The Detroit Pistons Are Building Something Special

The Detroit Pistons Are Building Something Special

All right. What is going on everybody? How is everybody doing today? Welcome back here today to another extra SAS video. Yeah, a little bit different of a setup here uh for me. I’m currently um at home or not in my my Philly apartment. So today I wanted to talk about Kade Cunningham and I kind of wanted to make this video yesterday right after their win over the Utah Jazz. This was right after another exceptional Kate Cunningham fourth quarter performance. Jaylen Duran is just turning into a monster rebounder, a monster pick and roll artist with Kate Cunningham this year. And I will say like people will change their minds so quickly into the season and rightfully so. We actually are seeing these teams play. But as somebody that talks about these teams so much in the off season, a lot of people a lot of people were skeptical about the Detroit Pistons cuz last year they didn’t have expectations to make the playoffs, they make the playoffs and not only do they like they lose in round one, which is fine, but they went out with like like they were swinging, right? like they lose to the Knicks in six and most of actually all those games were relatively close. So, um they even had like even I think the largest loss was game one and they had like a double- digit lead in the third quarter or something close to that and I was like, okay, this off season maybe wasn’t as aggressive as I would have thought. They were treating maybe Jaden Ivy coming back as like a big acquisition. We know what happened with Malik Beasley and that really wasn’t in their control. Maybe there is a chance Malik Beasley is a Detroit Piston at some point this year. Who knows? I I I don’t want to think like that just because the odds of that do seem very low. So they bring in Duncan Robinson in a signed trade with the Heat. Simone Fonteo goes to Miami. Feels like a win-win trade so far. And then you also bring in Caris Levert in free agency because you lose Dennis Shruder. You kind of need somebody that can be like a secondary creator with Kate Cunningham at times this year. But when I was looking at this team, they didn’t have a first round pick. I was like looking at the rest of the Eastern Conference. I’m like I definitely like I definitely like Orlando over them. I did have Detroit to finish ahead of Atlanta in my regular season standings. But if they played against each other in the playoffs, definitely like Atlanta. I like Detroit, I think, over Milwaukee as well. So, I was definitely a little bit higher, I think, on Detroit than the consensus, but still low overall, just because can you bank so much on internal development. I think I’ve just been so excited about teams in the past that do that and it just doesn’t come to fruition. But in 2026 so far, eight games into the season, the Pistons have banked on internal development and it’s been working out. Kate Cunningham so far this year, 24 and a half points, nine and a half assists. He’s shooting 43% from the field, 30% from three, 75% from the free throw line. Like maybe a little bit below average efficiency. With the volume he’s providing you, I don’t care. It’s like the the Trey Young um effect from last year. Like the guy maybe will have a below true shooting percentage, but with his volume and the way he can carry this team in the fourth quarter, I could care less. Like K does have a 53% true shooting right now. It’s a little bit below league average, but you look at what he’s done in the fourth quarter. He’s going to be rivaling maybe Shay Gilis Alexander as the clutch player of the year here in 2026. Back-to-back games against Memphis and Utah where he’s had double digit points in the fourth quarter. And he just looks calm, cool, running this offense like a veteran. And I know he’s going into year number five. Like this isn’t year two Kate Cunningham anymore. Year three Kate Cunningham. Uh where he would kind of struggle dumb turnovers late in the clock. Also didn’t really have any help around him. But right now, going back to the internal development, it’s not just Kate Cunningham. It’s Jaylen Duran, who’s averaging 18 points, 11 and a half rebounds this year. And he’s still 21 years old. Like, I want to pull up Jaylen Duran’s birthday. I think he turns 22 very soon. Uh, yeah, he turns 22 in about 11 days. But the fact that he’s 21 years old going into year four, year four right now, that is crazy. He was the youngest player in that 2022 draft class. I thought it was criminal that he fell that late when he did. If you watched any of my draft content back then, I was a big fan of Ivy and D. I was a big fan of the Pistons draft class as a whole. And those