If we draft Cade, and stand pat what's your preferred lineups and minutes?

[bstein14]

Let's just make the assumption that we take Cade (I'd say right now its probably 95% likely we take him, and 5% chance someone blows us away with an offer we have to take for #1).... Lets also assume we don't land any big name FA's but instead we use our MLE money to bring back Frank Jackson and we also sign Diallo to a reasonable contract. Saban Lee can come back too on a small deal.

What's your lineup look like? For me I'd roll with the following.

C: Plumlee (24) / Stewart (24)
PF: Grant (33) / Sekou (15)
SF:Bey (29) / Josh Jackson (19)
SG: Diallo (26) / Frank Jackson (22)
PG: Cade (29) / Hayes (19)

Center Overall its going to be a pretty even split between Plumlee and Stewart. I think starting the season with Plumlee starting makes sense, but then having the hope that Stewart continues to improve enough that mid way or closer to the end of the season you can flip those roles.

Power Forward This is a make or break year for Sekou as to whether or not he sticks in the NBA. Its very possible if he doesn't get things together this season, he ends up the way of Stanley Johnson signing a minimum deal somewhere else next year. I would assume we'll draft a big in the 2nd that may end up pushing Sekou for backup PF minutes. It's also possible we may see Bey move up there at times, and Stewart move down there at times as well depending on the matchup and foul trouble.

Small Forward Bey should have this starting spot locked down. He averaged 27 minutes per game as a rookie I expect him to average slightly more than that in year 2. Josh Jackson will provide solid defense and scoring off the bench backing him up. I still think Jackson could make a big step forward and earn a starting spot with the team, or at least more bench minutes backup up both the SG and SF spots but he needs to become a better and more efficient shooter and really more consistent overall.

Shooting Guard This position is most wide open with Diallo and Jackson both being FAs, and Cade or Josh Jackson potentially playing minutes here as well depending on how Hayes develops and whether or not Bey deserves 30+ minutes a night to start the season. One thing is clear, if we do resign both Diallo and Frank Jackson they are both signing to be part of the rotation. This may likely mean Ellington needs to move on, or be ok accepting a 3rd string SG role as someone who doesn't play most nights.

Point Guard There is going to be a lot of people here who think Hayes should start in the backcourt next to Cade. I think that is the hope down the road, but I think on day one of Cade's rookie season we're better off pairing him with Diallo or Frank Jackson or Josh Jackson in the starting backcourt. Let Hayes be the man on the 2nd unit and let Cade be the guy who runs the show for the starters. If you're spending the #1 pick on a guy with his skillset you need to put the ball in his hands and let him learn on the job. Overall this season above all else should be about putting Cade in a position to develop and succeed and continue further developing young guys around him.



I've gone back and forth quite a bit on fit, and I think overall Hayes will need so start the season as a backup and continue to work on his shooting. This also puts the ball in his hands running the show for the 2nd unit and building chemistry with Jackson X2, Sekou and Beef Stew.

[aad]

I like Cade and Hayes started together they both are excellent passers and good defenders and they both can take turns running the offense it will take pressure off both players

[Kilo]

Joseph(24)/Hayes(24)
Cunningham(32)/Diallo(16)
Bey(32)/Diallo(16)
Grant(32)/Stewart(16)
Plumlee(32)/Stewart(16)

Sekou, Lee, Sirvydis each 35 minutes a game with MCC

[zeebneeb]

Hayes(33)/Lee/Cade
Cade(31)/Diallo/Jackson/Hayes/Lee
Bey(36)/Sekou/Jackson/Cade
Grant(34)/Sekou/Cade
Stewart(30)/Plumlee

The way the Pistons are built with Cade is something truly special, and not talked about enough. (I'm not convinced Josh Jackson survives the offseason but included him just to show the versatility of the team)

Cade 6'8 220
Bey 6'7 215
Grant 6'8 210
Stewart 6'8 250
Sekou 6'8 231
Jackson(J) 6'8 207

Diallo 6'5 202
Hayes 6'5 215

That is truly positionless basketball so trying to figure who plays what, where, and for how many minutes is difficult as it doesn't really come down to height, and weight, but pure skill, and strengths. You've got 8 players listed, that can all play at least 3 different positions, while on the floor. Some even more.

