NBA Playoffs Round 1. (3) New York Knicks vs. (6) Detroit Pistons

[Hongbit]

Cade missed a single contested layup at the end and now he’s complete trash and his future is a question mark? 

Yes, he missed a bunch of wide open shots earlier but if makes that one bucket at the end, none of you are questioning him.
 

I get emotions are high but dogging one of the top 10 seasons by a player in Pistons history all over a single play is ****ing stupid.  You are all better than that. 

[buddha]

2 minutes ago, Hongbit said:

Cade missed a single contested layup at the end and now he’s complete trash and his future is a question mark? 

Yes, he missed a bunch of wide open shots earlier but if makes that one bucket at the end, none of you are questioning him.
 

I get emotions are high but dogging one of the top 10 seasons by a player in Pistons history all over a single play is ****ing stupid.  You are all better than that. 

he's not a question mark, but he played like garbage in crunch time and needs to play better for them to win.

[Deleterious]

Gotta tip the hat to Brunson.  Thompson is going to make multiple all defensive teams in the future, and Brunson put him on skates. 

[RatkoVarda]

Next year’s team, still very young:

C – Duren (21), Stewart (24)

PF – Harris (33)

SF – Thompson (22), Holland (20)

SG – Ivey (23)

PG – Cunningham (24)

6 of top 7 have their best ball ahead of them.

IMO Sasser (25), Fontecchio (29), Klintman (22) are not current or even future rotation guys, happy to be proven wrong.

Needs: 1. Better 3-point shooting from every position. 2. PF of the future. 3. Continued growth: Ivey, Thompson and even Duren IMO have pretty high ceilings. 4. G who can allow Cade to rest, occasionally play off ball; could be Ivey?

Picks - They traded their 1^st and 2^nd round picks; they have Toronto’s 2^nd (37), and lots of 2nd round picks '28 to '31 to move up

Trade - Sasser, Fontecchio, Klintman combined only make $13M

Cap space -If they renounce everyone they have ~$28M

Either Schoeder or Beasley returning might make sense if $ and years are logical. But neither of them would be my 1^st choice to fill their roles.

[papalawrence]

Disappointed, but last year at this time I never thought Det would have such a season. They'll learn from this. Tip my cap to Brunson and the Knicks. Hope they find a way to take down Boston

[Deleterious]

 

[Deleterious]

 

[Deleterious]

 

[Shinzaki]

Beasley is the Pistons version of Jamaal Williams.  Great guy..loves the city..gives you some great moments...but ultimately,  you need someone better to become a legit threat

[Deleterious]

 

[Deleterious]

Sorry to hear Steph passed away.

 

[Deleterious]

 

[Motor City Sonics]

7 hours ago, buddha said:

he's not a question mark, but he played like garbage in crunch time and needs to play better for them to win.

And I am sure he doesn't need anyone to tell him that.  He knows.   Now we see what he's made of.   We know he's got the talent but does he have the will to destroy to get to the next level?   We'll find out.     They can't sit still.  They have to find ways to get a couple players here.  Gotta be creative.   We won't get any stars to come here, Detroit's not a glamourous place, even though it's better.   Gotta find the right mix of guys.   They have encouraging youth with Cade, Thompson, Holland, Duren and Ivey to build around.  

[buddha]

everyone assumes linear growth but that doesnt always happen.

if they have a chance to get a "superstar" player next to cade they should take it.  

depends on who it is, of course...but if giannis comes free?  you have to try to make it happen.

[Deleterious]

Yep.  Go get a star if you can. 

Ivey had a nice 30 game run.  But who knows how his season would have ended.  Plus, he is a bit small and defense is a question.

Duren was OK this series but lets not pretend he didn't need to be hidden on Hart.

Stew is locked in at $15 million per year for the next 3 years.  Almost no interest in moving him.

Thompson might be the least likely player I would trade at this point.  He is basically our only point of attack defender at this point. 

Holland basically just plays hard at this point.  Very young though.

They don't have cap room to land a star so it will have to come via trade if it comes. 

[Deleterious]

Stars are max contract guys.  Here are the three levels of max contracts for this summer:

1-6 years service is 25% of the cap or $38.5 million.  But these guys are restricted and almost never move via free agency.

7-9 years of service is 30% of the cap or $46.2 million.

10+ years of service is 35% of the cap or $53.9 million

That is the cap space you need this summer to sign a max guy

[Deleterious]

I'm getting yelled at but one more thing.

People listing our cap space this year are not counting on Cade making all nba.  The extension he signed last summer becomes a lot bigger if he makes all nba.  You will need to subtract another $9 million off of any cap number currently being reported if ne makes one of the all nba teams. 