two, I mean, you’re on year four of your connection. You’re going to build chemistry. You’re going to build timing on Alioops. You’re going to build just kind of the relationship that you want between a point guard and center duo. Yes, veterans like Bronson and Cat can play with each other in their first year and they’re going to figure itself out, right? Like they are season pros. But I think Hade and Jaylen Darren having this dynamic together for four years is going to be crucial not just in the regular season but also in the playoffs. And I thought Jaylen Duran was one of the better Pistons in the playoffs last run. He was maybe like the third best Piston on that team if you want to say Cade was one maybe Malik Beasley was really inconsistent. Like Dennis Shooter was solid but he also was inconsistent. Like Darren might have actually been the second best Piston in that playoff series. Assar Thompson also taken a little bit of a lead this year. I don’t think that’s really shocking to anybody given that this is year three. Very encouraging rookie season, but it gets cut short, right? He has like the bloodcot scare. Um, and then that kind of eliminated a summer league in the off seasonason of 2024, so he doesn’t get like a proper ramp up last year. And he still looked the part. He still looked like his brother. He’s his twin brother, right? Like they share the same athleticism out there. And Assar looks great this year as a cutter slasher finishing around the rim. His physicality, his rebounding is still off the charts. Seven rebounds a night, 14 points this year, three and a half assists. Um, Tobias Harris has actually been like pretty bad this year. Uh, you kind of need him to knock down threes. You kind of need him to just hit the mid-range jumpers. They’re not falling whatsoever this year. He’s been pretty bad around the rim as well. Isaiah Stewart, I didn’t even know with confidence he was going to be on this team going into this year, but Isaiah Stewart also feels like somebody that’s hitting a little bit of an offensive leap. Maybe it’s not a leap and maybe he’s just kind of going back to what he was in 23 and 24. Last year, I don’t know if it was like his first year in JBF’s system. I don’t know. Like, Pistons fans can attest to this. like more so just them him never getting playing time over Tobias Jaylen Duran like you’re looking at the bigs last year I mean it was like Bball Paul that’s on this roster right at some point this year cuz they had to get above like the sour cap floor you’re looking at yeah like just to buy Harris in the front court like I’m looking at the roster from last year fontio a little bit of window more a like I don’t know why Isaiah Stewart didn’t play as much as he did last year it was weird that the minutes kind of just drastically dropped like I guess I get he wasn’t going to play 31 minutes like he did in 24 given the edited eyes Harris, but the fact that he went down to 19 felt a little bit low. He did play 72 games. He only started four of them. This year, it’s back up to 25 minutes. And I think Stewart has looked like he did in 23 24. Um, and I’ll say that I I love Jaylen Duran in the 22 draft class. I was not a big fan of Isaiah Stewart coming out of Washington. Um, I did not think he was going to be able to space the floor whatsoever at the NBA level, and I was wrong in 2023. Uh, well, he didn’t really shoot the ball that well in 23, but 24 he did. Last year, he didn’t really take any threes. This year though, Isaiah Stewart is knocking down 39% of his threes on about three and a half a night. He’s averaging 11 and a half points, seven rebounds. It’s just like the physical bruiser you want down low cuz not only is he going to set a good screen on the perimeter, he can play out of the short roll and he also can pick and pop now um because he’s kind of going back to his 2024 ways in terms of his three-point shooting, which is massive for the Detroit Pistons this year who were projected to win around like 43 44 games. And you were wondering, will they be able to reach that after the offseason they had? They won 44 games last year. Do you think they got better? I knew Kate Cunningham could take a leap this year, but I I will say that they’re getting production out of just all the young pieces, which is very encouraging. And this is without Jaden Ivy. Like when Jaden Ivy goes down before the season starts and I watch that first game against the the Bulls, I am worried that this team is not going to be able to create any offense when Kate Cunningham is not on the floor. And Kate Cunningham is playing 36 minutes a night. It’s not like he’s playing Tyrese Maxi 40 plus minutes a night right now. So they’re able to rely it on Cade who’s turning the ball