Las Vegas Summer League starts Thursday for the Detroit Pistons, who flew west earlier this week. They have four games already scheduled, starting with the Portland Trail Blazers at 9 p.m. Thursday local time. That’s midnight Friday for fans watching from Michigan. Put on a pot of coffee.
Here are five story lines to watch over the next 10 days.
THE OFFSEASON SO FAR: Where Pistons’ roster stands, and what they still need, after quiet NBA free agency
TWO-WAY DEAL: Buddy Boeheim goes way back with Pistons, but 3-point shot is how he’ll stick around
BRING ON 2023: Pistons set up to strike in 2023 NBA free agency with loads of cap space
How NBA-ready are Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey?
The Pistons got significantly more athletic this offseason. Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, and Jalen Duren, the No. 13 pick, were among the best athletes in the draft. We’ll likely see a lot more dunks in Little Caesars Arena next season.
But Ivey and Duren were also two of the rawer players selected in the lottery picks. Ivey has a quick first step and should have few issues getting to the rim, but he’ll have to prove that he can hit outside shots consistently and find open shooters when he doesn’t have a clear lane. Duren won’t turn 19 years old until November; he’s a gifted rim protector and leaper but is still getting his fundamentals down.
“To say they’re going to come in and conquer the world right off bat, we don’t want to put that pressure on them,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said last month. “We’ll start with the fundamentals, and, yes, we will utilize (their athleticism). We do want to play faster and utilize Jaden and also Jalen’s ability to run the floor.”
Vegas is the perfect environment for the 2022 draft duo to begin. Duren, however, may not be eligible to play against the Blazers, as Detroit’s draft-day trade with the New York Knicks hadn’t been cleared by the NBA as of Wednesday afternoon.
But Duren and Ivey could dominate simply because they’re bigger, stronger and quicker than most of their competition. Most defenders will struggle to stay in front of Ivey, and Duren could feast on lobs from Detroit’s playmakers.
There’s a lot of different combinations we can play with,” Casey said. “But we do want to take advantage of their strengths and do what they do. I just told them, ‘I don’t mind mistakes because all young players make mistakes. But do it hard. Make hard mistakes. I don’t care if you miss 10 shots, just play hard and do it hard and good things will happen,’ and these two young men play the right way. They play extremely hard. That’s going to help their growth process.”
Will Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart play, or just practice?
It was a surprise to see Cade Cunningham, last summer’s No. 1 overall pick, on Detroit’s summer league roster. No. 1 picks are typically too good to play in Vegas after their rookie season. Cunningham, who was named first-team All-Rookie and a Rookie of the Year finalist, is arguably the most talented player on any roster in Vegas this month.
Bey and Stewart, who both started every game they appeared in last season, are also overqualified as they head into their third seasons. But they’re still young, Casey reminded reporters Sunday. And while it’s unlikely we see Cunningham put on a uniform, he will get valuable practice time with the rest of Detroit’s young core. It also seems unlikely that Bey will play, but Stewart has yet to play in a summer league game; 2020’s was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and he missed last year’s event with an ankle injury.
“This, for us, is still part of the developmental program, the process that we’re growing, Casey said. “If they were fifth- and sixth-year guys, they wouldn’t be playing, but as far as them being involved with the practices, this is, for me, far more important than the games because now we can work on stuff that we’re going to do next year, reiterate things we did last year. This is an opportunity to get some extra work in, legally, for the upcoming season.”
Cunningham and Bey have little to prove, but Stewart could benefit from summer reps, as his role could shift next season to accommodate Detroit’s glut of big men. Stewart knocked down 11 of 18 3-point attempts during the Pistons’ final eight games last season. It would be interesting to see the Pistons unleash him as a full-time stretch-four in Vegas.
Will Killian Hayes dominate?
Killian Hayes’ defense was a positive in Vegas last year, but it was clear that the rest of his offensive game needed work. That ended up being an accurate preview of his sophomore season: He was Detroit’s best perimeter defender and a savvy playmaker, but his inefficiency as a scorer has capped his upside.
It’s now Year 3 for Hayes, and he still has much to prove. Assuming he plays, he’ll be one of the more experienced players. Outside shooting has been emphasized in his development, and it would open up his game significantly — and make it easier for the coaching staff to play him — if he could consistently knock down 3-pointers. He’s a career 26.8% shooter from beyond the arc.
Hayes is still only 20. (He turns 21 on July 27.) He has a lot of development ahead of him. But the Pistons have used top-five picks on two lead ball-handlers since taking Hayes seventh overall in 2020. It’s not an indictment on Hayes that the best players available for the Pistons happened to be guards, but the backcourt has become more crowded. Hayes needs to stand out, rather than blend in.
Can Isaiah Livers and Buddy Boeheim consistently space the floor?
Detroit needs its shooters to hit shots next season. The Pistons were 29th in 3-point percentage last year, as several proven floor-spacers slumped and the young players were unable to pick up the slack.
Michigan alumnus Isaiah Livers only appeared in 19 games due to his recovery from a foot injury, but he was one of Detroit’s best shooters after returning for good during the second half of the season. He knocked down 42.2% of his 64 3-point attempts and never looked sped up. A strong showing could secure his place in the rotation this season.
Boeheim was a volume shooter at Syracuse, hitting 36.2% of 854 attempts over four seasons. Like Livers, the two-way wing could make a strong case as a rotation player if he can consistently knock down shots.
Which signings will stand out?
Jamorko Pickett was a pleasant surprise for the Pistons last summer, earning a two-way contract after a strong showing in Vegas.
There are some interesting breakout candidates this year. Kameron McGusty is a 6-foo-5 wing who averaged 17.8 points per game on 57.9% true shooting as a sixth-year senior for Miami last season. And Kyle Foster was a career 38.1% shooter on 3-pointers at Howard; he hit a whopping 45.9% of his 7.9 attempts per game during his final season.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. Read more on the Detroit Pistons and sign up for our Pistons newsletter.