No team has gotten off to a more surprising start to the 2025-26 NBA season than the Detroit Pistons, who currently sit at 13-2 and have won 11 straight games following Tuesday evening's road victory vs the Atlanta Hawks. Cade Cunningham returned from injury in that one to score 25 points, and overall, Detroit has put its depth on full display throughout the year so far.
With the hot start, some are wondering whether or not the Pistons might try to push all their chips to the center of the table as soon as this year in hopes of making a real push toward a deep playoff run.
Recently, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN broke down the Pistons' line of thinking in that regard.
“There's an internal desire to see this group together before pressing the fast-forward button, but ownership, sources told ESPN, isn't afraid of making a large commitment should the front office come with a proposal,” reported Goodwill.
Meanwhile, Bobby Marks of ESPN noted that the “Pistons control their own first-round pick in each of the next seven years, are allowed to trade up to four of them and can swap in each year. Detroit also has 14 second-rounders to use in deals. Financially, the Pistons are $26.2 million below the salary cap's first apron and can be aggressive in taking back considerable salary and contracts.”
It's certainly a desirable position to be in for a team that suddenly looks like it could be a real contender in the East.
Skeptics will point to the Pistons' lack of shot creation around Cade Cunningham (particularly with Jayden Ivey out of the lineup due to injury), as well as their lack of deep playoff experience as a whole, as reasons why the team may not be the favorites in the East just yet, despite their record.
However, if they continue their winning ways, it will get harder and harder to deny what's taking place.