over three and a half times a night. That’s fine. With the high usage guys like that that you’re going to live with three and a half turnovers any day of the week. So Cade, Duran, Sar Thompson, Stewart, all kind of taking some type of lead from last year. Maybe Kade hasn’t taken that scoring week just yet, but I think it’s going to come. I think we’re going to get like a crazy 20 game stretch from Kate Cunningham in like December, January where this guy is like, “Okay, we’re we’re already having the top 10 talks. Maybe he can be more than that.” Uh Ron Holland is also another player that if you guys followed my draft content, I loved in the 24 class. I was banking on the athleticism. I kind of realized I was wrong about the Thompson Twins and their valuation. I mean, you try to watch any of the overtime elite games. I was not ready for that. It is a completely different game. I am watching that. I don’t even know what the hell I’m watching. They’re making up their own rules on the fly. And I think I didn’t put too much like value into just the sh the the sheer athleticism from Asarmen. So, I loved Ron Holland’s athleticism. I said, “You know what? It’s a weird 24 class. Just kind of latch on to his athleticism, the defensive intensity, the transition running, and if you really like the team that he gets drafted to, just ride that he’s your number two pick or number two prospect in your draft.” And that’s what he was for me. And Holland this year, 10 points might not be like, “Whoa, that’s crazy.” I think he impacts the game so much more than the box score shows because of his defensive intensity. I hate keep making the Assara men parallels, but the the terror twins of the Eastern Conference is Assar and Ron Holland. Maybe they’re not as good as a men and Tar East because Een is a little bit along or further along than Holland. He was drafted two years prior, but I think Holland has looked really good so far this year off the bench for the Pistons. Really provides like spark plug energy. Him and Isaiah Stewart, two guys you do not want to mess with. They will they will try to face you up. We saw that last year and Holland honestly showed that intensity briefly in the playoffs as well. So, the young guys have actually been stepping up, which is crazy. Now, Duncan Robinson slower start. He’s now shooting his 40% from three, which you take. That’s what you’re paying him for, and that’s what they desperately need. Like, Detroit was not a good three-point shooting team a couple years ago. You add in Malik Beasley. You add in Timi Jr., and now you could feel the floor spacing around Kade Cunningham, and right now they’re getting that. They’re still not like the best three-point shooting team in the world, especially with Tobias being a negative from three. Assar can’t really shoot from three still right now. Um, and he’s barely taking them. But Dunan Robinson 40% from three. Encouraging. That’s what you need. Honestly, kind of carries a little bit defensively. Like he’s not like the best defender in the world, but I do appreciate him like running his ass off um when he’s playing off ball and maybe it’s somebody going off some flare action screens or something like that. Um and then Caris Lever has probably been pretty disappointing given that it was a two-year guaranteed contract, $14 million per year. The role he was going to have on this team, he’s played about 19 minutes. Uh he’s averaged about 6.2 points per game. Yeah, he has not looked like the same ISO creator maybe we saw in Cleveland. maybe the same creator we saw in Atlanta. We’re definitely kind of far removed from the Indiana Brooklyn days. So, I do wonder what Levert’s role is going to be throughout the year. It’s always a new system. It’s eight games into a new team. He could definitely figure it out. We’ve seen bad starts all the time from new acquisitions and they end up putting it together. But, I think it’s just something to definitely keep an eye on uh going forward. I also like think like he’s not played a lot this year, but he was good in summer league in in preseason. But Dennis Jenkins um Dennis Jenkins has honestly looked pretty good. I wonder if he’ll get like a larger role throughout the year. Um and I like Chile coming out of Tennessee, but those guys really haven’t played a ton this year. And when you look at like the Pistons schedule, I think there’s like not like some fraudulent schedules, but you look at like I don’t know, Minnesota’s four wins. Like Portland’s their only good win. Philadelphia is like five wins. There’s some okay teams in there, but there there’s not like a statement win. like their statement win Boston and I think Orlando. But how does that look now? Right, Detroit’s schedule has been pretty