How Can the Pistons let Cade Cunningham AND Jaden Ivey Thrive? – From Half Court Episode 135

How Can the Pistons let Cade Cunningham AND Jaden Ivey Thrive? – From Half Court Episode 135

What is going on I want to welcome you from half court for today Wednesday January 31st 2024 I am one of your host sea Murphy alongside the Marquette Heat Troy sery Troy good to see you as always my friend good to see you Sean and hey one game winning streak for the Pistons

As we we’re recording good H win against OKC on Sunday afternoon uh let’s keep the ball rolling Pistons winners of two of their last three Troy I I genuinely uh don’t think we’ve been able to say that all season since October so here we are but also joining us is one of my

Favorite beat writers in the business he is Mike Curtis of the Detroit News Mike what’s going on man thanks so much for taking the time to join us again and especially during this uh you know super thrilling season that the Pistons are having no problem at all fellas I’m just

Glad to be here um second year covering the beat so it’s a little bit different than it was last year we’re in the last year I think it was just normal bad but we’re in a historically Bad season right now so I think I’m just going through

The motions of taking it day by day and just going not trying to look at I guess the big picture of things but just trying to take it game by game and I think that’s what keeps everything fresh these days oh yeah 100% because you you

You can only talk about you know like how this season has not gone the way that we’ve all thought for so many for for so long right and and and I especially like to just focus on okay well they’re in a hole we all know it instead of talking about the hole that

They’ve dug themselves let’s talk about how they get themselves out of it let’s talk Solutions let’s talk those types of things so I definitely like the work that you’ve been doing uh doing this season I know it’s obviously really tough to cover a team that doesn’t win

Very often at all but I mean you know you’ve done a lot of you know I I believe that’s pretty much kind of been part of the course I think they’ve only won like 23 games since you’ve started uh covering them last year so um yeah

Man it’s it’s been really good work my uh first question for you um is you know obviously I know there’s been some you know decent amount of reporting around the trade deadline and things that the Pistons could potentially do the things that P that the Pistons could

Potentially not do we know they already made one move like a couple weeks ago with the with the Marvin baggley uh and Isaiah liver’s trade uh that brought back to Neil gari and Mike Scala uh but do you see the Pistons like still being active at this deadline making more

Changes do you think the changes that this team could make or realistically could make are probably not realistic until the off seon what’s what’s your temperature gauge on on what the Pistons are are looking to do here in about a week and a half yeah yeah so we’re about a week

Like you said week and a half from the trade deadline um I think it’s really imperative that we see some form of continued change with this roster um you mentioned they made the trade with Washington um a couple of weeks ago danelo galinari mcal for Marvin Bagley and Isaiah livers

Um on paper that’s that’s a move to um allow for more cap space in the summer um offer them a little bit more flexibility to either sign a free agent or take on a contract through trade um but I think this this this team can’t go on as it’s currently constructed right

Um as much as they value of course their core four players um we all know K cunning Jaylen Duren um Jay NY and assar Thompson um I think all the beat writers are pretty much reported that those four um it’s pretty safe bet that they’ll

Still be here past the deadline um but I think when you look at the rest of the roster I think everyone else is fair game um I think you have to start with who are you gonna have the most value for I think you start with Buon banovich

Obviously he’s a highly coveted um trade piece if you want to call it that um Alec Burks has turned around what was a disaster of a season through the months of I want to say November and December coming back from that forearm injury and now he’s playing like one of

The best players on the team what a conate pro man just just stay locked in they like just kept faith in him and yeah like he’s just been shooting the lights out over the last month I’ve been really happy for Alec Burks yeah it’s funny because we talked to him kind of

Like throughout that stretch and we asked him have you ever been through anything like this he said he always says yeah it always comes back around he it always comes back around and I think it’s living proof that that theor his performance is living proof of that

Theory so yep I think he’s played his way back into um his value being a little bit higher for this year’s trade deadline not sure what he particularly land you whether it’s a second round pick um I know the pitons probably would prefer a first round pick but but um I think it

