The 2024-25 Detroit Pistons were a nice story, but it's time the organization went from an up-and-coming feel-good team to a true Eastern Conference contender. For that to happen, serious improvements need to occur. While GM Trajan Langdon made several noteworthy offseason moves, how much better the team will be from last season remains to be seen.
Malik Beasley's future in Detroit and the NBA in general remains uncertain. The Pistons also lost Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schröder, and Simone Fontecchio in free agency. The additions of Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson will certainly help, but Detroit's most glaring weakness is still unsolved.
Shooting Remains the Biggest Question for the Pistons
Last season, the Pistons ranked as a below-average team in all shooting metrics. They ranked 22nd in the NBA in three-point attempt rate and 20th in three-pointers made. They were 17th in the league in shooting percentage from downtown with 36.2%. As a result, they were a mediocre offensive team, ranking 16th in offensive rating.
Despite already being a poor shooting team, the Pistons lost their two best shooters this summer. Beasley and Hardaway accounted for 487 of the team's 1,051 three-pointers made for the season. That is 46.3% of the team's made shots from behind the arc for the entire campaign. While Duncan Robinson will help with his three-point volume and accuracy, that is a ton of production to replace. Plus, Robinson's shortcomings elsewhere on the court make it difficult to play him for extended minutes.
The Pistons have a lot invested in Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland. Thompson has already flashed signs of being one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, while Holland looks like a solid lottery pick. Yet, neither player is a threat from downtown. Add in the fact that Detroit plays a non-shooting center at all times between Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, and that neither Jaden Ivey nor Caris LeVert is a high-level shooter for their positions, and the Pistons' big problem becomes very obvious.
Even though Cade Cunningham has emerged as a very good shooter, having your best player as your best shooter is not an ideal proposition in the NBA. Instead, the rest of your team needs to be spacing the floor for your best player to operate.
As dangerous and young a team as the Pistons have built, they haven't necessarily put the right pieces around Cunningham for the All-Star guard to be fully optimized. The lack of shooting could be very costly for Detroit as the team looks for its first playoff series win since 2008. Let's hope ignoring this problem doesn't come back to bite them.