah Hartenstein, subtracting the shooting. Both are good, instinctual defenders who know what they’re good at on offense and don’t stray far away from that.
I say all of that to say this: Langdon will likely prioritize bringing in NBA players who have clear-cut skill sets. I think he’ll try to keep as many of the young players as possible while doing this, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if he parts way with one or two youngsters in order to acquire more proven players and limit the amount of developmental minutes needed, while also trying to get the best value for these players before the return diminishes.
(Photo of Cade Cunningham: Chris Schwegler / NBAE via Getty Images)
James L. Edwards III is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Pistons. Previously, he was a reporter for the Lansing State Journal, where he covered Michigan State and high school sports. Follow James L. on Twitter @JLEdwardsIII