This team defensively is going to be strong as hell.

[chrbal]

Starters: Hayes, Cunningham, Bey, Grant and Stewart. All playing roughly 30 minutes a night or more.

Key bench listed in order 6-10: Diallo, Plumlee, F. Jackson, J. Jackson, and Doumbouya.

Veteran, let’s say depth, bench: Okafor, veteran wing shooter, veteran point guard.

Depth bench to play mostly for the g league: Lee and Sirvydis.

2nd round of draft and two way contract guys is too early to call.

[tmorgan]

Not sure about the whole thing minutes-wise, but I do want:

1) Both Hayes and Cade to start, with Hayes as primary ball handler
2) Stagger Hayes and Cade’s minutes otherwise, so both get opportunities to run the offense
3) Grant is not running the offense himself, because one of Cade or Hayes is on the floor at almost all times

This means either Hayes or Cade is the first sub out (for any of Frank J, Josh J, or Saben) and the other runs the show for a bit, then switch it up. I’m seeing Cade at around 30 mpg and Hayes at a little less, so they’ll only be on the court together about 10 minutes a game, likely the start of each half. Obviously this can be adjusted based on how each guy is playing on any particular night.

[DocRI]

Hayes(33)/Lee/Cade
Cade(31)/Diallo/Jackson/Hayes/Lee
Bey(36)/Sekou/Jackson/Cade
Grant(34)/Sekou/Cade
Stewart(30)/Plumlee

The way the Pistons are built with Cade is something truly special, and not talked about enough. (I'm not convinced Josh Jackson survives the offseason but included him just to show the versatility of the team)

Cade 6'8 220
Bey 6'7 215
Grant 6'8 210
Stewart 6'8 250
Sekou 6'8 231
Jackson(J) 6'8 207

Diallo 6'5 202
Hayes 6'5 215

That is truly positionless basketball so trying to figure who plays what, where, and for how many minutes is difficult as it doesn't really come down to height, and weight, but pure skill, and strengths. You've got 8 players listed, that can all play at least 3 different positions, while on the floor. Some even more.

This team defensively is going to be strong as hell.

I remember reading, back in 2007 when Sam Presti spent two top five picks on Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, that his vision was a lineup where everyone was 6’9”. Weaver obviously came from that front office, and I’ve wondered if he’s trying to make that vision a reality in Detroit.


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[vege]

If you're spending the #1 pick on a guy with his skillset you need to put the ball in his hands and let him learn on the job. Overall this season above all else should be about putting Cade in a position to develop and succeed and continue further developing young guys around him.

THIS!!!!!!!

Hayes is 100% useless without the ball and you want the ball in Cade's hands.

Sadly Hayes has 0 value so we can't trade him. He should FIGHT for the 2nd unity spot with Saben Lee imo and earn those minutes.

Hopefully that will make him grow some balls and develop into the player we all want him to be and then he could be good next to Cade. If not, it's his loss.

Same thing for Sekou, I have watched him complain too many times about the way Casey is using him. Cya dude, you're getting an amazing opportunity, if you're not gonna take it, someone else will, Tyler Cook was a much better player than Sekou. Sekou doesn't deserve ANY MINUTES. If he can't beat Cook for a spot in the rotation, sit his ass in the bench/G-League and decline his option at the end of the season. He doesn't have any value anyways.

Josh Jackson has to be more reliable, he was pretty bad after a great start. Give him an opportunity because he plays hard and bust his ass off in the defense every game, but he gotta play better (more under control and shoot better) than what he has played in the 2nd half of the season, else he should be gone as well.

So I mostly agree with the OP but I would make Sekou and Hayes compete for minutes against Cook and S.Lee and we should use this season to find a 3rd Forward to play behinnd Grant and Bey (Winslow/Kuzma/whoever is available for peanuts and fit our team and timeline)

[Snakebites]

Yeah, I’ll also push back against the notion of Hayes starting, and I’m really surprised to see anyone saying he should be the main ball handler.

