With a .500 team, the Pistons might see a shift in strategy
The Detroit Pistons are 19-19 and winners of eight of their past 10 games. They have not just rebounded after a franchise-worst 14-win season, they are firmly in the mix for the play-in and playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The team also has $14 million in available cap space, and is the only NBA team that is officially under the cap with less than a month to go before the trade deadline. New president Trajan Langdon has talked openly about a strategy built around using cap space as leverage to obtain additional assets from teams looking to avoid various tax penalties and roster-building restrictions in the new apron era of the NBA.
But with his team exceeding expectations, there are rumblings the Pistons might pivot their strategy. Do I believe that? Not really, but let’s get to the details first.
ESPN insiders Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps wrote up the latest intel around the NBA and featured the Pistons. They note that teams around the NBA have penciled in the PIstons as a parking spot for bad money in exchange for draft picks as they put together their respective strategies at the trade deadline.
Insert the appropriate Bradley Beal joke here.
However, crediting “team sources,” they write, “the Pistons are adjusting their thinking and may be more judicious with their valuable cap space as they consider their own roster upgrades and flexibility next season.”
Earlier, I said that I didn’t believe the latest rumor, but perhaps more accurately, I am not sure that the Pistons were ever as interested in adding completely useless players as many might have believed.
In the offseason, there was consternation when the Pistons rented out their cap space to the Mavs for a marginal return in order to take on Tim Hardaway Jr. Instead, critics said, look at the deal the Hornets swung for Reggie Jackson, which saw Charlotte collect three second-rounders.
The truth of the matter is, Hardaway Jr. is better than Jackson at this stage of their respective careers. Yes, Langdon was openly interested in adding draft equity to a relatively barren cupboard. But he also openly wanted to add talent around Cade Cunningham and the team’s other young players to allow them to develop.
Mission accomplished so far. Hardaway Jr. is not nearly what he was a few years ago, but he’s started 34 games this year for the Pistons, playing nearly 28 minutes a night and shooting 36% on threes. Importantly, he is helping to create space for Cunningham to operate in. Jackson meanwhile, has been limited to 20 games off the bench and 11.9 minutes per game.
The Pistons now, just like the Pistons then, might be willing to rent out their cap space, but only for a player who can contribute to winning in some tangible way. That means the team might collect lesser draft equity in the exchange, but there is likely no better way for the Pistons to round out their roster.
That doesn’t mean I expect Detroit to be in the market for a Brandon Ingram or a Jimmy Butler. But it also means I don’t the Pistons are willing to trade for players who will never see the floor or take on the $110 million of Bradley Beal’s contract. Beal is a perfectly fine player, but I don’t think the Pistons are interested in tying up that much cap space and flexibility for the next two years when the team looks positioned to add talent and be a legitimate playoff team as early as next season.
There is one area where I do think the Pistons might have pivoted their plans, however. The team loss Jaden Ivey and with him their starting shooting guard and backup point guard. The Pistons might be pivoting to see if any potential trade or their role in a larger multi-team trade could net the Pistons a player who can handle a little creation responsibility and spell Cunningham for stretches as the lead ball handler. The team doesn’t have that now, and it is a noticeable issue.
What do you think? Should the Pistons put their current record to the side and look at the deadline as the last best way to collect significant draft equity? Should the team be focused on a adding a Tim Hardaway Jr. equivalent for a lesser return but with a defined role and contract that doesn’t hinder future flexibility? Or should they think bigger and try and net a legit player to push this team firmly into the playoff picture this season?