Detroit Pistons & NBA Talk

Sounds about right. I think they may finish with another top 5-7 pick and then after they pair that player with Cade, they should have a very nice foundation for their future.

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Sounds about right. I think they give some guys a long leash to see what their ceilings are. Are they a foundational piece, a rotation guy, someone developed enough to be part of a future trade package, or someone to cut bait on? The roster needs to have some guys separate themselves from the pack.

I donā€™t think they will have the worst or second worst record in the league again, but I do believe that they will have a bad enough record where they could draft one of the top scoring wings next year to pair with Cade.

I would love to be able to draft Jaden Hardy to pair with Cade. There are lots of players in this draft that I think would help a ton though - Banchero, Holmgren, Duren, Griffin, Patrick Baldwin or even Nikola Jovic would look real nice in a Pistons uniform. Get another top 5 pick and things are finally looking up in Detroit

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whatā€™s the Banchero scout? Is he a big wing or a true big in NBA? Something about him must be extraordinary, because heā€™s been ranked top 5 forever, and I donā€™t think heā€™s exceptionally tall / long, right? a shooter? super switchy? (a back-to-the-basket 5?) of course, I do think this has to be the worst-scouted class in a while (thx covid).

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From what Iā€™ve seenā€¦athletic yes, but not crazy. Pretty explosive when he has to be, but not very fluid. Has an nba body already. Skilled as all get out.

But havenā€™t seen a ton of him. Heā€™s a 4 imo.

Edit: I honestly didnā€™t realize he was 6-10, 250ā€¦damn. Heā€™ll be an impossible 5 to guard imo.

Love Banchero for the Pistons.

But yes, theyā€™ll be a good young defensive team. Kilian, Cade, Grant and Stewart project to be good defenders. Plus Josh Jackson.

They need to run. Kilian and Cade are great at finding teammates and they have a lot of high motor athletes. In the half court, Kilian is the X factor. He just has to shoot better.

To me the Pistons could use either a dynamic guard or a long athletic big. I feel like the 3/4 spots are in pretty good shape and depending on if Detroit wants Cade to be the focal point as the 1 or 2, the other spot is draftable. I also just am not sure Stewart is the answer as a 5 man long term in the playoffs at 6ā€™8 even though I really like him. A Banchero/Chet/Duren or Jaden Hardy as an additional guard would be awesome. If the Pistons want Cade at the 2, then perhaps Kennedy Chandler, JD Davison or maybe Jean Montero. Not a lot of great lead guard options in this draft class. Or if they want Cade at the 1, Jaden Ivey even could be a good 2 guard to pair him with although heā€™s not a great shooter. Jaden Hardy would probably be my top choice right now though.

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Julius Randle comparison? Now that Randle has a jump shot.

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I was more excited for the Pistons season back in May. I still think there will be improvement, and I like the Cade pick a lot, but Iā€™m not predicting as big of a leap as I thought then. Somewhere in the 30-35 win range seems about right. Iā€™ll be happy if they exceed that total.

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Iā€™ll be happy if they hit under that win total. I want another top 5-7 pick then they can exceed that win total and soon after contend in the East

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They seem to be saving their cap space for 2023. Also, seem to be trying to surround Cade with as much shooting as they can. Assuming that was the reason for the Plumlee to Olynyk replacement.

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I think they have a long way to go before they have succeeded in surrounding him with shooting - especially if their starting lineup is Hayes-Cade-Bey-Grant-Stew. Theyā€™re also going to be getting minutes for Diallo and Jackson.

I think Olynyk is just a better player on both sides of the ball than Plumlee.

Also - if Grant starts out like he played last year, I think they should strongly consider dealing him.

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The big thing for me to watch is can Hayes and Cade co-exist as a guard. Cade can play off the ball but thatā€™s not what made him special as a prospect. Hayes canā€™t play off the ball and he might be better off as a bench PG than a lead guard based on what Iā€™ve seen from him. Heā€™s on a similar path to Ricky Rubio as a player. I rather have Cade as the lead guard and find a dynamic SG who can put buckets for the team.

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Yeah, I think Rubio is probably what Killian becomes if he fully optimizes - by his mid-20ā€™s heā€™s at least a boringly below-average shooter and not an abysmal one, while bringing superior size and defense to the position. Obviously, his rookie year occurred 2 years earlier than Rickyā€™s, but Ricky was an elite guard in the Euroleague at Hayesā€™ age, and his passing ability, as it still does, absolutely sparkled (I think Killian is a good passer, but Rubio is next level).

Now the question is, does having Ricky Rubio make sense if Cade is going to carry a Luka/Beal/Trae level 35%+ usage? (is that the plan?)

I love the Hayes-Cade combo on defense. And I like mixing Cade on and off the ball. In Beilein shot doctor I trustā€¦

Yeah I had the same process. Super crazy optimism before I looked at the roster for real and noticed that yeah, it still wonā€™t be super pretty. One more high draft pick thoughā€¦

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I donā€™t follow the NBA well enough to knowā€¦but how good is the East going to be? Iā€™m sort of wondering if theyā€™ll have a Detroit Tigers like season where theyā€™re playing hard, stealing some games they shouldnā€™t, hanging around .500, and then have to decide whether to sell assets to play the lottery or roll with it to sneak into the play-in.

It is hard to know how good they really were this last year since they executed the tank pretty well to make sure they didnā€™t win too many games. I think theyā€™ll let it ride to start the year and see how it goes. I wouldnā€™t be shocked if they were close enough to contention given the new play-in format to make a run at it.

The top of the East is still what it is - Brooklyn, Milwaukeeā€¦then a cliff.

But I think there are 10+ .500 or above teams there (or at least trying to make the playoffs): the two above, Philly, Boston, New York, Atlanta. Miami, Indiana, Chicago, DC, Charlotte

Iā€™d say all those are definitively better than Detroit.

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They were just so competitive in games last year, even after they let Rose and Blake go, and then even after they traded Delon Wright. I like Cade quite a bit but I donā€™t think heā€™ll be a star from Day 1 like Grant Hill was. I also think Killian is going to take some time. I like both Stew and Bey but I donā€™t expect much more than gradual improvement from them. Grant could repeat what he did last year, and maybe improve slightly (especially if he finally starts getting respect from the refs) but heā€™s close to his ceiling. One more year of growing, one more high pick, and possibly a FA addition and theyā€™ll be something for other teams to really worry about.

They should be a lot of fun to watch in the meantime, though.

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Philly is imploding and Iā€™m all right with that.