Cade is the guy now. If you really think he shouldn’t have the ball in his hands, then you don’t think he should be the first pick. I hope Hayes works his way into a clear role here as either a secondary ball handler or 6th man, but for now that's gotta start on the bench. That may seem harsh, but that's the way it is. Cade gets the role of primary ball handler that was intended for him last year. Things change.

Cade, Grant, Bey, and Plumlee are locks to start, and for now I’m fine with that. We’ll see if Stewart is able to take the job down the road.

The other guard is tough. I don’t like the fit of Jackson or Diallo, though with our current roster those are the 2 choices (if we even keep Diallo, that is).

I could see us adding some bargain bin shooting vet and starting them.

[tmorgan]

I’m surprised you guys DON’T want Killian to start. If you think he can’t coexist with Cade at all, I disagree, but in that case he should be gone before we further torch his value and his confidence by reducing his role. Weaver sees something he likes in Hayes, and I do, too. Don’t throw it away.

As for Sekou, who has had far more time and far more chances, there I agree. His value is already shot, so unless something amazing happens in camp and this summer, he can be buried and declined.

[FloridaMan78]

Yeah, I’ll also push back against the notion of Hayes starting, and I’m really surprised to see anyone saying he should be the main ball handler.

Cade is the guy now. If you really think he shouldn’t have the ball in his hands, then you don’t think he should be the first pick. I hope Hayes works his way into a clear role here as either a secondary ball handler or 6th man, but for now that's gotta start on the bench. That may seem harsh, but that's the way it is. Cade gets the role of primary ball handler that was intended for him last year. Things change.

Cade, Grant, Bey, and Plumlee are locks to start, and for now I’m fine with that. We’ll see if Stewart is able to take the job down the road.

The other guard is tough. I don’t like the fit of Jackson or Diallo, though with our current roster those are the 2 choices (if we even keep Diallo, that is).

I could see us adding some bargain bin shooting vet and starting them.

The only reason I could see Hayes starting is for his defense. Casey loves his defense, and I agree. He showed flashes off ball offensively with Saben in that Chicago game. I could see them giving it a shot for 10 games.

Diallo starting with Cade could really expose him. He passed on every catch and shoot three within the offense with us last year. Unless he worked on that, he’s going to look really bad out there with Cade.

[whitehops]

assuming we draft cade, bring back frank jackson and diallo with the rest of the roster staying the same, cade, bey and grant are 100% starting and i'd say the odds are 60/40 between plumlee and stewart starting.

the real issue is which other guard to play. you need someone able to guard point guards full time, which eliminates josh jackson. essentially you're left with hayes, frank jackson and diallo. jackson is 100% the best fit offensively but his defense isn't great, not sure i'd trust him guarding the steph curry's and damian lillard's of the league. hayes would be the best fit defensively, but his play making and (lack of) scoring/shooting would fit best off the bench. it'd probably be better for his development too, as he'd have the ball in his hands more if he came off the bench. to me diallo is the worst option, as he has the size/athleticism to guard PGs but doubt he has the awareness/experience to navigate all the screens he would have to. he also is a poor floor spacer so he'd be relegated to a slasher, and while he has shown flashes as a play maker i doubt he's at the level where he would take touches away from cade.

i think frank jackson, cade, bey, grant and either plumlee or stewart would be the best starting lineup but then that leaves us with a pretty mismatched bench: hayes, diallo, josh jackson, sekou, stewart/plumlee. there's almost literally zero shooting in that lineup, VERY limited play making (just hayes) and it would make for some ugly basketball.

hopefully we bring back ellington and potentially add a cheap vet 3+D PG to insert into the starting lineup. someone like george hill has an unguaranteed $10 mil deal next season, if he's cut he'd be the TYPE of guy i mean.

[Snakebites]

Yeah, I’ll also push back against the notion of Hayes starting, and I’m really surprised to see anyone saying he should be the main ball handler.

