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How Do the Recent Western Conference Trades Affect the Pistons?

By Ray Schulte

AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 05: Head coach Stan Van Gundy of the Detroit Pistons talks with his team during a time out while playing the Toronto Raptors at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 5, 2017 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Toronto won the game 105-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, MI - APRIL 05: Head coach Stan Van Gundy of the Detroit Pistons talks with his team during a time out while playing the Toronto Raptors at the Palace of Auburn Hills on April 5, 2017 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Toronto won the game 105-102. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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We’ve had no shortage of blockbuster trades. After all this madness, where does this put the Detroit Pistons on the Eastern Conference map?

Believe it or not, after the action around the draft and the first few hours of free agency, 13 of the top 14 players have now been located to the NBA’s Western Conference. With the power structure in the league shifting, the Detroit Pistons really don’t have much of an excuse to not make the playoffs in 2017-18.

This take might seem a bit aggressive to some, but the Eastern Conference is virtually without superstars outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers. With Paul George being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jimmy Butler being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Gordon Hayward possibly being more inclined to stay in the West now that he won’t be able to join forces with George in Boston, the Pistons should climb the ranks of the conference by default.

With free agency just starting underway as this article is published in the early hours of July 1st, the Pistons have the chance to make some small adjustments to sharpen their strategy under Stan Van Gundy. With some modest contracts to compliment a potential cap-busting deal with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the ball is in the Detroit Pistons’ court to decide their own postseason destiny while we see some titans battle to the wire in the west.

Next: What to expect in free agency

While backing into the playoffs is nobody’s idea of success, the Pistons may find themselves the beneficiaries of a quickly shifting power structure in the NBA.

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