Not so long ago, the Detroit Pistons were the NBA's laughing stock. Once considered perennial championship contenders, the Pistons found themselves stuck as bottom feeders with no clear path up.
The talent was there. They had an elite building block in Cade Cunningham, but a string of questionable moves and misfortunes often seemed to hold the team back. That finally changed two years ago.
With mostly the same core, the Pistons won the most games in the Eastern Conference last season, once again proving that patience helps those who stay true to their vision. Ironically, the Pistons' newfound success may have also sparked a new era in Chicago Bulls basketball.
The Bulls avoided tanking because of the Pistons
According to a report by ESPN insider Jamal Collier, former Bulls executives Marc Eversley and Arturas Karnisovas used the Pistons as an example of why tanking didn't work. Instead of realizing that they weren't good enough to compete, they got stuck in a mediocrity spiral of bad signings and even worse draft picks:
"Sources close to Karnisovas and Eversley said the executives were skeptical about tanking as a real strategy. They said Karnisovas and Eversley repeatedly pointed to their longtime rival as a reason," Collier wrote.
"The Detroit Pistons endured five straight losing seasons from 2019 to 2024, averaging 18.8 wins per season. There were no guarantees in the draft, they said. No guarantees the years of misery would pay off. Instead, the front office targeted young players with experience, onetime high picks with something left to prove."
Ultimately, and inevitably, that led to a new front office taking over. The Bulls had countless opportunities to build through the draft, but they chose to make failed bids at the NBA Play-In Tournament and playoffs instead.
In fact, they could've landed the Dallas Mavericks' No. 1 pick in the Cooper Flagg draft, but they opted to compete for the Play-In Tournament. Meanwhile, their lifelong rivals in Detroit were reaping the benefits of their rebuilding process.
It's hilarious to think how different things could've been in Chicago if they hadn't thought they were so above the Pistons. The Bad Boy days are gone, and it's been a while since Michael Jordan couldn't get past his woes in Michigan, but after all these years, the Pistons are still tormenting the Bulls.
Now, the Bulls are back to building from scratch. They have a wasted first-round pick in Noa Essengue, which, again, could've been Cooper Flagg, and a bunch of first and second-year players trying to establish themselves in the game.
The Pistons, on the other hand, have a true superstar leading the way, an ever-improving supporting cast of young players also looking like stars in the making, and have already gotten a taste of what it's like to be on top of the Eastern Conference. Maybe the Bulls will want to take a page out of their book now.
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