good. Like they ended up losing to Chicago first game. I guess that looks like a better loss right now. They lost by four. Definitely could have won that game. They couldn’t hit a shot in like the second and third quarters. Then they beat Houston by four. That’s a damn impressive win right now cuz Houston is playing like one of the best teams in the NBA. You beat Boston by six. Good win. Not nothing special though. and then you end up beating or excuse me, you lose to Cleveland um by a decent amount. Cleveland’s still a good team at the end of the day. That’s going to come. You don’t barely beat Orlando, you beat them by 19. Yeah, that is an impressive win in my opinion. Beating Orlando by 19. Um cuz that team is still going to give you fight defensively. I know Orlando has their offensive issues right now, but they’re a good defensive team. You beat Dallas by 12, you beat Memphis by eight, you beat Utah by 11. I’m not saying this is the toughest team schedule that they’ve played so far, but I do think it has been impressive um to start off the season. They Brooklyn coming up. Like that should be a win. Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago. Like I’m looking at their schedule right now. Wow. Uh yeah, they play Okay, so Brooklyn win. Philly could be a win, but like that’s maybe 50/50 right now. Washington should be a win. Chicago could be a win. Like they lost by four to them earlier in the year and they’re at home in this one. Philly again, you think they’re going to split. Indiana, they should win. Uh, Atlanta, they could win at Atlanta. Well, that will be tough at Milwaukee will be tough. Indiana, Boston, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Portland, Milwaukee, Dallas. Like, the next time they play like a top five team in the league, maybe isn’t until December 30th. If you think the Lakers are that good, like they have a very nice schedule coming up where we could be sitting here in a month from now, Detroit’s got 10 games above 500. like I wouldn’t be totally shocked looking at their schedule right now and where they could be going forward. Uh so far on the year though they have been great defensively which has always been like the JB bigger staff identity and I think that’s going to be kind of their mantra throughout the year relying on defense because they’re not hey the best offensive team. They’re a below average offensive team this year. But I think it’s all going to come together. They’re going to get some easy defensive opponents. They’re going to get like that run from Kate Cunningham like I talked about and we’re eventually going to get Jaden Ivy back. I mean, right now he went under that procedure and it’s going to be reevalu re-evaluated in four weeks and that was on October 16th. So, next week we should get an update on Jaden Ivy. I’m hoping he’s playing a game before 2025 is over. I can’t say with confidence that that’s going to happen, but this team also is going to have maybe I don’t know a little not like pressure, but like maybe a little bit more willingness to make a move at the deadline. Like last year, they ended up getting Dennis Shooter for basically free, which was great for them. And honestly, I love that. Maybe they’re going to go bargain hunting like that again. But I do think that this team could get a little bit aggressive at the deadline. Like, will they be willing to part ways with Caris Levert’s $14 million after December 15th? I would. I think you’d still be 6 and2 without Caris Levert. Could they be willing to trade away Jaden Ivy? His value definitely goes down a little bit though, just because he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the year. Back-to-back notable injuries. Would a team give up a willing asset? I’m sure some team would give up like a veteran asset that can help you, but I don’t know if you’re like, could this team be a Lowry Markin team, right? I I jokingly tweeted that out in their first game against Chicago. I think this team makes a lot of sense for Markin, but Markin, does he fit into their defensive identity? And do you want to trade I mean, if you’re trading Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivy, Caris Svert, and two to three first round picks for Markin. I’d probably do that. Markin’s under contract. It’s Detroit. They’re not going to land big market free agents, or at least they haven’t really in the past. You have Kade locked up. You’re gonna lock up Jaylen Darren after the season he’s having. You’re gonna lock up a star eventually when he’s a free agent. Stewart’s still under contract going forward. You don’t have to trade him. And like the only noticeable minutes getter out of those guys, Ivy hasn’t even played. Caris Levert’s not playing a ton. And Tobias