Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images Since 2008, we’ve seen spasms of competence, but not much more. The Pistons might not be very good this season, but they should be fun. The worst team in NBA history. One year ago, who would have thought? I had the under on the Detroit Pistons line of 28 wins, but under by half? That’s the past. It is the last time I will ever write “worst team in NBA history” and “Detroit Pistons” in the same sentence. I’m confident and happy about that. That’s not to say the Pistons will be a good basketball team. They won’t be. Managing expectations has become a vital part of being a Pistons fan, and I expect this team to miss the play-in and re-enter the NBA Draft Lottery. But, they will be a fun basketball team. Here are 3 reasons why. 1. They Have Emerging Stars Cade Cunningham put the NBA on notice during his last 48 games, averaging 23/7.5/4.5 on a respectable 37% from deep and 56.2 true shooting percentage while still carrying an absurdly heavy load. The Pistons will go as far as Cade carries them, and for the first time in his career, he shouldn’t have to carry them by himself. Having actual support around him should unlock the playmaking parts of his game that might be his most underutilized skill. A mess not of his making but of the team-building around him. With athleticism and shooting on the wings, and Jalen Duren rolling to the rim, expect as many highlight passes as smooth mid-range jumpers from Cade this season. But Cade’s not the only emerging star. Jaden Ivey’s sophomore slump was as unexpected as it was disappointing, but as our friend Laz points out, J.B. Bickerstaff has simplified things for Jaden, and early returns are promising. And if Fred Vinson makes that jumper an even somewhat reliable threat, good luck staying in front of all that speed and quickness. And yes, I’m still in on Jalen Duren. To be clear, the defense has to improve, but too many people are too quick to write him off. Injuries, roster, and coaching instability have been as detrimental to Duren’s early career as anyone’s, and 20-year-old 20-20 guys don’t grow on trees. I don’t know if Duren will put it all together this season, but I think he’ll improve defensively, and I’ll relish every lob and put-back dunk along the way. I’m not ready to anoint Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland as stars just yet, but they have all the physical tools needed to excel in the modern NBA. Their defensive games might as well be custom-built for Detroit fans to love. I cannot wait to see these two in the second unit turning defense into offense in a matter of seconds. 2. They Have a Coherent Roster with Coherent Rotations Complementary role players, finally. I’ve been waiting for perimeter spacing since Stan Van Gundy was hired, and the Pistons finally have it. Even better, J.B. Bickerstaff is willing to deploy lineups that maximize it. Two bigs starting and clogging the paint? A thing of the past. Cade and Ivey both on the bench at the same time while a constipated second-unit offense with no ball handling or playmaking gives up yet another 10-0 run? Not this season. Instead, we’re seeing players at their natural positions playing to their strengths, and the product is actual NBA basketball that’s worth watching! Cade and Ivey have enough space to operate on the floor together because there’s always enough shooting on the wings. Veterans who know how to play are mixing in quickly, finding ways to contribute, and the vibes are vibing. Maybe it’s just the preseason optimism taking over, but how about the second unit? Once Ausar Thompson returns, he, Isaiah Stewart, and Ron Holland could be the terrifying defensive lineup that John Mason and the fanbase have been waiting to cheer for. 3. They Will Win (and Lose) Basketball Games Dedicated fans will watch no matter what. We proved that last year. Fan is derived from fanatic, after all. But for any team to truly be fun and appeal to the masses, it has to win games. Just like any fanbase, Pistons fans will reward their team for winning. We always have, and we always will. For goodness' sake, we sold out an arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan, for years on end. Even this early in the season, there are signs. We’re seeing the spasms of competence that tell us winning is coming. Not .500 kind of winning and not play-in kind of winning, not yet, anyway. But at least the kind of basketball where a fan can approach each game believing their team has a chance of winning if they bring their best stuff, and they’re not a complete fanatic for believing so. The kind of basketball where if your role players show up and do their job, a triple-double from Cade Cunningham could beat anyone. The kind of basketball where a 20-20 from Jalen Duren and 40% three-point shooting from the team’s veterans can overcome a rough shooting night from its young stars. The kind of basketball where the second unit extends the lead and rallies the crowd because they relish their roles as hard-nosed, blue-collar defenders who capture the city’s ethos and spirit. But they will lose their share of those types of games, too, and that can be OK from a team and fan perspective. And I think it will be. So far, the vibes are just kind of vibing, aren't they? Last season, every 7-point deficit the Detroit Pistons faced might as well have been 30. The players knew it, the opponents knew it, the fans knew it, heck, maybe even Monty Williams knew it presuming he was paying any attention (debatable). They weren’t just a bad basketball team. They were losers. Not in the most pejorative sense, but in the sense that they had this stink of losing all around them. It wasn’t something that was coming out in the wash after the game. The entire franchise seemed set up to fail. Young, overmatched, a disengaged coach, an overwhelmed, stubborn executive, veteran players who resented being there even as they were stuck in street clothes. The vibes were certainly not vibing last year, or the year before that. Something about this group feels different. The franchise and the fans seem primed for a season where both winning and losing matter, because each game will be lessons learned, answers to questions, and steps forward on a path toward winning. And winning consistently. Losses are fine if they include actual learning experiences. Situations where young players, the veterans, the coaches are all on the same page, and moving forward in the same direction. That’s fun. I can feel it while I write it. I am ready. I hope you are, too.