The Pistons sit alone atop the Eastern Conference.
Detroit fans have waited a long time to hear that sentence. Frankly, nobody was certain when the storied franchise would return to NBA prominence after the Pistons did not win more than 23 games over a five-year stretch from 2019 to ‘24.
Luck finally came Detroit’s way in ‘21 when the Pistons won the NBA draft lottery in a year where Cade Cunningham was at the top of nearly every draft board. Although there was some Evan Mobley and even Jalen Green chatter, Cunningham was the clear top choice, which the Pistons made as they officially brought in a franchise cornerstone.
He had a strong rookie season where he averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists, but the Pistons went just 23-59 with plenty of work ahead to turn things around. The next two years were even worse, though, as Cunningham missed nearly all of his second season due to injury and the Pistons went on a dreadful and historic 28-game losing streak two years ago.
In the 2023-24 season, the Pistons won only 14 games, the lowest win total in their 78-year history. Things were bad. Historically bad.
Remarkably, though, Detroit quickly turned it around last season with a retooled roster, plus a new coach and front office. Last year, the Pistons finished 44-38, tripling their win total from the season prior. They took the Knicks to six games in the first round of the playoffs as Detroit won its first postseason game since ‘08.
Now, the Pistons are off to a 13-2 start to the new season and are on an 11-game winning streak as they currently hold the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. This quick of a resurgence doesn’t happen by chance as the Pistons underwent a complete overhaul surrounding their young core with Cunningham at the center.
In the midst of the Pistons’ hot stretch, let’s take a look at three moves that lifted Detroit from a 14-win team to a true contender in the Eastern Conference:
Hiring Trajan Langdon as president and J.B. Bickerstaff as coach
The Pistons were in a predicament at the end of the 2023-24 season. They had just won a franchise-worst 14 games in Troy Weaver’s fourth season as general manager with coach Monty Williams just one year into his then-historic six-year, $78 million contract.
Trajan Langdon was hired by Detroit as the franchise’s president of basketball operations heading into the next season, taking control of the front office. With a new front office in tow, the Pistons decided to move on from Williams, absorbing the remaining $65 million on his contract. Credit to owner Tom Gores for that one.
Detroit hired J.B. Bickerstaff after he was fired by the Cavaliers earlier in the offseason. He led the team to 44 wins in his first season as head coach, tripling the Pistons’ win total from the dreadful year before his arrival. Bickerstaff’s return for a second season marked the first time third-year players Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey went into a new year with the same head coach, finally bringing some continuity after the franchise employed three coaches in the same amount of seasons.
Coupled with Langdon’s moves to put a complementary roster around Cunningham, Bickerstaff’s leadership has done wonders for the young Pistons.
Prioritizing three-point shooting with Duncan Robinson this season and Malik Beasley last year
As a unit, the Pistons shot just 34.8% on three-pointers when they won just 14 games two seasons ago. Their best three-point shooters were Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks, but both were dealt to the Knicks at the trade deadline for a package that returned Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and two second-round picks. Detroit brought in Simone Fontecchio who helped after the deadline, but Cunningham desperately needed additional floor spacing to maximize his potential.
Langdon brought in Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tobias Harris last year to address that issue. Beasley, who is currently unsigned as the NBA investigates gambling allegations levied against him, was just one triple shy of Anthony Edwards for the most threes across the league last year. He had a career year, connecting on a 41.6% clip from three on over nine attempts per game. Hardaway was impactful alongside Cunningham in the starting lineup, but he left to sign with the Nuggets over the offseason.
With no Beasley or Hardaway, the Pistons acquired Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert to address their shooting need this season. Through 15 games, Robinson is shooting 41.8% on threes on 7.3 attempts per game. LeVert is connecting on 40% of his three-point attempts off the bench. He’s missed some time at the start of the season, but two-way player Daniss Jenkins has served as a pleasant surprise with his strong shooting and scoring ability as Detroit dealt with injuries to its key rotation players.
Draft-day trade for Jalen Duren in 2022
Duren has taken a massive leap to start the year, averaging 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game thus far. He just turned 22 on Tuesday and looks like he could be the second star Detroit needs alongside Cunningham.
Weaver deserves credit for the draft-day trade he made to bring Duren to Detroit in the first place. The star big man was selected by the Hornets with the No. 13 pick of the ‘22 NBA draft. His draft rights were traded to the Knicks then eventually the Pistons for draft capital and Detroit absorbing Kemba Walker’s contract. To Weaver’s credit, he drafted well during his time with the Pistons. In addition to Duren, he selected Ivey and Ausar Thompson. His big miss was picking Killian Hayes with No. 7 pick in ‘20 when Tyrese Haliburton was still on the board, but you can’t hit them all.
Cunningham was Weaver’s draft pick, too. Although he’s looking like one of the best guards in the Eastern Conference, you don’t get much credit for making the nearly obvious choice with the No. 1 pick. Duren is looking like Detroit’s biggest homegrown win aside from Cunningham as the big man has put up All-Star numbers to start his fourth NBA season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three Moves That Turned Pistons From a 14-Win Team to Eastern Conference Contenders.
