An anonymous NBA executive on the Pistons: “I feel bad for Cade Cunningham, They’ve been rebuilding for years even though they never planned on it, and [picking Holland] they might need to blow up the roster and start over again…That situation is a mess…”
by Goosedukee
37 Comments
Bro belongs in Detroit
Pistons? More like Pistoffs.
The recent personnel decisions by Detroit has been awful. Cade landing in Detroit was terrible for him but he still got his max at least. They’ve done everything possible to make Cade’s life harder. They draft jaden Ivey, a non shooting, ball handling sg. They draft Jalen duren, a center who plays no defense and can’t space the floor. Ron holland another dude who can’t space the floor. At least it was a bad draft.
Cade would be more efficient with pretty much any other team.
That’s a special kind of rude to quote the pay-walled portion of the article and link us to it.
But yeah, I feel bad for all the Pistons that expect to be part of a winning culture at some point. Until then, get your bag and leave is about all I can reasonably expect from anyone joining this org.
Yeah blow it up, team can’t shoot, like the 1 thing you need to win
Getting paid a shit ton and there’s no pressure on you whatsoever? Sounds like quite the job honestly
How was Holland in Summer League?
I have a hard time feeling bad for a 23 year old set to receive a guaranteed quarter of a billion dollars over the next 5 years but that’s just me
Alternative reading: “They should trade Cunningham, perhaps even to my team!”
do you think pistons get karmaed for daring to win against Jordan and Shaq/Kobe?
They desperately needed Wemby. Really sucks the are at the mercy of ping pong ball and the strength of random draft classes.
Reasons why I actually think the Pistons are going to surprise and show a lot more improvement than expected:
1. Monty is gone. That is literally at least 10 extra wins by having a coach who isn’t actively sabotaging the team and the players’ development
2. Shooting has been the team’s biggest issue, and they’ve made a lot of acquisitions this offseason to address that. They’re not sexy names, but Tobias Harris, THJ, Malik Beasley, Simone Fontecchio, Isaiah Stewart, and even their 2nd round pick Bobi Klintman are all actually capable of shooting the ball. They should be able to put together real lineups around Cade with the most spacing he’s ever seen in his career.
3. Ron Holland doesn’t matter. He’s not going to play much this year. He’s a gamble on very high upside, but if he doesn’t work out I don’t think it changes much. This draft sucked and there wasn’t anyone available at 5 who was going to completely change the trajectory of the team, so why not take the shot and hope it pays off.
4. Jaden Ivey was completely horrifically misused last year to the point where I feel like I have no clue if he’s actually bad or not. If Bickerstaff is able to make basic obviously correct decisions, we may be surprised by what he has to offer. He showed some promise his rookie year.
My only concern at this point is defense, because they haven’t addressed that this offseason. Jalen Duren was terrible last year, but it seemed like an effort thing. I think we could get more out of him on a team which isn’t on a historic losing streak. If Cade is able to take less of the offensive load, I think we could see him putting in more effort on defense as well. It’s still most likely going to be bad, but I don’t think it’ll be the worst in the league.
I don’t think they’re going to be a great team by any means. But I’m definitely taking the over on 24.5 wins. I could see a world where they hit 30 if everything goes right.
This roster/staff is an absolute mess and just like most organizations it starts at the top. I watched the entire Tom Gores conference with Trajan the new GM and the new head coach Bickerstaff. I can guarantee they will have to blow this up just like Weaver’s regime. Key factors in the decision making included his willingness to hop on a flight at 2am and come see Gores. What a power play by Gores!!! Then in turn Trajan talked about making Bickerstaff “jump through hoops” including a sleepless night. Like what is the problem with some sleep? I actually prefer my new GM’s/new head coaches get sleep. I bet Pat Riley and Spoelstra sleep 8 hours/night. What a weird boomer mentality. anyone would do that for a 7-8 figure job. The only other discussion is making sure the team is playing “Detroit basketball”. What the hell is that after 15+ years of picking up aging stars, drafting terribly and having a sub .500 record nearly every year.