Just depends on what type of deal they want to make um I got the stat right here I think Troy Weaver has made 21 trades um since taking over in 2020 and six of them have have come during the regular season so that’s it’s a pretty high rate and what’s his fourth year

Yeah so I I I definitely think we’re going to make see another move Now is it going to be like the big swing to get the big start St to come to Detroit that’s to that’s to be known um I remember last month or earlier this month I’m sorry he he mentioned on

Adrien Wow’s podcast from ESPN he said that we want to be aggressive um and he was aggressive in a sense by making pulling the trigger to essentially L with scolin and galinari but it wasn’t on paper what you would expect um to improve the roster right now going

Forward so I anticipate he’ll make a deal of that nature to kind of steer this ship around 100% And you know I obviously you know it it this wasn’t the trade to like you know see drastic change but I would say that in their limited time I think Mike pascala and

Danil garari you know at least made like a pretty decent impact I know g n really hasn’t played much I think he’s played in a couple games um but Mike pascala I think is really been like the the the best piece uh for that Pistons like for

The Pistons from that trade just because of the his ability to space the floor but also I think just having like a like a experienced big who’s you know because like all of our bigs are what like 20 21 years old Marvin baggley was our was our

Seasoned veteran in the front court so to have someone who’s actually like over 25 who has some experience that can come in and not just like make a ton of mistakes I feel like that’s helping them a lot so far yeah absolutely and like like you said it’s funny because every

Big the trade that Detroit had they had a similar skill set um they were either a rim roller they were postup threat like Marvin Bagley scored particularly inside the paint um the only player that could kind of stretch the floor in a sense was Isaiah Stewart um and he’s

Still transitioning into that power forward role um long term so they never really had a big who could stretch the floor like a Brook Lopez or you want to say Joe and be Orco toic not a lot of teams have those players at all but

Still just that big who can kind of take some of the def def some of the bigger Defenders out of the paint even like a Kelly Ock who they used to have in the roster like a little over a year ago like I think people underestimated just

Like you know obviously they they traded them and they ended up get getting Boon so I would say that that’s you know a net positive you know trade but still like I think people underestimated the value that he even brought to the team absolutely and I know we’re going to talk about dur

Um in in a second but just the way he’s able he’s been able to kind of expand his offensive game I think that kind of unlocks some f for Detroit’s offense as well oh yeah 100% 100% and the the the I think the player that’s kind of been

Floated around the most I know you know the the um the kind of rumored name that’s been linked to Detroit as the most likely candidate is Zack LaVine because he’s that player you know with you know with that long-term contract and money available we know the Bulls uh

Have been pretty openly interested in wanting to move on from Zack LaVine for a couple of months now um what’s your sense on the likelihood of that actually becoming reality and how do you think that would actually help them on the court because to me obviously it’s hard

To not view that trade in a similar vein to a to like a Blake Griffin trade of a couple years ago but I think the difference between if they were to make the Blake Griffin trade now and if they were to make the Blake Griffin trade

Back in like 2018 is that they actually have a k Cunningham and an assar thomps and a Jaylen dirt they actually have young players to put that star around whereas before it was Andre and Reggie Jackson and just a ton of guys yeah I think it’s highly possible especially if

The Bulls get to a certain point where they don’t see any buyers or takers for someone like Lavine who let’s keep it real he has he has a pretty extensive injury history um don’t know how how often he’s going to be available um he’s not the greatest Defender um but he can

Put points on the board and often times that’s what the Pistons need especially in those those times where they face a offensive L nobody can get their own shot um he’s a guy who can go and get you a bucket yep um so I think in terms

Of is it Poss POS I think it’s definitely possible especially if Detroit can come away from that deal without giving away any of their coed young young talent I definitely think it’s possible um now how would it fit that’s always the question and I think um a lot of

People always wonder like you only got one ball it’s whose hands is it gonna be in it’s gonna be in CAD it’s gonna be in Ivy it’s going to be in um sassor Killian Monte Morris um depending on who’s on the roster at that point Zack

Of course um I think that’s what you have to figure out and I think when you add a piece that’s so Dynamic like Zack LaVine you kind of take away from the development of the talent you already yeah yeah my biggest concern would be him Ivy and Cade all sharing

