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.”
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.
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.
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.
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 names that stood out: Clint Capela, Nic Claxton, Tobias Harris, Isaiah Hartenstein, Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Isaac Okoro, Cam Johnson, Mortiz Wagner, Payton Pritchard, Collin Sexton, Dean Wade.
Lots of centers (Detroit needs one) and solid veteran wings (same)
— Sean Corp (@sean_corp) April 16, 2024
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.
What path do you hope the new president of basketball operations takes?
The Detroit Lions’ initial 16-man practice squad has been settled. While the group will undoubtedly change throughout the season, many of the players in that group will likely stick around for the entire season.
Every week, the Lions are allowed to elevate two players from the practice squad and make them part of their gameday roster. Practice squad players are often eventually signed to the 53-man roster, as well.
Given the strength and experience of several players on the practice squad, it seems inevitable that a few players of the current 16 will end up making a difference on Sunday. That’s why general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell continue to call it the 69-man roster (53+16). They’re all important.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: Well, first take a look at the Lions’ practice squad with Erik Schlitt’s fantastic breakdown of each player.
Early in the season, the answer will undoubtedly be Kyle Peko. With Brodric Martin on injured reserve and DJ Reader’s Week 1 status still very much up in the air, Peko is currently in line to be the starting nose tackle—as he has been in training camp for the past month. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him make it on the 53-man roster after Week 1 (the Lions are likely waiting because the salaries of veteran players become guaranteed if they’re on the Week 1 53-man roster).
But he’s the easy answer. Let’s dig a little deeper beyond Peko.
The Lions’ WR-X position remains essentially unfilled among their 53-man roster. Yes, the Lions are likely to play Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Kalif Raymond when they go three wide, but none of those players possess exactly what they’re looking for in the position.
Detroit will continue that WR-X position battle with three practice squadders: Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tim Patrick, and Allen Robinson. Peoples-Jones likely has the early advantage simply for being with the team since late October. However, I think Patrick eventually wins that job and gets added to the 53-man roster. If you need any convincing, check out our 6 Questions with Mile High Report on Patrick’s career.
Who else on the practice squad will have an impact in 2024? Scroll down to the comment section and let us know your thoughts!
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The following scores are collected from either the Michigan High School Athletic Association or the Associated Press. These are scores from Friday, Aug. 30 for Week 1 of the football season.
Metro Detorit football scores from Thursday night of Week 1
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Red Sox
COMMENTARY
The roller-coaster ride is hardly easing back into the station. The 2024 Red Sox, who spent most of their first two-and-a-half months ponging a game either side of .500, feel like they’re returning to their roots.
After two losses Monday, in which they made more errors (6) than runs (4), came two wins. They won a two-hitter, backed by eight Brayan Bello innings, on Wednesday. They lost a two-hitter, Toronto tower Bowden Francis again flirting with history, on Thursday.
“We’re still in the hunt,” manager Alex Cora told reporters.
It will require better baseball than this. At 69-65, a 19-9 run equal to their pre-All-Star peak would mean 88 Red Sox wins. Minnesota (72-61), which hosts Toronto this weekend, has lost eight of 10 and is a .500 team since the start of July. But .500 is about all they need coming home, with a schedule including Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, the Angels … and the Red Sox at Fenway from Sept. 20-22.
That series may only matter to them if the Sox find winning consistency, imminently. The sort that Kansas City has, erasing a seven-game hole in the AL Central to tie Cleveland for first before losing Wednesday. The sort of another from that division, which won 13 of 16 as the Twins skidded to creep into the fringes of the wild-card race.
The Tigers, Boston’s hosts this weekend as we reach September.
“It’s fun. This is why you play the game,” Tarik Skubal, Detroit’s young pitching star, told reporters after Detroit lost on Thursday. “But when you get caught up in that, it takes away from what we need to do. … The standings don’t matter if you don’t win.”
It largely echoes the words of his manager, AJ Hinch, who sounds appreciative that the Tigers are in some form of August postseason chatter for the first time in nearly a decade, but also entirely uninterested in it.