Cade is the guy now. If you really think he shouldn’t have the ball in his hands, then you don’t think he should be the first pick. I hope Hayes works his way into a clear role here as either a secondary ball handler or 6th man, but for now that's gotta start on the bench. That may seem harsh, but that's the way it is. Cade gets the role of primary ball handler that was intended for him last year. Things change.

Cade, Grant, Bey, and Plumlee are locks to start, and for now I’m fine with that. We’ll see if Stewart is able to take the job down the road.

The other guard is tough. I don’t like the fit of Jackson or Diallo, though with our current roster those are the 2 choices (if we even keep Diallo, that is).

I could see us adding some bargain bin shooting vet and starting them.

The only reason I could see Hayes starting is for his defense. Casey loves his defense, and I agree. He showed flashes off ball offensively with Saben in that Chicago game. I could see them giving it a shot for 10 games.

Diallo starting with Cade could really expose him. He passed on every catch and shoot three within the offense with us last year. Unless he worked on that, he’s going to look really bad out there with Cade.

Yeah, I dislike the fit of Diallo, and am actually skeptical we resign him.

Ideally you want a shooter next to Cade who can provide some secondary playmaking, but those don’t exactly grow on trees.

[440BB]

I pretty much agree with the OP's rotation, but see Tyler Cook earning the backup PF minutes within the existing roster. I wish Sekou would prove me wrong.

The upcoming season is clearly a development year for Hayes regardless of where he is in the rotation. Playing out of the spotlight and serving as a solid backup PG while developing his shooting would be OK with me. If he can become a scoring threat, Hayes playing next to Cunningham could be special in the future.

Looking at the rotation, the 2021 Pistons might be a fringe lottery team. We'll have to be patient, but they should be entertaining while they develop into a contender.

[7r5ur]

FYI, despite Killian's super slow start, he actually had a higher FG% on catch and shoots than Josh Jackson, Diallo, and CoJo. Plus I think (hope) he'll get a chance to settle in and get comfortable this year, which didn't really start happening until the end of last season.

I'd certainly like to get a long look at the Killian/Cade duo. I think Cade getting Killian open shots will do a lot for him, and Killian can take some pressure off in the playmaking department.

[dVs33]

I’d like to see Hayes and Cade playing next to each other at least to start the season. Hayes didn’t respond well to being thrown into the starting line up with our other vets, but when he came back from injury he looked a lot more comfortable. Cades shooting should open things up for Hayes. It also takes pressure off Cade to be the guy from the jump. I’m sure he’s more ready than hayes was, but still it helps to have that support around.
As for line ups I’d like to see hayes, Cade, bey, grant and plumlee start.
Ideally we’d keep Hayes or Cade on the court most of the time, so you bring in either of the Jackson’s to cover the SG while one of those two need a break. JJ and Diallo (if resigned)can spell bey and sekou and cook can fight over back up PF minutes. I’d like to see stewart go up against other teams back ups while he develops, but I could see him taking the starting C spot eventually.
I think plumlee and grant are good for providing the young guys with some stability, so they’ll keep their starting spots for the time being.
The dream would be to package our 2nds into a 1st and draft a young Shooting PF. I don’t know who fits the bill but I’m sure college fans would have a good idea

[Pharaoh]

Hayes 28, Cade 20
Cade 10, Diallo 20, Frank Jackson 18
Bey 30, Josh Jackson 18
Grant 32, Sekou 16
Plumlee 22, Stewart 26

Hayes takes pressure off Cade defensively while Cade takes pressure off Hayes offensively.

That's how I hope it plays out.

Bit concerned with the bench and lack of shooting but here's hoping the whole roster is working on that aspect

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[FloridaMan78]

I pretty much agree with the OP's rotation, but see Tyler Cook earning the backup PF minutes within the existing roster. I wish Sekou would prove me wrong.

The upcoming season is clearly a development year for Hayes regardless of where he is in the rotation. Playing out of the spotlight and serving as a solid backup PG while developing his shooting would be OK with me. If he can become a scoring threat, Hayes playing next to Cunningham could be special in the future.

