NBA Power Rankings: The NBA’s 10 best young cores

8. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons have had a horrible start to the season, raising questions over the direction of their rebuild. They clearly don’t have a current star, and there are serious questions if they have multiple players who could one day claim to be one. 

Cade Cunningham’s rough start to his career has seriously dampened the Pistons’ long-term outlook. He was ranked seventh in Fansided’s 25-under-25, but that was absolutely based on confidence in his prospect pedigree. He may one day become a star, but you can’t confidently project that for a player who has struggled this much. There is plenty of season to turn it around, but he’s playing catch-up. 

Jaden Ivey, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, has all the potential in the world, but he has bounced in and out of the starting lineup this season and is still a work in progress. His offensive efficiency is way up, and while that’s come with a drop in usage, it’s a positive development nonetheless. Ivey is a player who will always be able to put up robust box score stats, but he’ll need to make sure those numbers translate to winning and aren’t a product of massive usage. 

There’s a world where everything clicks for Ivey and Cunningham, and the Pistons become one of the best young teams in the league, but that doesn’t look very likely right now. How that pair closes the season matters tremendously for the franchise’s future. Cunningham is extension-eligible this summer, and Ivey will be the following season. 

While the top of the Pistons’ depth chart has disappointed, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Marcus Sasser have impressed. This roster has a ton of interesting young talent, and they have the youngest roster in the league. It’s a little concerning that after four seasons, this is still a college team, but there is time and the pieces for this rebuild to work. However, until the cream rises to the top, they’ll be fighting for lottery odds instead of the playoffs.