The court and how much you know how much Ivy is actually getting the ball how much you know kade’s actually having touches you know that that definitely be my initial concern 100% but like you said I mean he can put buckets on the on the board unlik a lot of guys in the

League at times I mean all three of us were in the building I think when he scored 50 earlier this year in the LCA few guys can a lot few guys can generate offense as quickly as he can a lot of times but like you said there’s there

How much is he actually G to be willing and and and willing and able to accommodate coming into Detroit you know it’s just I don’t know there’s just there’s it’s I’m very very torn uh Troy I I I guess I want to ask you what would

Be your thoughts of of Zack LaVine in a Pistons Zeto form I know it’s something we’ve talked a little bit about before but now it’s it’s seemingly as as we as the time gets closer it’s looking like a pretty realistic reality right yeah yeah and I think what Mike said was important

To look at in looking at you know he’s a guy that can get you the bucket right and when we see this team so many games struggle to put the ball in the hoop struggle on the offensive side you can’t help but to think it helps it brings

Instant uh instant points uh to your team and like you said too Sean I mean the thing is at least at first I was pretty hesitant of bringing LaVine because it just seemed like the story was so scripted from a 2018 with with trading pieces for a a Blake Griffin and

Going all in and just to be U injury ridden for a lot still had an All-Star year we we give a shout out to Blake there but it it just I I was worried about that but the more I thought about that okay his role is going to be

Different he’s still even if he’s going to be arguably quote unquote you know the most proven player or veteran or star on the team he’s still not going to be the number one option on the offensive ENT right because you do still have a cade you still have an IV um so

With that being said if he’s not the primary ball handler or primary even score on the offensive end but still is just a score that is added with those core that we already have added with those guys that were already developing and putting on the court yeah I mean

Honestly I would actually say you probably have to put a vet like him if it’s not LaVine it has to be someone who um is a certified uh bucket getter or a certified proven NBA uh player because you’re not gonna win with just the guys you have because clearly we’ve seen that

All year WR long right you don’t have to tell any Pistons fan that that this roster needs to be changed somehow because we can’t just keep putting this same roster on the court and expect different results sure it was fun you know on Sunday afternoon with the win against the

Thunder but the point being we in this league that’s so deep and we’ve talked about that a million times on this podcast you need to at least be competitive with the other teams who have quote unquote two or three different types of at least Zak LaVine

Skill like players on their team um and adding one to our team just helps our CA so yeah I mean I mean pretty much like all all that could be wrapped up in the we have 40 losses and it’s not even February yet so something’s got to give

Um 100% um and you know and Mike you know it’s it is it definitely would be interesting just to see you know kind of like some of some of that you know dynamic of of how it would all fit together we know uh it from the sounds

Of it the the hang-up in the trade is you know like what Chicago you know would actually get in return it sounds like they want one of those blue trip prospects that would come in return I would imagine they would want like an ivy or an assar um um or you know it

Sounds like or Duran or Cunningham um in return but obviously I don’t think Detroit’s going to uh be looking to do that if there’s not much else of a market for Zack LaVine what do you think could be like a realistic trade package for that you know obviously I think like

A it sounds like a boon is a guy that they would want um you know from a salary perspective you’d probably have to throw in like like a James wisan or someone else as well but I mean are we sending a ton of draft Capital what do what do you think that would

Look like yeah for sure I think the obvious piece like you mentioned would be either uh boyan or Alec Burks um one of those guys who’s been aing score who can kind of step in immediately and help that Bulls team um I know they already have Caruso over there um and I think

Kobe wh’s playing at extremely high level this year um but in terms of who you would send along with that I mean you look you look down the line of who your expiring contracts are you have burs you have Monte Morris you have Killian you have James wisman you got

Joe Harris um I think any of those players would be possible um along with a couple of picks um couple of second rounders in the future you know Detroit isn’t isn’t pretty much worried about sending away second rounders since I think and I think the the the mindset

