Does Adam Silver Hate the Detroit Pistons? As Pistons Fall to 5th Draft Spot Again.

The Pistons lose again and again and again. In fact, that same phrase, ‘Pistons lose,’ was heard a record-tying 28 times in a row during the NBA regular season and a franchise record 68 times during the 2023-24 season. To say their season was miserable may be the nicest way of describing how bad the team and the season were for the Pistons.

However, heading into the NBA Draft lottery, they had a 14% chance to secure the top pick, which was the best chance of any team in the lottery. So you would think all that losing was going to pay off finally.

Wrong. These are not your father's Bad Boys Pistons; they are now the Bad Luck Pistons—the Pistons who can’t seem to catch any luck continued that trend right into the Draft Lottery when, for the third consecutive NBA Draft Lottery, they fell to the fifth spot. 

At this point, I have to ask: Does NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hate the Detroit Pistons? After that horrible season, when they did not even make the top three, it seems like someone at NBA HQ has a grudge against the Pistons. 

Come on, Silver. The Pistons have won just 54 games in three seasons. Clearly, they deserved something better than a fifth pick.

I’m not sure how Silver feels about the Pistons, but for you conspiracy theorists out there, it's hard not to wonder if behind-closed-doors the fix is in. Maybe Silver signed an under-the-table deal with the NFL script writers to write the Pistons out of the 2024-25 season before it has even begun.

Poor Cade Cunningham. He has been the heart and soul of the Pistons, averaging over 22 points per game last season. Pain on his face may be the best way to describe how he looked through the season. Watching him suffer throughout the season was like watching paint dry in a prison.

Cunningham probably thought that heading into the draft lottery, his team would finally make parole, but as we all know now, that didn’t happen.

But wait, there’s more. To make matters even worse for the Pistons, the Milwaukee Bucks did what teams never do: They blocked general manager Jon Horst's permission to interview for the Detroit Pistons' vacant president of basketball operations position, per NBA insider Marc Stein.

"The Bucks this week declined to grant permission to the Pistons to interview Michigan native Jon Horst in Detroit's search for a new president of basketball operations, league sources say," Stein wrote.

Stein noted that Horst was interested in speaking to the Pistons but did not get the opportunity.

"It is believed that Horst, who won Executive of the Year honors in Milwaukee in 2018-19 and more recently made the trade that brought Damian Lillard to the Bucks in September, was indeed interested in speaking to the Pistons," Stein wrote. "Horst signed a multiyear contract extension with the Bucks in October 2021 with two years left on his deal at the time."

At this point, I can only say that winter has come to Detroit, and there are no immediate signs of the sun breaking through the clouds.