It Must Be Different for The Detroit Pistons.

Original image shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball, 2024.

August, 2024- During a Q&A at a Detroit Pistons youth camp in Northville, Michigan, in the dog days of the NBA off-season, a high-pitched voice called out. 

“Who is the hardest player you have ever had to guard?”

This high pitched query was directed towards the Pistons’ latest top 5 pick, Ron Holland. 

Ron Holland at a Pistons Academy Event in Northville, Michigan. Shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.

Answering without hesitation, Holland replied, “Cade Cunningham.” 

Since July 29th 2021, the metaphorical keys to the Detroit Pistons’ storied franchise have been in the hands of a kid from Arlington, Texas. The consensus number one overall pick since high school, the “next Luka Doncic” to some, and the prophetic savior to Detroit Pistons faithful and front office’s hopes of restoration to the glory days. 

Cade Cunningham has had to bear the weight of being labeled a basketball messiah for a franchise that has needed saving since the George Bush administration. An ironclad trust and faith was placed into Cunningham from before his first season in the NBA ever began. 

Ironically, Cunnigham inherited the responsibility from another 5 star prospect who went to college in Oklahoma, Blake Griffin.

Griffin exited the franchise a few months before the Pistons were gifted the number one pick, after serving four seasons with the franchise, which ultimately led to the former All-Star’s early retirement this past summer. 

In 2018, Blake Griffin had been unexpectedly traded from Los Angeles to Detroit in the middle of their notorious winters. 

The former NBA MVP candidate was brought to Detroit in a desperation heave from owner Tom Gores and former head coach/President of Basketball of Operations Stan Van Gundy. Blake Griffin was to lead this franchise out of irrelevance and bring interest back to the team.

At this time, the franchise was middling and directionless after a move downtown into Little Caesars Arena. Ticket sales were near the bottom of the league after the move to Detroit from Auburn Hills, and diehard fans of the franchise saw the move as further straying from what they identified as “Pistons basketball.” 

Still, Griffin approached the new destination with the same insatiable drive. He was tasked to go to work with a mediocre roster, a brand new coach (after Van Gundy’s firing), and the weight of all the expectations. 

With this weight on his back, Griffin played the best basketball of his career until his knee buckled from carrying the franchise on his back all season. Griffin played through a meniscus tear that ‘couldn’t get any worse’ to try and earn the team their first playoff win in a decade against the juggernaut Milwaukee Bucks.

A standing ovation when Griffin checked out for the final time that series, where the Detroit faithful truly embraced the former Clipper as one of their own.

In the end, Griffin was failed by the Pistons due to a lack of direction, aggressiveness, and priorities not set in basketball. The offense relied solely on Griffin to be its’ engine, to do almost everything for them.

By the next season, Griffin’s prime had ended with his meniscus tear and his career would end a few short years later. 

This time would certainly be different though. 

Cunningham was young, with no significant injury history, able to carry the franchise upon his shoulders. 

Until after one season, Cunningham suffered a fracture in his shin that, if he elected to get surgery, would end his sophomore campaign 11 games in. It was after a conversation with Tim Hardaway Jr, who suffered the same injury during his career, that Cunningham chose to get the surgery. 

Tim Hardaway Jr at Pistons 2024 Media Day, Shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.

“I didn’t want him to make the same mistakes I did,” Hardaway Jr told the Pistons media room in September.

Cunningham did not make the same mistake Griffin made either, he did not risk his long-term health for a team that could not give him a proper direction.

So, the Oklahoma State alum returned for the 2023-24’ season after a disastrous 17 win campaign for the team following Cunningham’s surgery. There was no Victor Wembanyama dawning the red white and blue despite having the worst record in the association. More importantly, there were no significant roster changes.

Instead, the Pistons swooned Monty Williams away from his initial decision to take time away from coaching with a record-breaking contract.

Cunningham was to inherit mostly the same roster as the previous year, this time with the expectation of competitiveness.

This time would certainly be different.

As the world remembers, the Pistons went on to play the worst season in franchise history.

At one point, the team went over two calendar months without a win, breaking the NBA’s single season losing streak record. 

