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Should the Detroit Pistons go star hunting this offseason?

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Should the Detroit Pistons go star hunting this offseason?


It is clear that Cade Cunningham need help and that it is unclear if there are more than two or three players on the Detroit Pistons’ current roster capable of giving it to him. Maybe two or three years down the line, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson put it all together and create a perenial playoff team. Do the Pistons have that kind of time to wait? Cunningham is eligible for a max extension soon, and after so much losing it is unclear how much more patience he has for development.

The next question then becomes, what kind of help does Cunningham need? There are two primary avenues here. Down one road, you self off the remaining upside of some your young players, you attach some draft picks, and you grab a star to play as a 1B beside Cade’s 1A.

The other path is to forgo big-game hunting and instead sign players who are much more likely to be named a “Luke Walton All-Star” than to make an actual NBA All-Star team.

This debate had been rattling around in my head for a while when news first started bubbling that Trae Young might be on the trade block in Atlanta. After another disappointing season, it’s clear the Hawks are ready to change the chemistry of the team in a significant way, and moving on from their All-Star point guard for a haul of assets is one path they could take. The Pistons, meanwhile, will always be lumped in as a possible destination because “they have to do something” and “are so desperate they would overpay.”

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When this news hit Pistons fans on social, I was a bit taken aback by how people were firmly on the side of trading for Young if it was possible. If it costs you Ivey and Duren and other assets, be damned. Cade needs someone good to play off of because that will finally turn Detroit’s ship back toward relevance.

Maybe that’s all correct, but my gut instinct is to say no way. Regarding Young, both he and Cade feel like players whose games would be diminished by having to split possessions and both being weaker defenders. It feels like it amplifies weaknesses instead of maximizing strength.

Perhaps another star disappoints in the playoffs and hits the trade market. In fact, can Devin Booker please shoot 8-for-100 in a Suns sweep that also somehow culminates in him getting in a shouting match with both Kevin Durant and Mat Ishbia? Please?

If no stars emerge then what is the optimal pathway for the Pistons? For me, it’s to go the Luke Walton All-Stars route.

I have no illusions about Detroit’s young players being some crop of great young assets. But I do think they’ve all shown signs, and are all so young that you don’t know who or how each player will work alongside Cunningham.

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The problem is not that you have a bunch of 22-year-olds who are not good enough alongside Cade. The problem is that your 22-year-olds are all somehow the best players on your team so when they are struggling you can’t swap them in for something better.

Duren just delivered an atrocious defensive performance for a center, but he spent the entire season with James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley as his backups. Jaden Ivey’s shot frequently abandoned him and his decision-making left a lot to be desired. His backup was Alec Burks, who hemorrhaged points on defense, and Evan Fournier who did the same.

Cunningham had some remarkable turnover issues early in the year and sometimes went very cold from deep. His backup was Killian Hayes (when he wasn’t starting next to him), and he ended up being one of the least efficient guards in NBA history.

I’m not sure the Pistons need a Trae Young. What they need is four more Simone Fontecchis. Players who are capable scorers who complement Cunningham’s (and other young players’) strengths and are natural to above average on defense. They need players better, or at least more reliable on both ends, than Duren, Ivey, Thompson and Sasser.

They need vets to set a standard that the young guys know they need to surpass to get or keep a starting role or to play crunch time in the fourth quarter.

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They need a quality defensive center, an above-average backup point guard, a starting two-way forward, and one or two more depth pieces. The good news is that the team has $60 million to make all that happen. The bad news is that I’m not sure there are $60 million worth of capable free agents who would take their money.

But I don’t personally need a Trae Young trade. I don’t need a Zach LaVine trade. I don’t need Paul George.

Look to the Houston Rockets model. Yes, they spent $200 million in one free agent period and they missed the playoffs. But they didn’t sacrifice young assets, they improved to 41-41 and the vibes are good.

The Rockets didn’t sacrifice much young, but Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Cam Whitmore started a total of 25 games. That’s fewer games started than Killian Hayes.

What about players like Isaiah Hartenstein and Malik Monk? Both are free agents around 26 years old you could reliably offer a big paycheck to and not expect an immediate fall off. Tyus Jones was a forgotten man in Washington, but he had another excellent season. Nic Claxton is a 25-year-old defensive force who might be done in Brooklyn.

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When engaging in what I would call a healthy dialogue about Trae Young and whether he made sense for the Pistons, I floated the idea of a threshold of 2500 total minutes and averaged about .100 win shares per 100 possesions, which is about starter level while not making an All-Star team in the past three seasons.

Some players might be too old and clearly on the downswing, others might be great stopgap candidates. Maybe a buy-low opportunity or a guy like Okoro worth taking a real swing on in a trade.

Is this a reasonable path or is this just a road to nowhere? Generally curious where people fall. I’m all for making a huge swing if the person is right, but I don’t see Young being that guy. Conversely, it’s easy to say a new smart GM can target a bunch of worthwhile free agents, but those guys will have offers from other, much better teams.

