The Dallas Mavericks are still struggling after trading away their franchise point guard, but the Detroit Pistons are reaping the benefits of doing things the right way.
Luka Doncic is a better player than Cade Cunningham, although they play a similar game. After being drafted first overall by the Detroit Pistons in 2021, injuries and a horrid team held Cunningham back, unlike Doncic, who found immediate success with the Dallas Mavericks.
However, last season Cunningham was able to break the Pistons' playoff drought, and now they are the real deal. They won ten games in a row and sit atop the Eastern Conference. Perhaps a small-market matchup between Detroit and Oklahoma City will make for an exciting Finals?
Mavericks Could Have Been the Pistons Of the West
The Pistons, after struggling through the Dwane Casey and Monty Williams years, have finally found their footing. What does the best team in the East mean for the Mavericks? Not a whole lot, although they are showing what the team could have had.
The Pistons have an elite point guard who can both get to the rim and facilitate at a high level. The boast athletic, defensive-minded wings in Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, they have one of the best lob threats in the league in Jalen Duren, who is breaking out in his own right, and are awaiting the return to form from Jaden Ivey.
Add in role players like Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Stewart, and two-way player Daniss Jenkins, and they have one of the more complete rosters in the NBA.
Now, swap out the names above for Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, Derrick Livley II, PJ Washington, Brandon Williams, Klay Thompson, and Naji Marshall. In terms of talent and role, those groups are pretty similar. Dallas could have boasted a comparable roster, capable of rivaling the Thunder. Instead, they went all-in on a frontcourt despite having a capable one already in place.
Would the Pistons trade Cunningham for Joel Embiid? That's basically the deal the Mavericks made.
The Pistons are tailor-made to find success with Cunningham running the show. Their wings allow him to take a break on defense, and their physical centers in both the first and second units allow him to get to the rim with ease.
Doncic, not Davis and Cooper Flagg, should be running the show in Dallas. Irving, who is yet to return to injury, would be the Mavericks' version of Jaden Ivey: possibly ready to impact winning down the road, but if his recovery takes longer, they'd be in good hands.
Is it getting tiring to hear about how Nico Harrsion bungled one of the best teams in the NBA? That's what the comment section is for, but playing "what if" is one of the few options we have when covering this team. There aren't wins to write about, and it's not quite draft season yet.
Being compared to the Pistons used to be a very bad thing, but as Detroit sees a resurgence, it's offering a masterclass to the rest of the NBA in how to build the right way.