Looking at the rotation, the 2021 Pistons might be a fringe lottery team. We'll have to be patient, but they should be entertaining while they develop into a contender.

A fringe lotto team makes the play in games next year. It would be pretty cool to see this young team in the playoffs.

[SamFlow]

Let's just make the assumption that we take Cade (I'd say right now its probably 95% likely we take him, and 5% chance someone blows us away with an offer we have to take for #1).... Lets also assume we don't land any big name FA's but instead we use our MLE money to bring back Frank Jackson and we also sign Diallo to a reasonable contract. Saban Lee can come back too on a small deal.

What's your lineup look like? For me I'd roll with the following.

C: Plumlee (24) / Stewart (24)
PF: Grant (33) / Sekou (15)
SF:Bey (29) / Josh Jackson (19)
SG: Diallo (26) / Frank Jackson (22)
PG: Cade (29) / Hayes (19)

Center Overall its going to be a pretty even split between Plumlee and Stewart. I think starting the season with Plumlee starting makes sense, but then having the hope that Stewart continues to improve enough that mid way or closer to the end of the season you can flip those roles.

Power Forward This is a make or break year for Sekou as to whether or not he sticks in the NBA. Its very possible if he doesn't get things together this season, he ends up the way of Stanley Johnson signing a minimum deal somewhere else next year. I would assume we'll draft a big in the 2nd that may end up pushing Sekou for backup PF minutes. It's also possible we may see Bey move up there at times, and Stewart move down there at times as well depending on the matchup and foul trouble.

Small Forward Bey should have this starting spot locked down. He averaged 27 minutes per game as a rookie I expect him to average slightly more than that in year 2. Josh Jackson will provide solid defense and scoring off the bench backing him up. I still think Jackson could make a big step forward and earn a starting spot with the team, or at least more bench minutes backup up both the SG and SF spots but he needs to become a better and more efficient shooter and really more consistent overall.

Shooting Guard This position is most wide open with Diallo and Jackson both being FAs, and Cade or Josh Jackson potentially playing minutes here as well depending on how Hayes develops and whether or not Bey deserves 30+ minutes a night to start the season. One thing is clear, if we do resign both Diallo and Frank Jackson they are both signing to be part of the rotation. This may likely mean Ellington needs to move on, or be ok accepting a 3rd string SG role as someone who doesn't play most nights.

Point Guard There is going to be a lot of people here who think Hayes should start in the backcourt next to Cade. I think that is the hope down the road, but I think on day one of Cade's rookie season we're better off pairing him with Diallo or Frank Jackson or Josh Jackson in the starting backcourt. Let Hayes be the man on the 2nd unit and let Cade be the guy who runs the show for the starters. If you're spending the #1 pick on a guy with his skillset you need to put the ball in his hands and let him learn on the job. Overall this season above all else should be about putting Cade in a position to develop and succeed and continue further developing young guys around him.



I've gone back and forth quite a bit on fit, and I think overall Hayes will need so start the season as a backup and continue to work on his shooting. This also puts the ball in his hands running the show for the 2nd unit and building chemistry with Jackson X2, Sekou and Beef Stew.

Have to wait and see what the roster is to do that.

[DBC10]

Cade is the number 1 pick, and we need to treat him like it. Give him the ball for a few games and the minutes to see what we got. I'd be surprised if we instead give the ball to Hayes as the primary ball handler instead of letting Cade get the reps in. We really need to give Cade ample opportunities and let him flourish since that's what we're drafting him for, that he's not some project coming in needing to be marinated like Hayes or any of our other 7 and beyond picks but as a decent contributor right off the bat

So it's
Cade/Hayes/Lee
Hayes/Diallo/Jackson
Bey/JJ/Sekou
Grant/Sekou
Stewart/Plumlee (But Plumlee might get the nod to start the first few games just because of veteran presence and he's not a foul machine like Stew is)

Our bench is pretty thin and no consistent shooting which will place a fairly hard burden on Bey and Grant to take and make some shots