The Detroit Pistons had to undergo change this offseason. A surprise 60-win regular season revealed a team ahead of internal and external expectations, but their second-round exit exposed a roster lacking the high-end offensive creation and shooting of the league’s true contenders.
During his predraft press conference in June, president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said that internal growth and external additions would both be factors in the team taking a step forward next season. Another 60-win season would be nice, but the main focus has been on building a team equipped to make a NBA Finals run.
After a flurry of transactions over the last month, the Pistons are different in ways both predictable and not. They’ve addressed their biggest need – outside shooting. They traded up in the first round of the draft to add one of its best ball-handlers, Ebuka Okorie, with the 17th overall pick.
But are the Pistons better? That remains to be seen. The departure of two of their top performers and leaders, Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris, will be felt. They still have just two proven ball-handlers in Cade Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins. And they’ve yet to take the proverbial “big swing,” with rumors of them pursuing Tyler Herro, Trey Murphy III and other offensively gifted players amounting to nothing.
Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference has gotten stronger at the top, and deeper, too. The Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors all made big splashes for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard, respectively. The defending champion New York Knicks largely have kept their roster intact, as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat the Pistons in Game 7 to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
Langdon has been determined, but not desperate, to make a move. The Pistons will continue evaluating the trade market through the rest of the offseason and into next February’s 2027 trade deadline. But internal growth has been the main driver of the team’s rapid rise over the past two seasons.
As the roster stands now, it’ll take continued growth from Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren – who remains an unsigned restricted free agent – to push the franchise to its next milestone.
Here’s what the Pistons are losing from last season, and how their new offseason additions could make up for it.
What Pistons lose without Isaiah Stewart, Tobias Harris
During his six seasons with the franchise, Stewart emerged as the backbone of one of the league’s best defenses and a throwback enforcer, unafraid of confrontation, physical or otherwise, in a similar vein of past Pistons bigs. He amassed a highlight reel of blocks in his final season, and would’ve been in the All-Defensive team conversation had he qualified.
The Pistons had the league’s deepest center rotation, with Stewart backing up Duren and Paul Reed serving as an overqualified third big. This offseason, the front office determined Stewart was a luxury on a team with needs elsewhere and a big extension for Duren on the horizon. They traded Stewart, and the remaining two years of his four-year, $60 million contract, to the Memphis Grizzlies in a salary clearing move.
Reed ended up being the best performer of the three in the second round against the Cavaliers, and he’s only on the books for $5.6 million next season. He’s one of the league’s best bargains and played himself into a larger role. It’s now on Duren and Reed to prove that they can sustain the team’s elite rim protection from last season, following the departure of their best rim protector.
Of all the transactions this summer, Harris’ departure might be the most surprising. He signaled a desire to return next season, as did the Pistons, but they acquired John Collins instead. Harris then signed with Finals runner-up San Antonio Spurs on a guaranteed two-year, $31 million deal. Harris was big in establishing the Pistons’ winning culture over the past two seasons and was their second-best playoff performer after Cunningham.
Collins is a capable replacement at power forward, and his contract ultimately is more team-friendly than what Harris ended up signing for. Collins is on a three-year deal for $51 million, but the final two seasons are nonguaranteed. His on and off-the-floor fit will be crucial for the Pistons as they adjust to life without Harris.
Pistons offense could take big leap forward
In a league that has fallen thoroughly in love with the 3-pointer, the Pistons zagged their way to the best record in the East in 2025-26. They were an elite defensive team and good enough offensively to dominate the regular season. A strong transition offense, fueled by their defensive disruption, helped make up for a lack of shooting.
The Pistons retained their defenders who created the most opposing turnovers – Thompson, Javonte Green, Ron Holland and Reed – while adding multiple strong shooters. Collins, Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris (if he remains on the roster) all shot north of 40% from 3 last season, joining Duncan Robinson as players who are feared behind-the-arc.
It provides reason to believe the Pistons, even without adding a second star scorer, have a chance to be a better and more well-rounded team. According to Cleaning the Glass (which filters out garbage time), the Pistons ranked 29th in 3-point volume and 20th in 3-point percentage, yet ranked 10th in offensive rating as one of the league’s best teams in transition and generating shots at the rim.
It has been a balancing act finding ways to improve the offense, without sacrificing too much of what allowed the Pistons to boast the East’s best defense. The gamble is the offensive improvements will make up for the hit they take by losing Stewart.
In a star-laden East (and that’s before LeBron James possibly joins the fray), only time will tell if the moves the Pistons made thus far will suffice.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons have something to prove in tougher East after summer of change
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
