Ranking Detroit Pistons roster from most-to-least likely to return for 2024-25 season

After four years of rebuilding, the Detroit Pistons' pending hire of a president of basketball operations brings an unpredictability to their offseason. Their new evaluator will arrive with a pair of fresh eyes, and unique evaluations of the roster compared to the current man in charge, embattled general manager Troy Weaver.

As such, it's difficult to project the extent that each player will be prioritized by the incoming shot-caller. The Pistons have assembled a roster stocked with recent first-round picks, most of whom have yet to sign their second contracts. To move on from an embarrassing 14-win season, the roster will have to undergo substantial change. How substantial? To be determined.

With that, we still have a general sense of which players are most and least likely to return next season, based on how players have performed relative to their positions and contracts. The next decision-maker will have a lot of them to make, in short order, regarding what the roster will look like. Here's our best guess:

Would be shocking to see go

Cade Cunningham: The franchise player looked more like one in his third season, improving his efficiency and playmaking after returning from shin surgery. He’s eligible for his rookie scale max extension, which spotrac.com projects to be $224.9 million over five years. Cunningham’s extension negotiation will be an immediate priority for whoever takes over the front office; regardless, it’s tough to see a world where the 6-foot-6 guard isn’t back.

Would be surprising to see go

Simone Fontecchio (restricted): In 16 games, Fontecchio checked just about every box the Pistons needed at the wing positions. He knocked down 42.6% of his 3-pointers, played sound defense and gave the team size along the perimeter at 6-7. As a restricted free agent, the Pistons can match any outside offers to retain him. Fontecchio expressed his desire to re-sign a day after the season, and his skills fit whatever the next iteration of the Pistons looks like.

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Unproven at positions of need

Ausar Thompson: Filled many perimeter needs for the Pistons as a plus-defender, transition passer and finisher, and rebounder. But the rookie was also the league’s worst shooter, limiting lineup flexibility and sagging the half-court offense at times. His elite leaping and coordination, combined with quick processing of the game makes him a foundational piece with an All-Star ceiling if the shot ever comes around. Coming off a blood clot situation that ended his season in mid-March.

Marcus Sasser: The late-first round pick started hot before cooling off post-All Star break, but still finished the season with a 37.5% clip from 3. He’s not as easy a fit on the roster as Quentin Grimes and Stanley Umude due to his slight 6-foot-2 frame, which limits him defensively. But the Pistons need spacing and tough shot-making, and Sasser provides both.

Quentin Grimes: We barely got to see the team's other trade deadline acquisition, as Grimes was limited to six games due to knee soreness and struggled to hit shots in the six games he did play. But there were also spurts of the defensive ability that made the 23-year-old a target. If the shot comes back around, he’s a rotation player. He’s extension-eligible this offseason, but the Pistons could also let him enter restricted free agency in 2025.

Stanley Umude (team option): The former two-way wing is a success story for the organization — a former Exhibit 10 signee who developed through the Motor City Cruise in the G League and eventually earned a standard contract thanks to his effort on both ends. The Pistons will have bigger roster priorities to settle first, but Umude’s skillset meshes well. I can see the 25-year-old returning.

Building blocks with trade appeal

Jalen Duren: There are big decisions looming regarding the Pistons’ frontcourt rotation. Duren is arguably the Pistons' highest-upside player after Cunningham — a 6-10 athletic marvel already among the league’s best rebounders and finishers — and is a year away from extension eligibility. The 20-year-old has a longer way to go on defense, though. Lack of rim protection was a big factor in the Pistons' 14-68 finish, and they have a top-five pick in a draft with two high-upside defensive bigs at the top in Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan.

Jaden Ivey: Like Duren, Ivey will become eligible for an extension after next season. The Pistons now have a season of information on how he and Cunningham fit next to each other. The verdict? Ivey, 22, needs more seasoning. His downhill speed adds a needed dynamic to the offense and gives him one of the higher ceilings on the roster, but he’s an inconsistent defender and erratic passer. Giving up too soon on Ivey could haunt the organization, but it also eventually must make tough judgment calls as the bills come due.

Proven role player on appealing contract

Isaiah Stewart: On a team consistently full of poor defenders, he has been valuable on that end through his four seasons. Stewart, 22, added a new dynamic to his game this season by knocking down a career-high 38.3% of his 3-pointers (3.8 attempts per game). Played 46 games this season due to injuries after appearing in only 50 last season. It seems unlikely the incoming president will prioritize dealing Stewart, who is entering Year 1 of his four-year, $60 million extension (team option on fourth year) and gives the Pistons size defensively. But he's one of the few proven commodities on this roster, and his reasonable contract number ($15 million per year) makes him appealing if the Pistons make a big swing in the trade market.

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Unlikely to return

James Wiseman (restricted): The fourth-year center had some big performances, particularly late in the season with the frontcourt limited with injuries. But he is still raw on both ends, and overlaps greatly with Duren skill-wise.

Malachi Flynn (restricted): The 6-foot-1 point guard dazzled with an out-of-the-blue 50-point game in April and played with effort, but his lack of size and outside shooting hurts his fit.

Evan Fournier (team option): Coach Monty Williams leaned on the veteran forward late in the season, but Fournier only hit 27% of his 3s.

Troy Brown Jr. (team option): The 6-foot-6 wing came at the deadline with a reputation as a two-way performer, but wasn’t able to hit many 3s through 22 games and 12 starts.

Taj Gibson (unrestricted): Embraced role as a locker room mentor and example-setter for the young bigs after arriving in early March.

Chimezie Metu (team option): Out of all of the Pistons' signings in late March and April, Metu looked most like an NBA player. He deserves a spot somewhere, even if it’s not with the Pistons.

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ranking Detroit Pistons: Most and least likely to return in 2024-25