Although they lost to Golden State on Thursday, the Pistons remain firmly in the play-in picture in the East, with a 19-19 record that puts them in a tie for eighth place in the conference. They’ve already exceeded their win total from both last season (14) and the 2022/23 campaign (17).
With that in mind, team sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN (Insider link) that the Pistons are “adjusting their thinking” as they consider how to use the $14MM in cap room they still have available.
As Windhorst explains, teams across the NBA had been viewing that cap space as “for rent” at the trade deadline, with Detroit believed to be planning on taking on unwanted salary in order to continue stockpiling draft assets. However, Windhorst suggests the club may be more “judicious” about how it uses that room.
Instead of simply serving as a dumping ground for bad contracts and draft assets, the Pistons figure to consider scenarios that would upgrade this season’s roster and/or leave them with flexibility for next season.
Besides their $14MM in remaining cap space, Detroit will also have the $8MM room exception available, which could be used to take on one or more smaller contracts in a trade after the club uses its room.
The cap space and room exception couldn’t be combined to take on a player earning more than $14MM, but that $8MM exception could put the club in position to make multiple deadline trades, perhaps upgrading this year’s roster in one deal while acting as a third-team facilitator for draft assets in another.
While there are a number of other teams around the NBA who are well below the luxury tax line and are in position to help facilitate deals by taking on salary, the Pistons are the only one of 30 clubs still operating below the salary cap, giving them a leg up in terms of maneuverability.