Behind that is they have enough Young Talent as it is another young player like we say about this upcoming draft class probably isn’t going to get this team where it needs to be they need to start looking at more veterans um and I think they believe in the young talent

That they already have and they want to see how it develops um before they end up before they break quote unquote break it up so right I think um yeah just a couple of second rounders and get that done yeah no I think that makes a lot of

Sense and I mean it’s kind of crazy to think about just for how much you know like those like kind of those four blue chip prospects are like what like Detroit’s building around and like you know just how much uh you know how important it is for those you like you

Know for those guys to work together it’s interesting just how little they’ve actually been able to play together just because of just because of injuries just because of you know like not everything aligning up I mean last night was or like the other day was literally the first injury-free like like the Pistons

Like injury-free like Health Report all season long yeah and and like I can’t even imagine how long especially if you like if you throw in like last year when you know they when they started to sit players more like at at this time of the

Year they like I don’t even know if they even had a clean one last season so um first time in a long time for sure especially when you lose 12 games into lose K 12 games into the season oh I think before that Marvin Bagley didn’t

Play because of a yep bone bruising his knee so yeah all last year they didn’t have a clean clean um injury report yeah man absolutely crazy and with that I think you’re still seeing them trying to figure a lot of those things out and you

Know I think one of the one of the biggest convers like topics of conversation this season have been you like what like how do they balance Kate and Ivy like what like you know like who’s who’s running the offense like who has the who has the ball in their hands

And you know obviously it sounds like like from what Monty said you know like the other day um in his press conference it doesn’t sound like he’s overly concerned about who has the ball in it in in their hands but more so that they’re taking care of it and that

They’re that they’re executing when they do but it definitely seems like you know it definitely seems like the Pistons are better when jadeen Ivy also has the opportunity to run their offense and listen the you know the the the winds that the Pistons have got of recent have

Sparked a really stupid narrative from some some people wondering if the Pistons are better with uh without Cade Cunningham on the court and that’s something I don’t think that’s even uh remotely uh you know sane to to entertain but what I would say is the Pistons are definitely better when it’s

Not just Cade with the ball in his hands all the time like when when Cade’s allowed to play off ball when Ivy like I mean we’ve seen like enough now that that jayen ivy can can spark your offense but also though has gotten pretty good at actually kind of taking

Care of the basketball he’s not great with it all the time but he’s definitely not one of our biggest culprits with turnovers at least this season he hasn’t been uh what what do you think is that right balance and you know like how how much do you think this season’s also

Just going to be about making those two work together yeah for sure and I think that’s been a constant conversation ever since Ivy was drafted with the fifth pick last year like how is he and Kay gonna mesh together um and we saw like their first game and Ivy brings this up

A lot like his first bucket was off an assist from Cade where he cut to the basket and got a layup um and I think that encapsulated what they wanted to see from them going forward just them playing off of each other um now I will

Say like this season we’ve seen like the Pistons offense in a myriad of forms we’ve seen K Cunningham playing with the ball majority of the time in his hands without proper spacing this is when all their shooters were hurt and it wasn’t a pretty sight um often times those were

Um some of the reasons for how that turn turnover number for K got so high yep um just because he he didn’t have the proper spacing around him um I think the only reason he had seven the other night was I think rust had a little bit to do

With that he had a charge which you could say wasn’t really his fault or not but it still counts as a turnover at the end of the day um we’ve seen while K was out we’ve seen Jon Ivy like you mentioned kind of get back to the level

That he was playing at at the end of last year when he started to come into his own um and make the right decisions make the right reads um learn when to keep the ball for himself and score attack the rim learn when to dish it out

To shooters or um slip it into the paint to either during or St um so we’ve seen the Pistons offense in a few different I guess forms if you will this season now you throw Monte Morris in the mix and he’s figuring out how to play with

Everyone yep um and he’s always been a guy known for his ability to not turn the ball over and he says it’s not something that he just tries to do it’s just something that happens within the flow of the game so I think he was a little bit more comfortable um yesterday

Than he was on Satur was that Saturday Saturday um and definitely his debut he he he looked like he fit right in with that group so I think um it’s still going to be a process that that they’re gonna have to work out but I think the key to

