Insider lists Kyrie Irving as an ideal match for Cade Cunningham

The Detroit Pistons‘ Their 13-game winning streak may have been snapped on Wednesday night with a 117-114 loss against the Boston Celtics, but they’re still the talk of the town amid their ascension to true contender status in the Eastern Conference. Many insiders and analysts are looking for ways to List improvement clipsthough they haven’t exactly shown any inclination to want to pull off a blockbuster trade to accelerate their rise into contention.

Some looked Lauri Markkanen to be an ideal addition for the Pistonsalthough it would require such a large trade commitment from Detroit. Others pointed to Trey Murphy as the logical alternative to Markkanen, as he makes far less than the Utah Jazz star over the next four seasons.

But for ESPN insider Tim Bontemps, he set up the Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving as the ideal teammate for Cade Cunningham in the Motor City.

“I would almost say ironically, I know he’s injured right now, but I think the guy on the Mavs who, if he became available, would be a better fit for the Pistons would be to take Kyrie Irving and put him next to Cade Cunningham,” Bontemps said on The Hoop Collective podcast.

“I think that’s a weakness that I think they need to address to get a man to go with Cade. So it’s not all on Cade to try to do it in the playoffs against big opponents.”

Irving does not yet have a specific timeline for his return from the torn ACL he suffered back in March. In an ideal world, maybe the Pistons could target Irving. But the injury uncertainty makes that gambit pretty impractical for one of the best teams in the league.

Pistons to play the long game?

Whenever a team rises to contender status, it becomes a trend for many to single them out as the team most likely to make a blockbuster trade to try and improve their title chances. That’s what the Pistons are experiencing.

But the Pistons have faith in this young core, and their 15-3 start to the new season has masked the fact that Jaden Ivey is not yet at full strength. Ivey has the potential to become Irving’s way of playing against Cunningham, and the Pistons’ front office seems to have the patience to wait and see whether or not this young core can pan out.