The 2026-27 NBA season is officially underway! The Detroit Pistons started us off with the first win of the season, defeating the Boston Celtics 121-113. It didn't appear to be heading that way for the majority of the game, with Detroit going on a surprising 23-0 run in the fourth quarter.
During that stretch, we saw everything click as they looked the part of last year's No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. But for the majority of the game, we saw serious flaws on offense, particularly when it came to the lack of secondary playmaking for Cade Cunningham.
It's not an overreaction to say after just one game, and a game they ultimately won, for that matter, that this team desperately needs another guard because they're far too reliant on Cunningham to generate offense. It's surprising they enter the season without addressing this problem.
Part of that could be because they're banking on Ausar Thompson making a significant offensive leap. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff mentioned throwing Thompson into the fire when it comes to embracing the growing pains that come from that increased ball-handling role. However, this is a No. 1 seed team that could be a piece away from contention. They need to find a better balance when it comes to Thompson's development and a sense of urgency to give themselves a chance to win now.
Should the Pistons decide to actually pull the trigger on a secondary playmaker for Cunningham before February's trade deadline, the Portland Trail Blazers would make a strong potential trade suitor.
Blazers' guard logjam gives Pistons a chance to get Cade Cunningham some help
Portland had playmaking problems of its own last season, leading the league in turnovers by a wide margin. The difference is GM Joe Cronin actually was able to address that problem, not only managing to get Damian Lillard back from the Bucks but also stealing Ja Morant away from the Grizzlies.
Many thought Portland would make a follow-up move after the Morant trade to better balance this roster, especially with Jrue Holiday named as a potential trade candidate. However, the Blazers shot down those trade rumors when they signaled to teams that they weren't actively shopping Holiday.
They viewed that guard logjam as a roster strength rather than a problem that needed to be immediately solved. That proved to be the case in preseason, thanks to the unselfishness of players like Morant and the versatility of players like Holiday.
Should that continue to be the case in the regular season, it gives Cronin a lot of flexibility in how to navigate this roster. They'll have a chance to evaluate how this backcourt actually fits and whether Holiday, Morant, Lillard, and Scoot Henderson can all make it work.
The Blazers didn't reach a rookie-scale extension for Henderson, who is now set to become a restricted free agent next summer. Between aging veteran guards like Holiday and Lillard, an expiring Henderson, and a polarizing Morant, there are a lot of questions that still need to be answered in Portland.
Meanwhile, Detroit is still left wondering where they are going to get that extra guard to help create offense with Cade. Given both teams' situations, there's a pathway to being great trade partners for each other by February's deadline.
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