Seeing Ivy and Cade is to you got to find a way to kind of stagger them when when when Kate is on the bench let Ivy come in and kind of manage the offense a little bit um I know you want to have another guard out there where whether

It’s Monte Morris or Marcus Sasser but um I think in order for this team to be the team that It ultimately wants to be Ivy is going to have to have some form of control in offense yeah I think I think especially just in order for this

Team to get where it needs to go like especially right now I don’t see a reason why Cade or Ivy couldn’t or couldn’t or shouldn’t be on the court you know for for like all for as close to All 48 minutes as you can get just

Because of the way that you can stagger them obviously there’s moments you got to get them off the court you got to get them rest you got to you know give them time to you know get ready to you know for for what’s actually like for the for

The closing time but at the same time you know like just the amount of all bench units that we have seen and guys like you know like starters coming out of the out of the lineup and then the momentum just completely shifting like it just seems like it seems like that’s

Like a natural way to get Jaden Ivy running the offense more and you know and for him to like you know have his impact you know kind of imprinted into the game you know Troy what your thoughts yeah I I think I think just giving him the ball

More I I I just think I think giving him more touches on the offensive end I think looking at how he has progress this season even just looking at where he was in the beginning of the Season till now gives me a lot of confidence moving forward with him with the ball in

His hands um and I I think you know I think earlier you mentioned Sean just him and Kate on the court together is something that he personally wants and I think us as business fans know that that is something that has seen a success all

Season long with that um so yeah I I think those lineups are gonna be important but but those touches um are going to be equally important and I I have seen though at least this past season two at least around probably December or January I well I guess it is

January now but around the early December Mark I guess I really saw him on the defensive end really improve as well and I I just saw that we saw glimpses of last year but that this summer was the big thing that we talked about was the weakness and um

Seeing how that’s made massive improvements just in the few short months that we’ve had this season um has been um encouraging for me so yeah absolutely I want to mention there was a possession in yesterday’s game um where he pretty much took the challenge of G and SGA Shay Gil just

My point yeah yeah and just guarded him for like I want to say 10 seconds and it might have been one of his best defensive possessions of his career um before SGA kicked it out and I think C got c c got some maybe a shot on the

Perimeter but he still forced um SJ to get the ball up which is something a lot of people aren’t able to do yeah it’s definitely like there’s definitely still a lot of area you know for for for him to grow in that area but like over the

Last couple couple of weeks just some of the glimpses of like when Jaden Ivy is on with his on ball defense like he can be stifling just with his you know just with his athleticism with his burst with his like with his wingspan like Jaden Ivy has everything he needs in my

Opinion to be a legitimate defensive threat and I think those are like those have been the signs I think that have been you know like really promising of him taking like some of those uh kind of like some of those next steps um Mike I’m glad you brought up uh uh jayen

Duren and you like mentioned his offensive game um a couple of minutes ago obviously over the last couple of weeks he’s had the ball in his hands more uh he he’s been even bringing up the ball more himself um and it’s just been uh honestly just like a a

Revelation just kind of to see like we knew J we knew Jaylen durren was good and we knew that he had um you know a a lot of capability to do things on both sides of the Court we knew that you know he had a better handle and people gave

Him credit for you know that we we’ve seen the flashes um of his playmaking and his passing and we know that you know like that’s something that that’s at least you know that that’s there right but over the last couple of weeks in particular it just feels like he’s

Just only getting better and I mean he’s he’s averaging a double double this year like he’s averaging like he’s averaging 12 rebounds so you look at like he’s already one of the better like rebounders in the league at 20 years old you’re looking at how effective he’s

Been around around the rim and just everything that he’s been adding to their game I mean adding to his game I mean Detroit’s got to feel pretty good about well where jayen duren’s at all things considered especially that it’s year two what have been like your like

Kind of like your takeaways and how good do you think he can actually be because I think when this team was looking awesome at the beginning of the Season like when it looks like they were ready to turn that corner a big part of it was because Jaylen durren effectively looked