Harris would just get replaced by Lowry Markin and you’re trading first round picks you hope are going to be pick 20 and on. So I think that makes a ton of sense. The question is would Utah want to do that? Could they just get a better offer from like a San Antonio or a Miami or just a different team out there that could look to trade for market in possibly because I’m not really willing to give up a Star Holland or Duran for market in I think they wouldn’t as well. So they’re going to be a team to I think monitor this year around the deadline if they’re going to want to be aggressive this year. But hey, it’s a good start. You got to be encouraged right now if you’re a Pistons fan. And yeah, like just going back to Kate Cunningham, I just think that I I I was never like out on Kate Cunningham. I I think one of my best like takes that I stood on was I never removed him. number one from a 2021 reddraft. Not after year one where he didn’t win rookie of the year and it went to Scotty Barnes. Not after year two where he barely played and had a season ending injury. Not after the start of year three where he kind of struggled a little bit and he was struggling with the turnovers. He was struggling with efficiency. And last year he finished seventh in MVP voting. He was on AllNBA 13. He led the Pistons from the worst record in 2024 to a top six seed and a hard-fought playoff series loss to the New York Knicks. And I do think he’s a fringe top 10 player in the league. I like I said, I would like to see the three-point shot be a little bit better like it was last year. Turnovers were high last year. It was four and a half a night. I know the advanced numbers don’t favor Kade in that aspect. And there’s things he definitely needs to work on. Not saying he’s a perfect player by any means. I think there’s some dumb passes out of the pick and roll still that he’s still trying to figure out and kind of trying to just hone in on, which hey, we’re on year five of that. Maybe it’s never going to come around, but this guy was drafted number one overall for a reason. You can have him at a 30 plus% usage rate like right now this year. I mean, is he above 30? Yeah, he’s at 30 right now. Basically, he’s been above or at 30 over the last four years. He’s somebody that can be a number one in my opinion on a title team at this moment because we don’t really know if that’s not true. Maybe this like is John 2022 all over again. You ask somebody in 22, can John be a be number one on a title team, they’re saying hell yeah. You asked that question today, they’re saying no. So maybe we’re going to eventually get there one day with Kate Cunningham. I also like Kate Cunningham as a prospect more than I like John. So hey, we’re still wait and see mode. He’s only played one playoff series in his career. It was against a good Knicks team that, hey, it was close. They could have gone either way. They definitely could have won that series as well. But this is somebody, it’s a good rebounder, good passer, great downhill attacker. This guy can finish with contact around the rim. Um, maybe as good as anybody in this league right now. Definitely as good as anybody that’s 24 years old. And he’s the franchise player here in Detroit and probably the best franchise player they’ve had. And I I It’s a while. It’s a wild because like if you’re looking at a pure individual, I mean I want to give always credit to the 2004 team, but like that I think the reason why they were special, they didn’t have like a top 10 player in the league. Bilops, Hamilton, good players. Wallace’s they were good players, but I don’t think they were ever like top 10 guys in the league. Bops was maybe there and you can you can make an argument for Chanty Bops. I don’t know the 2005 top 10 guys off the top of my head. So yeah, but you’re looking at maybe a younger Grant Hill, Jerry Stack House that maybe gets you excited by Kate Cunningham can do right now in Detroit and maybe it’s going to hit one point. It’s going to be the most exciting young player they’ve had uh since Isaiah Thomas that can actually win you a title. So we’ll see one day uh how far this team will go around Kade. We’ll see how they progress throughout the year. Will um Assar Thompson continue to look better. Will Isaiah Stewart be this good as a three-point shooter? Will Caris be this much of a non-factor throughout the course of the year? Definitely things to keep an eye on. I hope you guys did enjoy. Drop a thumbs up if you did. Let me know what you guys think about the 26 Detroit pistons so far down below. Let me know any other video ideas you guys would like to see here on this channel. And I’ll catch you guys in the next one. Peace.

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