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What path do you hope the new president of basketball operations takes?





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Detroit, MI

GM doubles leased space in Detroit Hudson’s building to 4 floors

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GM doubles leased space in Detroit Hudson’s building to 4 floors


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Excitement is growing inside General Motors for the company to relocate from its current world headquarters at the Renaissance Center along the Detroit River to the new Hudson’s Detroit building on Woodward — so much so that the company will now double the space it planned to occupy at the new location, sources said.

GM confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Monday that it plans to lease four floors in the Hudson’s building, rather than the original plan to take up two floors, when it moves into the building either late next year or early 2026.

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“It’s good news that we’re taking up more space in the building for our employees,” a person familiar with the plans told the Free Press. The person asked to not be named because they are not authorized to share this information publicly. “There’s a lot of excitement around it and a lot of folks and teams have raised their hands to say they want to be down there.”

The overall $1.4 billion Hudson’s project is two new side-by-side buildings: A 49-story skyscraper and a wider 12-story “office block.” A total of 1.5 million square feet of space is planned. The developer is Dan Gilbert’s real estate firm Bedrock.

The person familiar with the project said the plans call for a restaurant on the top floor of the office block. GM will now occupy floors 8 through 11. The new world headquarters at the Hudson’s site will be home to GM’s key support corporate staff employees with functions such as communications and accounting, as well as the top executives, the person said. GM salaried employees have been working under a hybrid system since earlier this year under which they are required to be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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As the Detroit Free Press reported in April, the Hudson’s skyscraper tower is expected to contain a 210-room ultraluxury Edition Hotel and about 97 condominiums and apartments. Commercial real estate brochures show each floor in the office tower next door is just under 50,000 rentable square feet. That means, based on standard office space allocation, a 50,000-square-foot office could fit about 285 to 300 people if allowing for 150-175 square feet per person, according to Zippia.com. The number would vary depending on the office layout, desired density and any communal areas such as conference rooms included in the space. 

GM spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed GM’s expansion to four floors, but declined to say how many GM employees will be assigned to the building or other details. In Michigan, GM employs 51,400 people, Kelly said.

In a statement to the Free Press on Tuesday, Kelly said, “GM is proud to call Detroit our global corporate headquarters, as it has since 1911. Hudson’s Detroit is a modern office location that fits the evolving needs of our workforce, and our employees have shared how excited they are about the new location. We now have the opportunity to bring even more people downtown and will expand our HQ offices to about double the size originally planned.”

GM announced it would relocate its world headquarters in April. It will be the anchor tenant at Hudson’s Detroit and have a 15-year lease.

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GM bought its five towers at the RenCen for pennies on the dollar in 1996 without needing a mortgage. In moving, GM walks away from unneeded office space, but it takes on the cost of rent. GM has not provided its operating costs, such as taxes, utilities and janitorial expenses at the RenCen. GM President Mark Reuss said in April that GM would incur costs in the move, but declined to provide specifics or say how much rent GM will pay. 

On Monday, GM released its plans for the RenCen once it relocates. It said the tallest tower would stay standing while two others would be demolished to then remake the iconic complex. The RenCen office space has struggled to stay filled after COVID-19 when many workers went remote and stayed that way. The cost to revamp the complex is $1.6 billion, including $250 million GM seeks in public support.

The development on the Hudson’s site broke ground in December 2017. It is the former site of the landmark J.L. Hudson Co. department store, which closed in 1983 and was imploded in 1998.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. Staff reporter J.C. Reindl contributed to this article.

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Detroit, MI

Lions Are 10.5-Point Favorite Against Bears

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Lions Are 10.5-Point Favorite Against Bears


The Detroit Lions are 10.5-point betting favorites to defeat the Chicago Bears in Week 13.

Last season, the two teams split the games played, with each team winning at home.

Lions center Frank Ragnow expressed it would be nice if he could enjoy Thanksgiving, and that would occur if the NFC North leaders could end their seven-game losing streak playing on the holiday.

“Usually, in the past years it’s been like don’t really want to talk to my family, all upset about everything. So I’d really like to enjoy Thanksgiving. And put on a show for the crowd cause it’s a unique environment and we don’t take it for granted,” Ragnow said. “It’s a special, special game and it’d be really nice to get a W.”

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Dan Campbell indicated the Bears will rely on their defense and sees the many challenges Matt Eberflus’ squad presents.

Lions Not Afraid to Play Emmanuel Moseley All Over Secondary

“This is a tough out. This team plays hard, they’re physical, got a lot of really good players. Offensively, quarterbacks’ playing better, has gotten better, really, every week, these last two weeks playing pretty good ball, efficient,” said Campbell. “He’s got weapons with (DJ) Moore out there and he’s got (wideout Keenan Allen) 13 in the slot and then the rookie, (Cole) Kmet, tight end, O-line is – they’ve been banged up, but they’re back and they’re doing a pretty good job.”

