This week’s Pistons mailbag includes talks about the last two lottery picks, Killian Hayes and Cade Cunningham, and some speculation about what the Pistons might be looking for after their 2022 lottery pick.
Duran (Detroit): Will Cade Cunningham win Rookie of the Year and what do you expect from him realistically in year two?
Langlois: It’s probably a long shot at this point on Rookie of the Year. I agree with Dwane Casey and that I bet on Cunningham across the field when it comes to which player you prefer, but Evan Mobley built an early lead and played the critical factor of team success to his advantage. The fact that the Cavaliers so far exceeded expectations – and yes, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen jumped on the All-Stars’ list is as important as Mobley’s contributions – will leave voters otherwise unsure of how one way a valid reason to go to Mobley side. What I expect from Cunningham in his second year is to build up what he has been able to do since he gained his footing after an understandably shaky start based on missing the entire training camp and the early start of the regular season. Given good health, I expect Cunningham to be able to come into the mix for all-star consideration next season, as I think the Pistons are in line to take a leap like Cleveland did this season. Cunningham will play his very second season as a 21-year-old and having a player who establishes himself as an all-star candidate as the primary playmaker of a team is a monumental value to the Pistons over the next decade. .
Langlois: Not much is the easy answer. The Pistons have an unusually large number of players under team control for next season, a function of how many players are on rookie deals. Under contract for next season, some with team options are Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Hamidou Diallo, Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Jerami Grant, Frank Jackson, Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, Luka Garza and Isaiah Livers. That’s 11 games for 15 places. Cory Joseph has a player option that I assume for the moment he will retire. And Marvin Bagley III is a limited free agent who the Pistons have signaled they want to keep. That’s 13. The lottery pick may be a block on the list. So unless there is going to be trade – and of course you have to figure out that there is going to be a trade or two – it would seem that there is only one other roster place open at the moment. In the Pistons project to have significant cap space, so free agency numbers to produce at least one player and possibly more. I do not think the roster will be as static as it all says, but it will also not be a list that carries a handful of rookies. We did not even mention two-way players Jamorko Pickett and Chris Smith, who might as well return.
@ adam_peterss / IG: Would Killian Hayes’ season be seen as a success for him personally?
Langlois: I would not frame it as a Yes or No proposal. I’m sure it did not reach the heights that he or the Pistons administration would have hoped for, but in balance he has shown enough to give everyone invested reasons to continue to expect him to grow into the player he Has potential to give. His defense and his play are his strengths. His shooting is the swing ability that determines whether he will be pushed as a role player into a pigeon or will blossom into a player who will be given a mid-lottery pick. He has shown progress as this season has evolved as a penetrator who is finished in paint and I think he will continue on that path. His size and power give him a strong foundation to be an effective scorer around the rim as a point guard. As he gets a better feel for using these even more to his advantage, he will become a more efficient scorer in that area. He obviously needs to get a better 3-point shooter and I think that will come as well. A young point guard has a lot to process and shooting is all about confidence. When the game slows down, the shot comes. It is a process that happens quickly for some and over a longer timeline for others. Hayes is still 20 and has played his 82ndnd Game – a whole season – only this week. Bottom line, I do not think we’ve come close to seeing what Hayes will be up to.
@ Jamara23732: If the pistons were designed in the top three, who would be a super fit?
Langlois: There has been a consistent consensus top three since at least the middle of the college season, consisting of Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith. They are by no means the same player, but all three are either Power Forwards or Power Forward / Centers that are anywhere from comfortable to dominated vis-à-vis the basket. So in that sense, all three are easy fits for a Pistons roster that doesn’t really limit them in any way because they weigh what they do with the lottery picks they hold for the June draft. It remains to be seen whether the three are actually the first three from the board.
@ johnburkschi / IG: Which college player is best suited for next year’s team?
Langlois: As I wrote in the previous question, the pistons are not yet trapped to a significant degree from a roster building point of view. They have a primary playmaker in Cade Cunningham, but if he had a twin brother available where the Pistons pick in the lottery and you’re Troy Weaver, you take Cade’s twin. If one 6-foot-7 playmaker is a problem for other teams, two are a geometrically bigger problem. Isaiah Stewart might be a center, but he does not play 48 minutes a night, so if you think the best player in your place is a center, take him. Of all the usual suspects considered as top-10 picks in the upcoming draft, I do not think there is one who has disqualified the Pistons due to roster fit issues. They will adapt these guys to what they believe they can do in the NBA two, three, four and five years on the road and act accordingly.
@sweepybuns: Do you think a whole lot of movement will help or hurt this team as it stands?
Langlois: If there is movement that helps the talent base, then it helps the Pistons. I would expect less than a third of the list to turn up this season, so a relatively quiet off-season by NBA standards. There is something to be said for continuity, to be sure, but continuity will not be the primary motivating factor and the Pistons will have a relatively quiet off-season. It’s more about young players on rookie contracts with potential to block more valuable to the Pistons now than they could be in the trade.
@DeeeWhirl: I read online that many Pistons fans want them to go after Deandre Ayton, Mo Bamba or Miles Bridges in the free agency. All three are limited free agents and their teams have the ability to match any offer. Do you think the Pistons are chasing one of these games?
Langlois: The story of a limited free agency would suggest that they would not. The fact that the Pistons did the trade for Marvin Bagley III before his free agency could be a sign that they are not up to it either. They have to address the Bagley situation early in the free agency so as not to keep their hard head on their books and that could struggle with their window to make a move for a limited free agent. In general, any off-season plan that depends on the pursuit of a limited free agent should be better supported by a solid Plan B.
@ObdulioGarcia: It is reported that the Pistons may exhibit two top-10 picks across Portland. Let’s say the Portland pick stays at nine. Who would you be interested in writing there?
Langlois: The report you referenced claims that the Trail Blazers do not offer their choice, but one that controls them from New Orleans, which is 1-4 and 15-30 protected. There seems to be a pretty realistic chance that the choice will be communicated this season. That report looked unusually specific, which makes me a little wary of the motivation of who it might pass on. But let’s play along. With a top-10 pick – with every pick, really, but especially a premium pick – the overwhelming mission is to get the best player you can find and take care of the roster fit later. I would say if the Pistons were to knock out a big man with their first choice, then they could be shaken by another big man with their second in your scenario. I’m not sure I’m saying the same thing about working out two guards or two wings, but maybe that would be a tiebreaker if you ranked two perspectives equally. Who you would take at nine obviously depends on who goes through eight. I could now give you a handful of names – Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Jaden Ivy in particular – that would be accepted at nine out of the game. Then it gets a little gloomy. One guy, possibly in the area who should stop you over the weekend, was Arizona’s Ben Mathurin.
@ AdamBanks1988: Do you think it’s true that we’ll get the T-tickets next season, or do you think it’s just a rumor?
Langlois: It’s more than a rumor. It was reported by a credible media outlet, the Detroit Free Press, although neither of the Pistons confirmed or denied it. So stay tuned.
@ bgj1: With the Pistons having wings and not needing them, do you think they’re looking to improve the team more at Point Guard or a big man?
Langlois: I think NBA teams now look at wings – athletic wings with size, at least – like the major league baseball teams look at pitching: you can never have too many. Some of it has been by necessity, but the Pistons have topped the list of recent games that have shown four players in the 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-8 range – Jerami Grant, Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey , Isaiah Liver – along with a great man. That said, with Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Stewart, Kelly Olynyk and Luka Garza all under contract for next season, I would put Point Guard as a relatively clear choice over the big man when it comes to that as a decision.
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