By Vincent Khan
The 2021-2022 NBA regular season is over, and it’s the same stuff; a different year. The Pistons missed the playoffs. BUT, looking into this offseason, you don’t have to be overly optimistic about what this team is becoming.
Rookie point guard Cade Cunningham ends the season averaging 17.5 points a game and has been the primary playmaker for the Pistons at times throughout the season. He has developed quickly in his first season and has gotten praise from NBA veterans such as Kevin Durant and Lebron James, calling him an up-and-coming league face. His offensive skill set is loaded with his ability to get his teammates involved with exceptional passing and efficient scoring.
Cunningham’s stock is only going up, and he is currently in the running for rookie of the year. Cade is the future of this franchise and has already shown signs through one year of being precisely that.
Along with Cade, the other young players on the team mesh well together very well. Saddiq Bey, a 6’7, 215 pounds small forward, is a true scorer who can shoot the three very well. He and Cade have created fantastic chemistry on the court and look to be a deadly one-two punch to put the league on notice. Marvin Bagley III has quickly developed some chemistry with the team, considering he came over from a trade with the Sacramento Kings mid-season. He is a 6’11 center who can slash, score and block shots.
Killian Hayes has shown to have little to no scoring skill; his role on the team is to run plays and distribute the ball. He has shown signs of improvement in his second season, but his lack of size hinders his development as a player, he is still only 20 years old, so there is still a lot to write about his career. His best reach is to imitate his game to someone like Hall of Famer Tony Parker.
June 23 is the NBA draft, and at the end of every season, the NBA always grants the bottom three teams in the league record-wise the first 1-3 picks in the draft. The NBA will then “randomly” select the order in which teams draft 1-3. This year, the good news is that the Pistons have a chance at those first through third picks. Last year, they had the same odds and ended up with the first pick selecting Cunningham, so this year’s hopes are optimistic throughout the organization for this year’s draft.
Along with the draft, the team is left with the dilemma of what to do about Jerami Grant’s contract. Grant has been the best player on the court for the Pistons, constantly giving them a bucket when the team has no momentum going, but he is due 140 million dollars next season, and with the high potential of Cade, is it worth it to give Grant so much money? He does fit well with the team at the moment, but I bet the development of the young guys will make up for his loss without him.
The Piston’s future is bright. Cade Cunningham is the savior that this franchise needs. He’s an all-around great player who gets his teammates involved. Traits you see in other NBA superstars and halls of farmers who have won championships for cities and been role models for kids. His partner in crime, Saddiq Bey, is the perfect “Pippen” to Cunningham’s “Jordan.” Keep an eye on these two to be perennial all-stars next season.
