The Detroit Pistons haven’t reached the NBA playoffs since 2019 and have failed to win more than 23 games in a season in five consecutive years. The prolonged woes in Detroit led to a very busy Pistons offseason, but not everyone around the NBA believes in the team’s future.
Coming off their second consecutive season with fewer than 18 wins, Detroit kept itself busy this summer. The team brought in Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr, Paul Reed and Tobias Harris to strengthen the supporting cast around Cade Cunningham.
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The Pistons front office also made Cade Cunningham one of the highest-paid NBA players and surprised many around the league by drafting Ron Holland with the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Now, as the team takes its summer break before training camp arrives, the organization is coming under fire.
Speaking to Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN, an anonymous NBA executive criticized Holland’s fit with the Pistons roster and how he can play alongside Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey. He also expressed the belief that Detroit might need to rebuild all over again, which is even more complicated because he wasn’t impressed by Holland during the Summer League.
“They’ve been rebuilding for years even though they never planned on it, and this pick signals they might need to blow up the roster and start over again. I just don’t see how [Holland] plays with Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and all their other young guys. That situation is a mess. Even when Holland was scoring in Vegas, it was so ugly to watch.”
Anonymous NBA executive on the Detroit Pistons
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The same executive offered sympathy for Cunningham, feeling bad for the young guard being stuck in the worst situation in the NBA. While Cunningham’s contract extension ensures he is the face of the franchise moving forward, Detroit’s issues with player development and its recent history of misses in the NBA Draft raise concerns moving forward.
The lack of a supporting cast around Cunningham was especially apparent last season. With little help around him, Cunningham finished, Cunningham had the 10th-highest Usage Rate (30.8 percent) in the NBA but he finished 171st in Win Shares per 48 Minutes (.041) and 100th in Value over Replacement Player (1.2), per Basketball Reference.
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If Holland doesn’t develop an offensive game or the veterans added to the Pistons roster this offseason don’t raise the talent floor in Detroit then there could be a real chance Cunningham eventually demands a trade. In that case, the anonymous NBA executive will prove to be right about Detroit’s destiny for another rebuild.