Detroit’s fourth-year head coach expects the Bears to try and find success rushing the football out on the perimeter.

“They’re going to try to run it, get (D’Andre) Swift on the perimeter. Swift’s doing a good job, he’s been a good asset for them,” said Campbell. “And then defensively, it’s kind of the anchor of this team, always has been. This D-line, (Montez) Sweat, those guys up front really bring it.

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“Man, the backers, (T.J.) Edwards flies and hits, (Tremaine) Edmunds, (Jaylon) Johnson’s playing outstanding out on the perimeter,” Campbell continued. “They’ve got (Kevin) Byard who’s playing really well. So, just a ton of good players, run-and-hit defense, good special teams crew and this is going to be a hell of a test. This is going to be a hell of a test.”

Game odds refresh periodically, and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.



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Pistons vs. Raptors final score: Jaden Ivey buzzer beater gets Detroit the win

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Pistons vs. Raptors final score: Jaden Ivey buzzer beater gets Detroit the win


One thing was for certain: the Detroit Pistons were not going to let an offense rebound dictate the outcome of this game. With the score tied at 100 and the clock sitting at 22 seconds, the Pistons gave Jaden Ivey the ball and asked him to win the game. Ivey obliged by hitting a an off-ballance baseline push shot over Ochai Agbaji to give the Pistons the 102-100 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Ivey was the clear star of the game for Detroit. Starting at point guard for the sidelined Cade Cunningham, Ivey scored 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting and dished eight assists. He played smart basketball under control and was the only reason Detroit was in the game to begin with.

After hitting shots early and taking a quick 14-point lead, the Pistons offense abandoned them, and their defensive and rebounding deficiencies were on clear display. Toronto was able to snake past defenders and get second-chance opportunities as the defense struggled to rotate, box out and snare long rebounds.

The game was mostly back-and-forth in the second half with the Pistons spending most of that time trailing anywhere from one to six points. Never too far away but not really able to get over the hump. In truth, among two struggling offenses — Detroit hit 44% from the floor and 32% from deep compared to 39% and 28% for Toronto — the Pistons probably out-executed the Raptors by a hair. But it doesn’t matter if you can’t hit your first shot when you get three to four attempts so many times down the floor.

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Toronto saw 25 of its 100 points come as second-chance points. I can’t remember a time when a team saw a full quarter of their offensive output come via second-chance points, but I saw it tonight. The Raptors had a 23 to 6 offensive rebound advantage. It was repulsive to watch as a Pistons fan.

Detroit, simply, is a pretty small team, and that gets exacerbated when you’re facing a range long-limbed team like Toronto who entered tonight as the NBA’s best offensive rebounding team. Missing Cade Cunningham doesn’t make it any easier as it meant the Pistons were starting Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. on the wings. That’s great if those two veterans are scorching from distance. Tonight, the duo combined to shoot 5-of-19 from deep, mostly courtesy of a horrid 3-of-14 night from Beasley.

The good news for Detroit is, well, the Raptors are not a very good team. Scottie Barnes was the best player on either team with 31 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. The other Raps subsided on putbacks and some timely threes. The second piece of good news for the Pistons is that when they want to, they can defend.

It was a relief to see JB Bickerstaff mostly lean into a defensive lineup in crunch time with both Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson on the floor. It was Ausar’s first NBA action since last March after battling a blood clot issue. Ausar played 16 minutes in total. His first NBA bucket of the season? A corner three, of course. Hey, the shot looked pretty clean.

His second of two baskets was more consequential. Stewart contested a Barnes driving layup and pushed the ball up the floor to Ausar who was able to make a running layup in transition on the other end. The score gave Detroit its first lead since 67-65 with just under 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

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RJ Barrett was able to answer with a 3 on the other end, but Stewart had a another solid contest of a Davion Mitchell layup attempt. The Pistons again pushed the ball and found a driving Ivey, who was able to knife into the lane and tie the score at 98.

The Pistons were again able to deny the Raptors attempting to score at the rim on the next possession down the floor and in a scrum, the Detroit was able to find Malik Beasley who pushed the ball and found Beef Stew who had snuck beyond the defense for a running layup to put Detroit up 100-98.

Scottie Barnes took the ball right to Tobias Harris on the ensuing possession and use his strength and length to muscle up a clean look at the rim to tied the score at 100. That left 22 seconds for Ivey to work his magic.

It was a fitting end for Ivey, who deserves good things to happen after the great start to this season he’s had and the season he survived last year. Detroit has plenty of issues to clean up. Beating a four-win Toronto team who has yet to win on the road at all this season is no panacea. But a win is a win and Detroit needed one after losing three straight.

Detroit’s eighth win of the season means the team could lose its next 31 games and still be ahead of last season’s pace.

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