Also, the Piston’s are obsessed with taking what they believe is the best player in the draft (often wrong), no matter the fit. When I look at teams that are successful they have a system, and they draft the best player often, but always take into consideration how they fit. The Mavs, Spurs, and Warriors are incredible examples of this. This is how you end up with Cade, a playmaking guard who penetrates well, forced to play point and when he gets a foot or two in the lane has sub 35% shooters from 3 all over the floor.
Lastly, Ron Holland is an absolute bust – it looks like his feet are always catching up to him, I am not a fundamentals guy, but good lord this guy is terrible fundamentally, he is poor with spacing, a poor shooter, picks poor times to attack the basket. His only saving grace is sheer leaping ability and a decent ability to finish at the rim.
Sorry as a lifelong pistons fan, I need somewhere to vent.
we know
Pistons swung on talent. In the situation they’re in, I don’t have an issue with it. They took a risk in a perceived weaker draft. That’s the time for a team like Detroit to do it.
He signed his extension.
I think he’ll be okay.
Suggesting an already bad team to blow it up is dumb. Who are they gonna get rid of? If Cade being on the roster isn’t taking you out of the top 5 pick range then trading him isn’t changing anything for you.
Best route is to keep letting these young guys play and hope a few of them hit
Your moms a mess
I don’t really understand what they are building and they obviously need to shake it up a bit.
This is exactly the type of player OKC should be using their stockpiled draft assets on.
Is Cade a solid number 2 on a championship team if you take some of the responsibility off of him/ shot creation?
I think the situation is a mess because Cade hasn’t delivered on the hype. He was supposed to be a transformative guy and they have been dog doo. I feel bad for the season ticket holders that burned their money
I don’t feel sorry for athletes getting paid max
Detroit has a lot of very high upside prospects on their roster that are going to be great trade bait.
Around when they picked Cade they were praised for drafting well and that the turn around was on. Then things stalled.
It’s interesting because there are so many fans in Portland that are critiquing Cronin for not taking big swings in the draft. I thought Sharpe was a major swing and I think that will payoff greatly but if you look at the Pistons, it’s not like they played it safe really with taking guys like Ausur/Ivey/Duren/Holland, all of those guys have the huge upsides because of their athleticism but it’s sort of why I appreciate Cronin going after Clingan and even Camara because drafting complete misses can be so deteriorating in the middle of a rebuild AND you want to have guys that really compliment the face of your franchise. Clingan may not have the crazy two way upside but sometimes its just so unlikely for a player to have everything go right, it may be better to get someone that you know will have a positive long term career and makes players around him better.
Then again, I am not sure who else Detroit was supposed to take the past 3 years. It’s not like there was an obvious person they passed on.
This comment is funny to me because we’re literally out here trying to fix the mess…all the administration moves, Trajan, Bickerstaff, bringing in shooting vets, etc. Cade also has had little consistent play with his injuries.
And Holland/Klintman/Jenkins/Sasser all did great in summer league imo.
Stop tearing these guys down after they’ve dealt with no consistent leadership for 3+ years now.
Was puzzled that they were so quick to give up on Grimes. The quickest way to relevance for a lot of young teams is by having a details oriented coach supremely committed to effort and defense. Grimes is the type of player they need more off. But seeing how they have no direction, that makes more sense.
Oklahoma State greats and terrible Detroit pro teams. Name a better combo…
Detroit is what happens when you draft based on what the mock draft tells you on tankathon. Drafting talent for talent sake doesn’t work when you don’t have a clear vision on what type of team you want to build.
They just got a super star in Tobias Harris, what more do they need?
Cade will grit his teeth for a few more years, play 60 games a season, then ring chase with 200MM in the bank and way fewer miles on the odometer than a lot of his contemporaries.
Acting like we haven’t picked best available every year on the draft. It’s rough when you miss out on players like Paulo or Chet and get left with scraps.
Blow up the roster? Why?
This Anonymous shit anymore is for the birds. You used to be able to get away with it now throw your fucking name on it pussy
There’s still 5/6 rosters I would take the Pistons over right now, and only 1 is in the West.
Brb gonna find a prop bet for Pistons play-in
Cade was drafted in 2021. He’s still on his rookie deal and someone is suggesting he needs to get out of there? They cannot be serious