The Detroit Pistons were feeling a ton of pressure to improve the roster this summer. They had exceeded all expectations last season, but had ultimately come up short in the playoffs. This meant that with a few offseason moves, they could push themselves to the Tier 1 of title contenders in the Eastern Conference.
The front office has certainly made moves to change the roster, but whether they did enough to improve it is another question.
Barring an unexpected series of moves, the Pistons will likely wrap up the offseason once they re-sign Jalen Duren. If that is indeed the plan, this would be a major missed opportunity.
Are the Pistons better than they were last season?
This means that the Pistons would start next season with the same starting lineup from a year ago, except for a John Collins-Tobias Harris swap. As things stand now, it will likely be Daniss Jenkins, Isaiah Joe, Ron Holland, and Paul Reed off the bench, with one of Ebuka Okorie, Kevin Huerter, and Javonte Green coming in as the tenth man.
That is essentially an Isaiah Joe-Isaiah Stewart swap off the bench. Sure, Collins and Joe provide more dynamism and shooting, but it's difficult to imagine this being enough to put Detroit into the top tier of title contenders.
Detroit still has a very deep and talented roster. They should continue to be a dominant regular-season team. But have they addressed their clear weaknesses? Is there really significantly more playmaking and shot creation on this team? How much is the team's half-court offense in the playoffs really going to improve after these additions?
Except for the decision to sign Kevin Huerter to a three-year, $27 million deal, none of the Pistons' offseason moves were particularly questionable. It's just that when looked at as a whole, it's not the most inspiring set of transactions.
Free agents Collin Gillespie, Norman Powell, and Landry Shamet all signed team-friendly deals that the Pistons could afford. Anfernee Simons, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Luke Kennard have all signed for less than Huerter and probably would have helped Detroit more.
The trade market was also robust this summer. Considering how little it took to trade for Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard, it's reasonable to suggest that the Pistons should have pursued either star. Even if Leonard didn't want to sign an extension in Detroit, it would have been a worthy gamble for the Pistons for the price it took the Raptors to acquire him.
How available they were on the trade block and what it would have taken to acquire them is unclear, but not being more aggressive to trade for Trey Murphy or Kyrie Irving could come back to bite Detroit. Or the Pistons could have taken advantage of Denver's desperate need to shed salary and buy low on Cam Johnson.
The Eastern Conference will be much more competitive next season. Toronto, Philadelphia, and Miami all reloaded with All-NBA stars. The Pacers are getting their superstar back. The Celtics are still the Celtics and will have Jayson Tatum closer to 100%. The Knicks are the reigning champs and are bringing back their core.
To compete with that group, the Pistons should have swung big. Betting on continuity and team chemistry after a 60-win season would have been understandable if the playoffs weren't a major disappointment for Detroit. They lost to a Cavs team that looked completely helpless against the Knicks in the next round. The Pistons showed how far they were from being championship contenders two months ago, and unfortunately, they haven't done enough to change that reality so far.
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