Hello and welcome to the game theory podcast, offseason preview series where Bryce Simon and I, Sam Vassini, will break down all 30 teams NBA off seasons as they project to occur in the summer of 2026. Today we're going to talk about the Detroit Pistons. This is a team that Bryce knows better than any because he's watched literally every

game of the Detroit Pistons for five years.

So it's been a long road.

The Pistons go to the second round this year.

They have a lot of decisions forthcoming this summer, Bryce, from Jalen Duren to an

star Thompson extension to whether they operate as an over the cap team

to whether they try to open cap space.

Tobias Harris was their second best offensive player in the playoffs.

He's a free agent.

It feels like for a team that is rising so quickly in just won 60 games this year,

they have a significant number of questions to answer

following the playoffs and following just a strange contractual situation, as well as, frankly,

to me, the gift that keeps on giving that was Troy Weaver, frankly, because on some level, Troy did good things drafting

players that are good at basketball. And then on the other side, the question as to whether or not

they all fit together remains here, in my opinion, is it refers to the highest end of basketball.

Well, and to be fair here, and I think Trajan has done an incredible job.

I don't think anybody would discount that and that it was a positive move in the right direction

bringing him in.

He also drafted a guy who doesn't space the floor right now with his first round pick

in his first year in Ron Holland, who was not able to

really see the floor and make an impact in the playoffs. And so I think you hit it spot on with

where this team is at right now in terms of it's exciting. They have options. They have all of

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