Like bam at of bio for the first week yeah and I think it all starts for Duren um he hasn’t shown it as of late um but on the defensive end when when they were holding teams to less than 103 points to start the season I want to say for three

Straight games um it was because he was locked in on the defensive end he was challenging shots at The Rim even if he wasn’t blocking him he was making enough of a difference just to um I guess impact the shot so I think think that’s

Going to be the key to um I want to say his long-term success overall um especially as he continues to develop but when we take a look at what he’s done offensively especially um I want to say over the past month or so you know Mony Williams said that he wanted to see

More from him I think he he said that durran has a tendency to kind of pass and think it’s the right basketball play but at certain times you got to be aggressive on the offensive end because it frees up your teammates if the defense is trying to pay attention to

You um and we’ve seen that like we’ve seen him grab a rebound and instead of throwing the outlet pass or passing it to the point guard he’ll just bring it back up himself at times he looked like the most confident player with the ball um and then we’ve seen him get in

The post and he’ll do his little reverse spin um um for a layup and that I don’t know where he started doing that but he started doing a lot more this this year his footwork is nuts man yeah his footwork is has has grown a lot he’s he

Creed stats to the coaching staff as well um Mark Bryant specifically who he works with pretty much every day um he says he helps helps him out a lot in developing that part of this game but I want to say the big the and I wrote about this earlier today in my piece

That came out about Duran um 2020 game from yesterday um he’s come close to 2020 Mark several times throughout his career but this year specifically every time he’s flirted with it or either achieved it in yesterday’s case the Pistons have won yep he had 20 and 19 against Washington

On January 15 he had 18 and 17 in the win over Toronto on the third December 30th he had 14 and 17 in the first win of the season over Charlotte um and he had another Mark which I don’t have right in front of me but it’s

Against Chicago in home opener where he pretty much almost had a 2020 game in that game as well so and he’s making his free throws too he making his free throws too he’s getting to the line and uh contributing that way as well so yeah in uh in that home opener against

Chicago he was 23 and 15 yeah yeah so knocking right there on the door um y with five less rebounds but over the last uh over the last a little over a little over a month he came back into the lineup on uh on December 26th since then he’s been averaging 15.4

Points 12.6 rebounds a game 2.7 assists only like only one like just a little over one turnover he’s shooting 65% from the field and he’s shooting um inside the arc it looks like he’s shooting specifically like like really efficiently so I I mean everything that he’s he’s been doing over the last

Little over a month has been really impressive the one downside over the last month he’s only averaged about a half a block so I would say if there’s any major weakness to to jayen Duran’s game or or just like that opportunity for growth it would be him being that

That kind of like that Ste rim protector I think sometimes he’s kind of put in an unfair position because his man in front of him will get beat and he kind and it and it will kind of get him out of position a lot of times so I definitely

Think not all of it is on him but I mean Troy even without a lot of that defensive game we’re seeing that I mean we we knew Jaylen durren was special and that and that the potential was there I don’t think we could see I

Don’t think we saw a lot of these skills manifesting itself right now especially on the offensive end right and I think the right now side of things is really important to look at too because he’s what is he 20 now is he finally 20 or is

He still 19 yeah so he’s 20 now so the fact that he’s developing those because we know the athleticism there we know he’s he’s going to give 110% on the defensive end we know he’s going to be a defensive nightmare as well as we’ve talked about too Mike talked about the

Defensive side of the ball how well he’s playing so yeah to add skills like that I mean to to bring up the ball like a point guard um uh I mean that’s uh that’s something that we don’t really see with a traditional big like him

Right kind of that B bam out of Bio type of built uh player that he is uh so yeah Sean I I think the the fact that we’re seeing this at age 20 makes me think at age 23 and 24 uh we’re going to see potentially an All-Star

Player certainly maybe even all NBA player so yeah yeah and I want to add a couple of more on JD real quick yeah um the fact that he’s been able to stay healthy um I think he’s played his longest stretch of game since he came back on the

26 and if you notice he’s been wearing those ankle braces for every game ever since he came back so we know know um Stephen Curry obviously had a history of ankle injuries early in his career once he started wearing those ankle ankle braces and kind of like

