The Pistons, The Cruise, and Two Polar Opposite Rebuilds.
The Cruise are off to a great start in their regular season (post Winter Showcase), at a 3-1 record as of the writing of this article. The Cruise achieved a 6th seed in the Winter Showcase, losing in the first round in a heartbreaker. Their NBA affiliate and big-brother organization, the Detroit Pistons, are 3-31. A Pistons team that achieved the worst single-season losing streak in NBA history As an organization that shares facilities, players, and even staff—how can one organization with shared goals have such different results?
The Pistons found themselves as the center of attention this holiday season, with their losing streak snowballing to historic levels, ending at 28 in a row—an NBA record.
In this time, their glaring missteps in development and roster construction have become abundantly clear. With each passing game, the delicate confidence of the players, especially the youngest ones, breaks easily by the 4th quarter. Struggling players continue to rack up minutes in hopes their luck changes, and players playing productive basketball have their minutes swiped from them in an instant. This has been a team that struggles with adversity on every level and struggles even more making change when these issues become clear. The Pistons infamous losing streak lasted 62 days, in that time, nothing changed. There have only been claims and promises of change given to fans who remained attentive and loyal through an impossible time to remain supportive. The Pistons have not made a trade, change to front office, or coaching whilst being objectively the worst team in all of North American sports.
In comparison, the Motor City Cruise came into this season with a new head coach, and a completely new identity. Jamelle McMillan wanted to set the tone in his inaugural season as a head coach in the NBA G-League. Said tone being simply that development means winning, and winning means development. Cruise players bought into McMillan before the season even started. Zavier Simpson told the press on media day, “I love coach McMillan you can tell he’s a coach that played the game. You can tell he really thinks he should be out there.” McMillan has been the type of coach young players often seek out during games, always relying on his insight to push them forward, and the results back it up.
Zavier Simpson, Malcom Cazalon celebrating after Simpson’s game winner, Dec 27th 2023. Shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.
The Cruise have created a winning product despite constantly having wrenches thrown in their plans. Their big man Jontay Porter, whom they brought in this summer, played excellent for the Cruise and was a huge part in the Cruise’s early dominance. Porter was the G-League’s Brook Lopez, Porter even told Bullyball that his nickname while in the Bucks’ G-League system was “Jontay Lopez.” However, Porter’s play did not go unnoticed, as he would soon be offered a Two-Way contract by the Toronto Raptors and promptly left Detroit. Since the Cruise tried playing small ball, realized it didn’t work to their advantage and went out and signed Nathan Knight. They weren’t done there as they soon would also trade a 2024 first-round pick for Jayce Johnson, also a skilled big-man. The Cruise receives the jabs of adversity thrown their way and swings back with a hook and an uppercut. Despite the unpredictable nature of the G-League and the fact that (non-two-way) players can leave at a moment’s notice, as G/F David Nwaba recently did (signing a contract overseas), they keep pushing. They’re able to identify what is working, what isn’t working, and what could be working.
Ausar Thompson against the Jazz on December 21st, 2023. Shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.
One of the most puzzling aspects of these polar opposite rebuilds is the fact that these organizations are supposed to feed into each other and help each other develop. Ausar Thompson, since leaving the starting lineup, has seen his minutes deteriorate and his role on the team become muddied. Thompson is a twenty-year-old rookie, who at one point this season was seen as one of the top three best rookies from his class. Having Ausar with no role on the Pistons and having his minutes slip through his fingertips could stunt a rookie’s development, and that is exactly why the G-League exists. The G-League is no longer seen as a demotion or a form of punishment, it is simply a tool for development.
At the writing of this article, seventeen of thirty 2023 first-round picks have been, at one point this season, sent to the G-League. Ausar Thompson’s twin brother, Amen Thompson even has spent time in the G-League. Ausar would benefit from playing the role this organization wants him to play in full, in the G-League instead of being at the bottom of the bench a lot of nights. The same can be said for Marcus Sasser, getting minutes in the G-League would be far better for a player like Sasser whose role is an offensive microwave and defensive pest. These players are people the front office has invested first-round picks into and they need reps. Players won’t just get better by playing 11 minutes a night.
Even someone like Isaiah Livers could benefit from G-League time. Livers is someone the organization, and Troy Weaver specifically, believes in. The unfortunate fact is, Livers hasn’t been himself since returning from injury this season. It’s hard to even cast blame on the third-year forward, he needs time to get his feet under him with minimal pressure. Instead, Livers came into the rotation with the expectation of saving the Pistons horrifying spacing. That takes a mental toll on a player, and his play is affected by such. Livers getting his confidence back in the G-League would be a win-win solution.
Though the roster has its holes and could feel the effects of these players spending time in the G, the Cruise also have players getting big minutes who could be a major help to the Pistons as well. Someone such as Stanley Umude has already proven he belongs on an NBA court, he’s also on a two-way deal which means he can get called up to the Pistons at any time. Jared Rhoden is a bucket-getter and has grown to be an aggressive defender, the Pistons desperately need scoring (110.1 offensive rating) and defense (121.1 defensive rating, 27th in the NBA). Malcolm Cazalon is also on a two-way deal, and could quickly help anchor the perimeter defense, something the Pistons desperately need help with.
The disparity between the two team’s results is astounding, especially knowing they operate as one shared organization. It’s time the Pistons start being honest with themselves. The organization needs to start looking inward and assessing their roster, their future, and start looking at the Motor City Cruise as a tool for their development.