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The Detroit Pistons have already discovered what Cade Cunningham can do with the ball in his hands. Now they are trying to discover what he can do without it. That distinction could determine how far Detroit goes next season. Cunningham is no longer a promising young guard searching for his place in the NBA. He is an All-NBA First Team guard who led the Pistons to 60 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference last season. He averaged 23.9 points and 9.9 assists, becoming the engine of an offense that helped transform Detroit from one of the league’s worst teams into one of its best. The Playoffs Exposed the Cost But the playoffs exposed the danger of making one player the answer to every question. Cunningham averaged 28.1 points and 7.5 assists during Detroit’s 14-game postseason run, but he also averaged 5.6 turnovers per game and shot 43.2 percent from the field. When defenses were able to load up on him, the Pistons could become predictable. Detroit’s solution may not be to give Cunningham the ball more. It may be to take it away. The Pistons Want Cade Cunningham Off the Ball The Pistons are exploring more ways to use Cunningham away from the ball, according to The Athletic. That means cutting, screening, relocating and attacking after another player initiates the possession rather than asking Cunningham to create everything from the top of the floor. It sounds like a subtle change. It could be anything but. When Cunningham spends the majority of a possession dribbling 25 feet from the basket, the defense knows exactly where the threat is. When he moves, screens and cuts, defenders have to make decisions. And defensive mistakes are exactly what an offensive superstar wants. Duren, Robinson and Thompson Change the Math Imagine Cunningham coming off a screen without the ball, catching it on the move and attacking before the defense can set. Imagine Jalen Duren rolling toward the rim while another defender is forced to chase Cunningham around a screen. Imagine Duncan Robinson standing in the corner, waiting for a defense to collapse. Suddenly, Detroit does not have one problem for an opponent to solve. It has several, and that is the point. Duren is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and earned All-NBA Third Team honors. Robinson gives Detroit elite perimeter shooting after knocking down 220 3-pointers at a 41 percent clip last season. Duren’s own future is not settled, though. He and the Pistons remain roughly $5 million a year apart on a long-term deal as September opens. Ausar Thompson gives the Pistons another dimension entirely. His 3-point shooting remains a weakness, but he averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists while earning All-Defensive First Team honors and finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Thompson is also the name at the center of the plan. The Athletic reported that Detroit wants him to grow into a secondary playmaker, the initiator who frees Cunningham to work off the ball, and that the two have already put in offseason work together. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has pushed for the same leap. The talent is no longer theoretical. The question is whether the Pistons can make all of it fit together when the games matter most. That is where Cunningham’s evolution becomes so important. Harder to Guard Is the Whole Point The greatest offensive players are not simply dominant with the ball. They manipulate defenses before they ever touch it. Stephen Curry has built an entire offensive identity around movement. Nikola Jokic can destroy a defense as a passer without initiating every possession himself. Cunningham does not have to become either player. He simply has to become harder to guard. Detroit’s 60-win season proved the rebuild is finished. The Pistons are no longer asking whether they can make the playoffs. They are asking whether they can win the East. That requires another leap. Cunningham has already established himself as Detroit’s offensive centerpiece. The next step is making him the centerpiece without making him the entire offense. Because when the ball stops moving, defenses can catch up. When Cunningham keeps moving, they may never get the chance. For the Pistons, that could be the difference between being a very good team and becoming a dangerous one. And after 60 wins, Detroit is ready to find out exactly how dangerous it can be.