Changing the way he moved on the court I think that’s what changed for him I think we’re starting to see not fully because obviously he still has to um manage um those ankle injuries and just the soreness that he probably sometimes has after games um we’re starting to see

Some of that if he’s able to stay healthy he’s the big Difference Maker for this team because he attracts so much attention when that chemistry with him and Kade and the pick and roll when Detroit didn’t have that in those games that he was out everyone was suffocated

On Kade and taking away that mid-range game so he opens up a lot for Detroit’s offense yeah 100% And you know he just again he just has all the upside in the world and just some of the some of the leaps he’s been taking this season you know are just again are really

Encouraging I’m just excited to see you know the the thing with jayen Duran is this the the scary thing to think about is what he looks like at 25 what he looks like at 26 you know what I mean and that’s still six years away that’s the that’s the scary part

About this kid man so absolutely exciting stuff Troy Weaver found a gem oh yeah yep 100% he found a diamond in the rough in jayen Duran without a doubt uh Mike my one last question to you when you look at like other I I know this is something I think we’ve we’ve talked

About a little bit before um when looking at like where the Pistons are right now and how they can dig themselves kind of just out of this you know like proverbial hold that they are in what are some teams that you think they can look at in in a as inspiration

As as kind of like a blueprint of how to get themselves out of the situation that they’re current currently in I know um one that’s been you know obviously that’s been brought up quite a bit um is you know is Houston just because they took a very similar route to us you know

With with a lot of the losing and then uh you know using that salary cap space bringing in veterans um but you know I I I think there’s I think there’s a myriad of teams that the Pistons could potentially learn from as far as like how they should be going about building

Their roster are there are there teams that you look at throughout the league and say I think Detroit should look more like them yeah ab and Houston is a really good example because they took their young roster and pretty much said hey we need to add some veteran veteran

Presence around um this group that’s trying to learn how to win so you go get a guy like Fred Van b um you go get a guy like Jeff Green you go get Dylan Brooks and they’re they’re teetering around the playoffs if that if they’re

Not already in the picture so um I think that’s a really good example right there you take a look at what OKC has done with their young team um obviously they’ve stockpiled a ton of assets um and they’ve become the best team in the western conference as of yesterday so yeah it’s

Interesting to see what they’ve built um I want to say another team to look out to kind of mirror and IM and mirror in their image is pretty much um or Orlando Magic yeah you have a guy like Paulo banero um another another number one pick similar to Kade and you just put

The pieces around them granted they’re I think their length is what set sets them apart and their defensive intensity one of the best defensive teams in the league and I know Detroit they prided themselves on becoming a defensive team this year but I just don’t think they

Have the Personnel to kind of make that identity shift yet yep 100% so if if I were to say any three teams it would definitely be Houston OKC and Orlando um I used to throw um I used to throw Cleveland in that boat too because they

Went from I want to say 20 some OD wins to 44 the next year I want to say two seasons ago um but I think they did it a little bit differently and that was through um obviously trades yeah absolutely a couple other teams I

Would just throw in there as well one um one I would take a look at Minnesota in the approach that they’ve kind of taken over the last couple of Seasons you know ever since bringing in Anthony Edwards obviously there’s kind of been you know I know last year uh in in particular I

Was a little bit more critical on some of the direction that they were taking but I but at that time I did not see them being this 32 and 14 Juggernaut that that they’ve turned into now and I think it’s I think it’s very similar to

A lot of the teams that you’ve already brought up where you know it’s taking a a number one pick or a number one guy and just building around him and and and surrounding him with a ton of Shooters but also like you said just a lot of long versatile Defenders and you know

It’s like Orlando is like living proof that you don’t need to be awesome at shooting the three as long as like you defend the lights out like Orlando like they have like they’re they’re 24 and 22 right now I I would I would wager even though they’re not the second seed in

The East anymore I would still wager a lot of fans in Orlando are thrilled about the direction that that they’re taking but another team you know I would look at as well is you know like I I’d look in your own division I’d look at Indiana and just how they’ve been able