“I just don’t get anxious over what’s ahead. I don’t think about the series ahead. I don’t look to see what-ifs. I live in the moment and I ask our guys to do that and we’ve been very consistent,” he told reporters before Thursday’s loss. “How we respond today matters. What’s ahead doesn’t matter until we get there.”
The manager, Hinch, and his wayward lieutenant, Cora, are closing on four years from the end of their exiles after the Astros trash can spectacle. For some, the link will never disappear.
For others, the tie has grown more toward each trying to steward a young, potential-laden roster into something tangible. Hinch committed to sticking around for the task last winter, signing a long-term deal to stay in Detroit. Cora remained noncommittal to that deep into this season, but signed his extension in July.
The pitching will be the first thing you notice. Detroit has, not unlike the Red Sox, pieced together success despite injuries and departures. Four of the 14 starters used by the Tigers this season are on the injured list, and a fifth (Jack Flaherty) was traded away at the deadline.
The Sox, however, will see them get healthier. Casey Mize, who hasn’t pitched in two months due to a left hamstring strain, is expected to come off the 60-day injured list to start Friday. (He’s looked sharp in rehab work.)
They’ll also see their best — Skubal, the clear favorite to win the AL Cy Young with a 2.58 ERA and all the supporting metrics to back it, is in line for Saturday.
The Sox, for what it’s worth, hit Skubal hard in 2022 (4 2/3 innings, 6 runs) and 2023 (5 1/3 innings, 4 earned runs) visits to Fenway. Rob Refsnyder and Triston Casas slugged homers off him in each game, respectively.
There’ll be no Javier Báez, the Tigers announcing at the beginning of the week he needs right hip surgery. What is it about shortstops signed in the 2021-22 offseason?
Javier Báez (Signed December 2021): 360 games since, .221/.262/.347, 1.9 fWAR
Trevor Story (Signed March 2022): 145 games since, .227/.288/.394, 2.9 fWAR
What there will be is a young roster that, much like the Red Sox, is finding themselves. Detroit’s top five hitters during this year are all pre-arbitration 20-somethings — Zach McKinstry, Matt Vierling, Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson, followed closely by Jake Rogers (all of 29 behind the plate) and Colt Keith, who signed a six-year deal before the season … and before his major-league debut.
“We have a variety of guys on this team. Some who are established and they’ve been here … [and] others that are trying to make a case. We’re trying to do that under the umbrella of, take advantage of all the opportunity you can,” Hinch told reporters earlier this month. “Everything matters.”
Torkelson’s story feels most interesting. The first overall pick in the 2020 draft broke camp with the Tigers as their starting first baseman in 2022. He struggled, but stuck and hit 31 homers in 2023, playing in all but three games.
The struggles came harder this season, and he was demoted to Triple A after Detroit’s June series at Fenway, hitting .201 with strikeouts in nearly a quarter of his at-bats and ugly defensive numbers at first base. He remained in the minors until mid-month, and though he wasn’t overpowering there, he’s hit .311 with seven extra-base hits in 12 games since his recall.
He’s also turned 25 since his recall, a reminder that young players often do not have linear ascensions to their potential. (It’s been argued, somewhat smartly, that the contraction in the minor leagues has made such struggles more common.)
It’s a reminder I dare say fewer of us need after watching the 2024 Red Sox for five months.
These specific three games this weekend likely won’t loom large in the larger paths of these two franchises. Tigers fans are, speaking generally, just happy to be back in the late summer discussion. Red Sox fans are in a bit of a different place given the mood around the franchise and the complaints about its direction, but I suspect they aren’t far off from that either.
A playoff berth, at the best of times this season, was probably a 50-50 proposition. Now, we’re in the phase where we must still humor the idea, even if we know that’s what we’re doing.
What comes next is what matters. Building on this somewhat surprising rediscovery of optimism about the Red Sox, and noting that, actually, there might really be some light on the horizon.
It will not simply rise like the Sun, though. Because there are teams like the Tigers out there, seeing its peak from much the same place these Red Sox are and just as eager (if not more) to shed the darkness.
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