Post-Draft Playoffs Survey

[ElectricMayhem]

Obviously we still have a lot of money and we don't know where it is going at this stage, but we have gotten hints that it won't be thrown at a big target like Ayton, Brunson, or Bridges. The Pistons have been saying it will be spent on a few veterans. Given that, at this stage, where do you think the Pistons will end up this upcoming season?

[ElectricMayhem]

I answered no postseason just because so many of their main cogs are so young. We're a bunch of 18-20 year olds dripping with talent but not there yet. I don't see a few veterans being enough to offset the inexperience. The Pistons are definitely trending upwards, though.

[Manocad]

I voted no postseason because I think that’s the most likely option, although really I would vote “incomplete” because the roster isn’t fixed yet since the season isn’t starting tomorrow. However given the results of the draft and seeing what’s out there in free agency I think it’s less likely that Weaver goes after a big name than taking on money to get more draft capital, get to the 90% cap number, and basically just rolling with what they’ve got after that.

[DBC10]

This is still a developing team with a lot of unknowns just due to how young we are. I would be surprised if we made the playoffs since the 10th seed last year won 43 games and was over .500. So even if adding Ivey, Duren, and Cade taking his leap (and not a soph slump) can maybe add 10-15 more games, and the standings of all teams hold more or less steady... we're still well short of making any noise

This is year 2 of the Cade era. Take it steady and prioritize development over pursuing wins at all costs

[bstein14]

Right now, for us to make the play-in with the current roster (plus Bagley perhaps) we'd need for Cade to take a super jump into an all-star in year 2. And we'd need to improve our overall team defense and our shooting. Cade's our only top 60 player right now. Bey is top 90 and could move into being a top 60 player but he's got some work to do to get there.

Duren at #13 isn't going to be a positive player this year. Ivey is likely going to grow a bunch over the course of the season but early on he also may not be a positive impact player stepping onto the court on day one either. Just having two rookies in your 10 man rotation likely means you'll take some extra Ls as they learn the league.

Right now, I'm expect 7 to 10 extra wins just because we were better last year which still puts us in the lottery. We'd need to make some moves in FA to really improve another 1 or 2 of our rotation players in order to take that jump to play-in.

[zeebneeb]

Pistons should be in the 30-35 wins range next year, and if everything goes perfectly, even 40. I said last year that the team should be competing for a play-in, and I stick by that had the team not had so many injuries, close losses, and downright purposeful tanking.

My main concern is the fit between Ivey and Cade, and I'm hopeful that gets squashed quickly, but I'm really unsure of that.

[Jsindto]

No playoffs is the very easy choice. After free agency, it could change if they sign an Ayton or Bridges. But without that I see little to no chance of making the play-in this year.

[whitehops]

as of now we have two players that are over 23 years old... 100% missing the playoffs. cade's and to a lesser extent bey's development as go-to guys will play a lot into whether we're a 30-win team or a 20-win team (with our roster before free agency).

[Billl]

I said play-in, but that's mostly homerism. The spurs made the playin at 34-48 but that last spot in the east was 43-39.
Heat, celtics, buck,sixers are mortal locks. Raptors are in unless they make a big trade. Bulls should be in unless they blow it up. Nets - who knows how that drama ends. Hawks had a down year, but I think they are back. Cavs should get internal improvement. Hornets bringing back the same cast as long as jordan is willing to spend.

On the outside, knicks looking to spend on a FA so they could improve.

So, the only way we get in is if the nets implode or one of those teams lets key free agents walk. We could play 500 ball and still miss out. After years of sub 500 teams making the 8th spot, the east is deep enough that a 500 team might finish 11th.

[buzzkilloton]

East is as deep as ever right now. We just added two very raw rookies to the rotation who're likely going to be negative players as rookies. One season away from the playin were pacing the rebuild perfectly.

[Menace2Sobriety]

Incremental improvement of ~10 games. Play hard, play to win. No tanking. Leverage assets and player development to continue building on the foundation this year, with the expectation to challenge for the playoffs in 23/24.

[flow]

As the roster stands now, no chance. But free agency could always change things.

[Liqourish]

Pistons haven't said anything about free agency, just alot of media speculation. I'm reserving expectations until we see what they do in free agency.

[theBigLip]

I said play-in. Seems reasonable that we take a step up if we are healthy. That being said, next year is our last lottery chance so if we don’t make it, that’s ok too.

[7r5ur]

We're only getting younger. Playoffs this year would be shocking, barring some crazy free agent/trade deals.

Ivey is going to show some amazing flashes for sure, but he's going to have a lot of rough moments this year.

[mattao313]

I don't see playoffs I could see us with another top 5 pick next season

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[breezypeezy]

Couldn't possibly guess this till we see if/how the rest of cap space is allocated.

[Cowology]

If we were a .500 team last season we would have missed the play-in. The East is tough right now. I have us pegged around 38-42 wins, but it would probably take a lil help for us to sneak in.

As much as I wanted Grant gone the fact we essentially swapped his solid 2-way play for Duren is going to hurt us early on. I will however go ahead and assume that Ivey is an instant upgrade over Cojo/Hayes so that helps off-set it. We showed last year that we're a very deep team and Cade is a goddam beast. We'll be competitive most nights.

And depending on how the rest of the roster shapes up that could obviously change.

[bstein14]

If we were a .500 team last season we would have missed the play-in. The East is tough right now. I have us pegged around 38-42 wins, but it would probably take a lil help for us to sneak in.

As much as I wanted Grant gone the fact we essentially swapped his solid 2-way play for Duren is going to hurt us early on. I will however go ahead and assume that Ivey is an instant upgrade over Cojo/Hayes so that helps off-set it. We showed last year that we're a very deep team and Cade is a goddam beast. We'll be competitive most nights.

And depending on how the rest of the roster shapes up that could obviously change.

After seeing how Cade struggled coming into the season last year I think I'm going to be overly cautious on my expectations of rookies for this team moving forward. I thought Cade would come in and be an immediate positive player and when your shots aren't falling its hard to really be that. I think overall Ivey will be good by mid season but I wouldn't be surprised if he too takes some time. I know he's coming in after two years of college so he might be slightly more ready than Cade was. Hopefully Ivey and Duren both have injury free summer league and training camps so they're as prepared as they possibly can be on day one of the regular season.

[Kalamazoo317]

What I'm hoping is that next season's Cade, Beefstew, Bey, and Hayes are all better than last season's Cade, Beefstew, Bey, and Hayes. Internal improvement of young players is the most important ingredient here.