[RatkoVarda]

Stewart is so underpaid, all teams in cap hell will be eyeing him. Don't get pick swaps below; Lakers and Pistons will have comparable regular season records over the next 3 years.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/lakers-need-to-overhaul-roster-around-luka-doncic-and-lebron-james-5-trade-targets-for-la-054728537.html 

The proposal- Lakers receive: Stewart, Lindy Waters III

Pistons receive: Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent, Shake Milton and two pick swaps in 2026 and 2028

Beef Stew and LeBron James may have some, well, beef dating back to the 2021 tussle in which both were suspended, but if James wants an elite rim protector, it’ll be harder to find one better than Detroit’s 23-year-old center.

Stewart took a backseat to rising star Jalen Duren in 2024-25, but with a near 7-foot-5 wingspan, Stewart remains a monster in the paint. This past season, Stewart led all players in defensive field-goal percentage at the rim, allowing just 46% shooting by the basket while nearby, according to NBA.com player-tracking data (min. over 200 shots defended).

As for the Pistons, they acquire much-needed backcourt depth (Dennis Schröder, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley are all free agents) and one of the most promising young shooters in Knecht to flank Cade Cunningham. I could see the Pistons demanding a first-round pick if they were to part with Stewart, but Knecht’s upside as a sharpshooter could be enough.

[Deleterious]

I think its great that Rob Pelinka is writing for Yahoo Sports now.  Pistons shouldn't even respond if that was the offer. 

[buddha]

its another "what would make the lakers better" articles.

you only consider that if you think knecht will be a star.  pistons can find shooting on the market without having to deal stewart.

[Betrayer]

Discussion of Ausar's impact on this game and mind-boggling decision by JB to take him out. Second segment is about Cade for those who are doubting him after his first playoff series:

 

[RatkoVarda]

ESPN ranks Pistons future draft pick assets as 7th best.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44938717/nba-draft-asset-rankings-stacking-all-30-teams-pick-collections

Edited yesterday at 04:12 PM by RatkoVarda

[NYLion]

14 hours ago, Hongbit said:

Cade missed a single contested layup at the end and now he’s complete trash and his future is a question mark? 

Yes, he missed a bunch of wide open shots earlier but if makes that one bucket at the end, none of you are questioning him.
 

I get emotions are high but dogging one of the top 10 seasons by a player in Pistons history all over a single play is ****ing stupid.  You are all better than that. 

Cade is being paid to be a superstar player, he's the guy you are hoping to lead a championship core so I think it's fair to question if he is indeed a #1 option on a championship contender going forward when he continually got outplayed in the clutch while also acknowledging that this was his first playoff so we should give him time. It's an honest concern to have based on what we saw in this series.

Putting antics aside, look at what Brunson did. That's what you need from a star to take the game over, Cade really hasn't proven to have a killer instinct yet in his career. He's a very good player but the Pistons need him to be a star going forward or their ceiling is limited. I do think it's hard to really judge him because the supporting cast with Ivey in particular out was undermanned but I'd like to see more take over mentality from him going forward, he's just too lackadaisical at times.

Edited 23 hours ago by NYLion

[Deleterious]

 

[Betrayer]

3 hours ago, NYLion said:

Cade is being paid to be a superstar player, he's the guy you are hoping to lead a championship core so I think it's fair to question if he is indeed a #1 option on a championship contender going forward when he continually got outplayed in the clutch while also acknowledging that this was his first playoff so we should give him time. It's an honest concern to have based on what we saw in this series.

Putting antics aside, look at what Brunson did. That's what you need from a star to take the game over, Cade really hasn't proven to have a killer instinct yet in his career. He's a very good player but the Pistons need him to be a star going forward or their ceiling is limited. I do think it's hard to really judge him because the supporting cast with Ivey in particular out was undermanned but I'd like to see more take over mentality from him going forward, he's just too lackadaisical at times.

To be fair, he's not actually being paid to be a superstar just yet. That starts next season 😄

Maybe that's being silly, but it really is the primary point here. He's 23 years old just finishing his rookie contract. 

To act like he should match or outplay Brunson in his first playoff series is ridiculous on many levels. First, Brunson is 28 years old on team that has the gravity of KAT, OG, and Bridges to help him remain in 1-on-1 coverage. The Pistons weren't blitzing him with doubles and traps all series like the Knicks were able to do to Cade. It was just Ausar or Shroeder on an island.

Even with that, Cade averaged 25 pts, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 stocks on 43% shooting compared to Brunson's 32 pts, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, and .5 stocks on 44% shooting. Sure, Brunson is a better scorer in the clutch right now and his points are there to show it, but they aren't light years apart and Cade has him on all of the other numbers while playing both ends of the court unlike Brunson.

And I'll repeat, he did that in his first NBA playoff appearance while still on his rookie contract with no real help. It's no surprise he ran out of gas in the 4th on most nights. Meanwhile Brunson is 28 years old having been to the playoffs for the past 5 seasons, while on a team stacked full of high gravity players built to contend for a championship.

What Cade did in these playoffs was actually quite remarkable and should be commended.