Pistons offseason outlook: Detroit needs to keep setting up Cade Cunningham for success

The Detroit Pistons were eliminated from the playoffs Thursday by the New York Knicks, but that almost doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

For a team that won just 14 games last year to earn the sixth seed and avoid the play-in tournament, an early playoff loss in no way defines this season, as postseason success was never the point this year.

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(Of course, the Pistons would have loved to move on and compete for a championship, but the stark contrast of last season to this one allows them significant leeway to focus on process instead of immediate results.)

Detroit’s investment in veterans Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley paid off. Full stop. Many were skeptical of Harris’ impact because his last few seasons in Philadelphia were not particularly impressive and questioned whether Hardaway could even play an influential role.

Both did, and Beasley turned himself into one of the league’s top sixth men while establishing himself as one of its best shooters to boot, knocking down 319 3-pointers on 41.6% accuracy.

The play of the vets allowed the core of youngsters, led by Cade Cunningham, to develop at a faster pace and reach new levels.

Cunningham (26.1 points, 9.1 assists) turned into one of the league’s best point guards. Jalen Duren (11.8 points, 10.3 rebounds) made defensive strides. Ausar Thompson (10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds) proved himself to be a long-term building block with his play at the wing, where he’s now one of the league’s best defenders.

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Oh, and the Pistons did this primarily without 2022 first-round pick Jaden Ivey, who was limited to just 30 games due to a broken left fibula.

Essentially, the future looks bright in Detroit, especially if Ivey comes back fully healthy next year.

The Pistons should not only be an interesting spot for free agents again, meaning they can make external upgrades, but they can also rely on further internal improvements, which should set a new ceiling for them for next season.

Here’s what to know about the Pistons heading into the offseason:

2024-25 finish

Record: 44-38, sixth in the Eastern Conference. Lost to the New York Knicks in six games in the first round.

Highlight of the season

Can we just cheat and say Cunningham? There were a lot of questions about Cunningham as the primary player, and he spent the entire season silencing all of them. We don’t yet know if he’s going to reach MVP levels, but the fact that such a door isn’t closed is a huge development for the Pistons.

Players signed for next season

Tobias Harris
Isaiah Stewart
Cade Cunningham
Ausar Thompson
Ron Holland
Jaden Ivey
Simone Fontecchio
Jalen Duren
Marcus Sasser
Bobi Klintman

Key free agents

Malik Beasley (UFA)
Tim Hardaway Jr. (UFA)
Dennis Schröder (UFA)
Paul Reed (UFA)

Projected salary

$127,468,272 (salary cap projected to be $154.6 million)

Draft pick

No. 37

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Draft focus: Shooting. With the uncertainty of free agency looming, and the team could technically lose Hardaway and Beasley, it’d behoove Detroit to look for shooting. When drafting that late, there’s a good chance that a solid shooter also lines up as being the BPA (Best Player Available).

Cunningham’s extension kicks in this summer, meaning he’ll get a significant pay bump to $38.6 million. That said, the team could conceivably get Hardaway back at a much cheaper rate than his current price of $16.1 million, which should help offset matters some. The big remaining question is Beasley, who’s earned a major pay increase. Detroit can get to cap space and use that to re-sign him, or it can operate as an over-the-cap team and use its Non-Tax MLE to keep him, if he’s so obliged.

Needs and goals

The Pistons have to enter the summer with the mindset of being buyers. This means aggressively searching for upgrades to stand a better chance of coming out of the East in a few years. Shooting remains a priority, and it wouldn’t hurt to have just a bit more center depth, unless Paul Reed is willing to come back for cheap.