To you know like stay consistently competitive over the last like you know 10 plus years even when they haven’t been at at the very top of their Lottery you know they just get you know in Troy you’ve you’ve been able to attend quite a few uh Pacers games now living right

Next to the arena you know to me the thing that stands out when I look at them it’s not just like the star players but it’s just the consistency they have in the role players and how um you know like even like the the ancillary pieces

That they do have it feel like they’ve just had a defined role yeah absolutely everyone knows their role you think of nce Smith and NIMH hard and we gotta get some of those guys in Detroit who just uh who are stars at their role right we

Don’t have to have stars but stars at their role so yeah Troy are there any other team that we didn’t mention that you think that you think Detroit should you know look uh look at building or emulating or are there teams that you just specifically look at in the league

Even if it’s ones we’ve already talked about yeah yeah I mean I you kind of Hit the the more obvious ones um you know you could go in the route just because they had two draft picks that they centered on you could make a a weird

Case for Denver right because you a lot of that team was constructed through the draft and through bringing in I guess Ro player um rotation pieces through a free agency and um yeah I guess one quick quick quick last question for Mike is you know there’s a lot of Pistons fans

Who uh hear the word free agency and cap space and roll their eyes and say here we go again uh either we’re not going to do anything we’re not going to make any Splash or if we do make a splash it’s going to be a a Ben Gordon or Charlie

Villan away of a splash what would you tell Pistons fans with that type of attitude who are pessimistic with the word uh cap space or offseason yeah for sure I think it’s because they haven’t seen much change um I think they’ve been preached that message over

And over again and they haven’t seen um much return on that type of investment but yeah um if I was to I guess talk to a Pistons fan and kind of explain that cap space and just flexibility those that doesn’t mean we’re GNA go out and sign the top free agent that’s available

Um they can use that cap space that money to take on assets from other teams um they can they can get veteran players that kind of complement this group um to see fit and that that gives you another Pool of players to even choose from to

Even look at not just the players that are going to be available um when their contracts expire um because you got guys like buddy heill you got guys like I want to say Royce O’Neal yep um Gordon hayward’s going to be a free agent Kelly

UB who was a free agent this summer so you got guys like that but I don’t think any of those guys like move the needle for this team um so you gota you gotta be creative you gotta you gotta figure out a deal to make with some team who

Doesn’t want um I guess their disgruntled star anymore so that that’s that’s pretty much what I would tell that fan awesome a lot of ways skin a cat 100% man Mike I thanks so much for coming on the Pod man it’s always a pleasure whenever I’m at a game in

Person it’s always fun to run into you and and see you at the games and just sit with you in the media room and yeah man just appreciate you a ton and uh where can uh where can people find you and the stuff that you’re doing yeah for

Sure um you can read all my work on Detroit News um detroitnews.com I’m on X as Mike a Curtis to um Instagram as Mike Curtis um and yeah I just appreciate all the support I’ve been getting um through these first two seasons yeah you’ve been killing it man I know obviously you know

This has been uh these have been like two of my first full seasons as like act like from like the covering standpoint and it’s uh you know um obviously not being around the team every day like you are but um you know just been been enjoying your work a ton you know thanks

Again for you know just always being a good guy being willing to come on and do stuff like this and uh yeah man I’m looking forward to seeing you uh someday hopefully being able to cover some winning basketball I I have faith D it’s gonna happen Mike it’s gonna happen I

Think the sooner it happens the sooner I’ll be able to tell like the best stories because it’s hard to tell like those feature um player profiles when the team is struggling the way the Pistons are but I got a feeling we’ll we’ll we’ll see some of that at some

Point oh yeah 100% but with that that’s going to be it that’s going to be it for today’s episode thank you so much for everyone tuning in be sure to like this video down down below and also subscribe so you’re not missing any more content from the channel as we’ll be covering

All things trade deadline all things rest of the season we’ll definitely be covering the draft and free agency and everything as it comes down here on from half court but that’s going to do it for today thank you for listening we will catch you guys next time from half court be sure you’re Subscribed

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Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons, NBA Trade Deadline