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Dec 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey (23) celebrates the victory against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Detroit Pistons Insider Shares Important Perspective on ‘Big Moves’

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Justin Grasso | Last updated May 26, 2025 3:48 PM ET

When it comes to the Detroit Pistons, many expected improvements to be made after a 14-win season in 2023-2024. After some major changes up top and a couple of tweaks to the young roster, the Pistons took a major leap by tripling their win total and cracking the playoffs as the sixth seed.

Now, many are ready to see the Pistons make a big move by acquiring a seasoned star to play alongside Cade Cunningham. Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon already said it would likely take a trade to strike a big deal for a notable co-star.

However, Langdon made it very clear that’s not currently in the plans for the Pistons.

Pistons Insider Shares an Important Perspective

Watching the Pistons have a quiet offseason after seeing their clear shortcomings in a tough round-one series against the New York Knicks might frustrate a few fans.

But one thing to keep in mind is that the Pistons weren’t fully healthy. Two prominent players were not available when the team needed them the most. Isaiah Stewart made his postseason debut in Game 1, but a knee injury sidelined him for the next five games.

Then, there’s Jaden Ivey, who missed pretty much all of the 2025 side of the schedule. On New Year’s Day, Ivey suffered a leg injury, which required surgery. He wasn’t cleared for basketball activities until the Pistons were in the thick of their first-round series against New York.

Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press recently penned a piece suggesting that Ivey’s return to action should be viewed as the Pistons’ “big offseason splash.”

“Ivey has a chance to have a big free agent-like impact on a team that missed his scoring and playmaking, at times, while continuing to stack wins,” wrote Sankofa. “… The version of Ivey the Pistons saw this season — shooting better than 40% from 3, finding ways to impact the scoreboard with and without Cade Cunningham and picking up opposing ball-handlers fullcourt — is a player the team can build around.”

Since joining the Pistons in 2022, Ivey has started most of his games. He managed to fill up the stat sheet, but did it in meaningless games. Ivey was in the same conversation as Cade Cunningham, who struggled to land in the All-Star conversation because his stats seemed empty—contributing to nothing important as the Pistons racked up losses at a high rate.

Once Detroit started playing meaningful basketball, the narratives shifted. Cunningham played better and was rewarded with an All-Star and All-NBA nod.

Ivey’s start to the year was slightly better than his first two seasons, and he was viewed as a Most Improved Player favorite before going down after 30 games.

It became clear that Ivey and Cunningham can thrive as Detroit’s starting backcourt. When the games became more meaningful, Ivey played a key role in maintaining that early-season success. There might be some more growing pains along the way, but the Pistons would certainly be wise to five the Ivey-Cunningham pairing another year to figure it out.