What is the ideal lineup for the Detroit Pistons around Cade Cunningham?

It’s official, we are deep into the dog days of the bleakest time of the year for sports. Sure, the recently concluded Olympics were a nice summer distraction, but we are at the point in the year where sports news is typically relegated to NFL training camp reports (the 7th-round wide receiver who’s “catching everything,” anyone? ) and baseball highlights.

Don’t blink, though, because before you know it, the crisp fall air will be here, and football will be kicking off, meaning the NBA won’t be trailing far behind. This autumn, we will embark on a season that aims to bring progress to the Motor City and uncover answers to important questions regarding the organization’s direction.

The Detroit Pistons have a collection of interesting young talent, but the pieces have not shown that they necessarily fit together to this point. To be fair, injuries and head-scratching coaching decisions have played roles in the uncertainty to this point. With extensions looming for the likes of Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and others to follow, it is critical that the Pistons determine what they have on the roster and who is worth investing in going forward. With that thinking in mind, I will outline the lineups and possible rotations that will help the Pistons capitalize on development.

Starters: Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Simone Fonteccio, Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren

With this lineup, I am leaning heavily into allowing the combination of Cade Cuningham and Jaden Ivey to sink or swim. After two years, the young backcourt has played less than a full season together, and have spent very limited time on the court as a pair even when both have been healthy due to former coach Monty Williams’ strange affinity for Killian Hayes last season.

Clearly, there are some question marks in this lineup, with the main ones being spacing and defense. In order for this lineup to work, it will require improvement in both areas from Ivey and Jalen Duren. As previously stated, each has a lot to prove this season, and the organization has to decide quickly whether or not each player will be a part of their long-term plans. If Ivey can knock down catch and shoot threes consistently and be at least a competent team defender, and if Duren can morph into an average rim protector, then suddenly this lineup looks really interesting. Harris provides secondary scoring alongside Cade and Ivey, while both he and Fonteccio provide spacing, court awareness, and serviceable defense on the wing, not to mention size. Ivey brings sorely needed secondary playmaking and rim pressure, while Duren remains a high-level lob threat and rebounder who has flashed some playmaking chops and grab-and-go ability.

If Ivey and Duren show they are incapable of growing in the aforementioned areas, then this lineup should be abandoned by January. But the organization needs to throw them into the deep end, and give them the chance to be the reason that this lineup works. Both are talented, and both have shown flashes of defense and, in the case of Ivey, shooting. Now is the time for each of them to prove to the new front office regime that they are both players worth building around and that they can support Cunningham. This lineup will work only if the two third-year players can make it work.

Second Unit: Ivey, Malik Beasley, Fonteccio, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart

As the current roster stands, all signs point to Jaden Ivey being the de facto backup point guard behind Cade Cunningham. New coach JB Bickerstaff has hinted that he will stagger the two guards, similar to how he has done so with Donavon Mitchell and Darius Garland in Cleveland. Continuing with the sink-or-swim theme here, this is Ivey’s chance to show that he can be trusted to run the team for stretches when Cade is on the bench. He played much of his rookie season on the ball and was productive, yet also careless with the ball at times. In the opportunities that he got to do so last year, it was more of the same.

This lineup provides Jaden with solid space to operate in, as Stewart has proven capable of being a stretch five, and Fonteccio and Beasley are both marksmen from downtown. Defense is a concern here, especially in the backcourt with Ivey and Beasley. However, in theory, this can be partially mitigated by Thompson and Stewart. With his otherworldly athleticism, Thompson is capable of providing secondary rim protection with his athleticism and instincts. Stewart remains a switchable big who can protect the rim in spurts. This lineup also represents possibly the best way to utilize Thompson’s skillset on offense. Giving Ausar the opportunity to play as a small ball four with good spacing around him could unlock him as a playmaker as a roller, where he proved to be dangerous as a rookie. It is also the best way to force defenses to pay attention to him and reduce the amount of time defenders sag off of him on the perimeter. This lineup could also heavily feature Cunningham instead of Ivey, depending on how Bickerstaff decides to divvy up their minutes. Regardless, this rotation is set up in a way that both of Detroit’s young guards have adequate spacing around them at all times.

An important side note is this; I see Harris and Fonteccio’s minutes being staggered in a similar manner to Cade and Jaden. This means that Ron Holland would likely start the season out of the rotation, meaning he could have a chance to start the year in the G league. It also would mean that two of Malik Beasley, Marcus Sasser and Tim Hardaway Jr., may find themselves on the outside looking in for minutes at the beginning of the year. Remember, this is a good problem to have! The organization has actual depth that consists of real NBA players for the first time since Blake Griffin was still making all NBA teams.

Holland can be brought along slowly and won’t be thrown into the fire the way past lottery picks have. Injuries happen, trades happen, and I believe the number five overall pick will be getting regular minutes before it’s all said and done.

Shooting Heavy: Cunningham, Beasley, Ausar, Harris, Stewart

With this lineup, the Pistons have four players who are league-average or above from deep while boasting solid length and switchability along the perimeter. It would also serve as one of the lineup combinations that would allow the Pistons to maximize their young star’s game and allow his strengths to be on full display. Cunningham would have ample spacing around him to open up driving lanes, and to operate out of the pick and roll. Harris remains a professional scorer who is capable of being a quality second option in a lineup. He can get his own shot when needed, and would be able to take some of the scoring load off of Cade. Defensively, the combination of Thompson and Stewart would (hopefully) mitigate the poor defense of Beasley and the inconsistent defense of Cade. And again, due to the spacing around him, Ausar would have the opportunity to flourish as a lob threat and short roll passer while Stewart can drag an opposing team’s big out to the perimeter with his threat to shoot. Additionally, thinking of the bigger picture here, this lineup would feature a lot of guys who know how to play. This group should be a lower turnover outfit that plays solid team defense. This would be a good alternate lineup for when Detroit is attempting to protect a lead in crunch time.

Defense Heavy: Cunningham, Harris, Ron Holland, Thompson, Stewart

To me, this is a lineup that the team might deploy when they’re looking for a spark or are down double digits and looking to create turnovers to get out in transition. Although Holland and Thompson are both poor shooters at this stage, their combination of defense and athleticism would be tantalizing on the floor together, at least for stretches. Wouldn’t seeing the two of them on the floor together be fun? The thought of the Pistons’ two most recent lottery picks suffocating the opposing team’s perimeter creators would have most coaches drooling. The key is, however, putting enough spacing around them to compensate for their shooting deficiencies. If he were looking for a spark or brief change of pace, Bickerstaff may be inclined to gamble with Harris and Stewart around them, or he may swap out Beasley/Hardaway Jr. for Harris. All of those options are league average or better from downtown and would provide Cuningham with at least some spacing. Besides, when you remember that the Pistons started Ausar, Duren, and Killian Hayes alongside Cade for much of last year, it makes this lineup look like the 2017 Golden State Warriors in comparison.

Holland and Thompson’s activity and athleticism would allow the Pistons to come up with blocks and steals, while getting out in transition. Additionally, both are good cutters, which could allow for some easy buckets in the half court.

Yes, the lineups that I presented may not prove to be the most “win now” centric groups that the Pistons can trot out. But given the team’s current standing, that is more than ok. This season needs to be defined by their internal development partnered with previously missing competent NBA veterans. Come season’s end, Detroit should have a much clearer picture of who stays and who goes. What lineups do you want to see this season?