Detroit Pistons 2026-27 Preseason Storylines To Follow

Although the regular season is still just over two weeks away, the Detroit Pistons are back in some capacity tonight as the Phoenix Suns come to town for the preseason opener at Little Caesars Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm in the Motor City, and there are already several compelling storylines brewing.

Above all else, the most important transition for the Pistons to make this season will be the integration of John Collins into the starting lineup. Initially pegged to start at the four, Collins is a veteran big man at 6-9 and 235 pounds with a dynamic skill set that wasn’t available to Pistons power forwards last season. As a 40% shooter from beyond the arc in the 2025-26 campaign, Collins can stretch the floor in ways that Tobias Harris simply could not, so it will be intriguing to see how quickly Detroit takes advantage of that floor spacing. 

Along those lines, the Pistons brought in a wealth of three-point shooters during the offseason in order to give the squad some more teeth from downtown. Given that stylistic shift, the disparity between points scored in the paint versus from distance will be interesting to track after Detroit was a top five team in paint points last year. 

But in terms of position battles, the backcourt is where all eyes should rest in the Motor City. Naturally, Daniss Jenkins is expected to fulfill a portion of Detroit’s second-string playmaking duties, but the Pistons have a wealth of guard depth after procuring Ebuka Okorie from the draft and Elijah Harkless from the free agent market. 

For Okorie, the former Stanford point guard who led the ACC in scoring as a freshman is lauded for his ability to self-create off the bounce, but the rookie still has to adjust to NBA speed and physicality. Okorie had a crash course in those qualities during the Summer League where he averaged nearly 20 points per game, but the Cardinal has a daunting 82-game schedule waiting on the other side of the preseason. 

As for Harkless, the undrafted guard has made a habit of outperforming expectations during his short time as a professional thanks to his work ethic, defensive versatility and tenacity on the court. At the moment, Harkless is on a two-way deal, which means he could spend some time in the G-League with the Motor City Cruise, but the UNLV product is a dependable playmaker who can become a defensive weapon in the right system. 

Switching to the frontcourt, the Pistons do not have a clear backup power forward entering the season, but Ron Holland II is expected to compete with Taurean Prince for minutes at the four. With Prince working to get his feet wet and Holland aiming for a third-year leap, their performances during the preseason could influence their position in the rotation once the regular season kicks off on Oct. 20.