By the end of the season, fans of the team were relieved the suffering and embarrassment of the season were mercifully over.

For the first time in his tenure as owner of the team, Tom Gores had to look inward.

This could not happen again.

Tom Gores at Trajan Langdon’s Intro Press Conference, shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.

The Pistons announced their intent to hire a new President of Basketball Operations, a title that landed with Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon. Langdon was the first to inherit the title of President of Basketball Operations since Van Gundy departed the franchise in 2018.

Gores repeatedly referred to Langdon as the “CEO” of the franchise, making Langdon’s sole control on basketball operations known.

Publicly making sure the perception of ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ ends with the beginning of this new tenure.

This time has to be different.

JB Bickerstaff at his introductory press conference, shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.

JB Bickerstaff would become the 37th head coach in Pistons history, announcing an intent to return to “Pistons basketball” upon his arrival. Him and Langdon shared laughs at his introductory press conference and seemed to share a common goal.

Building a culture before building expectations.

“I want this (practice facility) to be a place guys look forward to coming to every day,” Bickerstaff declared.

Bickerstaff put specific plans into motion from the moment he got to Detroit, going to Vegas for Summer League and emphasizing the importance of comradery.

An offseason full of team building from a roster construction standpoint, from an on-court standpoint, and from an off-the-court standpoint,

For years, buzzwords around the team’s identity have repeatedly been thrown at the Pistons faithful in hopes of sparking excitement for the team.

It was just, last year Monty Williams and Troy Weaver emphasized the importance of defense and limiting mistakes as a key part of their identity moving forward.

The Pistons ranked last in opponent points off turnovers and in the bottom five in defensive rating.

Detroit also outwardly emphasized the young core it drafted over the years, such as former 5th overall pick, Jaden Ivey.

Jaden Ivey in a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.  Shot by Zariq Turner for Bullyball.

Ivey was Detroit’s answer to their prayers on draft night. Despite falling to 5 in the draft lottery, the team happened upon a talent they thought would go fourth at the latest.

He was seen as the perfect compliment to Cunningham’s playstyle, the electric guard would provide scoring in ways his backcourt partner could not.

Fire and ice.

Despite an impressive All-Rookie campaign, Ivey’s sophomore season was filled with head-scratching decisions around his play time and usage.

A year of development down the drain and the former Boilermaker’s confidence seemed to be next to it.

This year is different though.

Bickerstaff raved on Ivey’s ability on his very first day and has since become more of a fan of his. Stories of how Ivey almost worked ‘too hard’ during the offseason seem to have connected with JB and his staff.

Coming into the 2024 season, Ivey has a visual boost in his confidence. The guard had an outstanding preseason performance, shooting 61% from the field and 53% from three.

Already, there seem to be tangible semblances of change within the Pistons’ culture.

“It feels different,” Cunningham told the Pistons media room on media day.

The sentiment was evident with teammates joking with each other, and there was a sense of joy within the Pistons media room there hadn’t been found in recent memory.

Players like Tobias Harris, who was traded for Blake Griffin in 2018 contribute to this new, but familiar environment. Harris signed with the team this summer, after being lambasted by the Philly faithful during his time with the 76ers.

Harris comes to Detroit with a chip on his shoulder to prove he is not who his critics paint him as. Something Tobias shares with the team itself.

The Pistons are the sole professional Detroit sports team to not find themselves with upward momentum coming into the new season.

The Lions are Super Bowl contenders, the Red Wings were a tiebreaker away from a playoff appearance, and the Tigers shocked the world by making the ALDS.

There is a sense of momentum around the city as a whole, and the Pistons may be on their last straw with their dedicated fans. It is do or die in the eyes of Detroit sports fans, as the Pistons became the joke of the city within the last few years.

The players can feel this too, the Pistons aren’t ready to be left behind.

“This city is changing, and we want to make a push this season,” Jaden Ivey told Bullyball on media day.

Talk is cheaper than ever, and words only travel so far.

This time will have to be different for the Pistons, or the likelihood of an entire generation missing out on what ‘Pistons basketball’ used to signify becomes far more likely.