The Detroit Pistons must get a top four pick in this year’s NBA lottery to retain its first round draft pick. Whether that happens or not, the Pistons have some heavy-hitting contracts that could cost the team more future assets, if the team wants to clear space.
The Detroit Pistons have a multitude of problems.
1. The team stinks
2. it’s highest paid players are often not on the court or haven’t played to expectations
3. The Pistons likely will be without its first round pick this year.
This article is about problem 2., the team’s highest paid players, which are either not playing, injured and not playing, or have not lived up to their contract.
Let’s take a look at the Pistons salary situation over the next few seasons, via HoopsHype
| PLAYER | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
| Blake Griffin | $29,512,900 | $31,873,932 | $34,234,964 | $36,595,996 | $38,957,028 |
| Andre Drummond | $23,775,506 | $25,434,262 | $27,093,018 | $28,751,774 | $0 |
| Reggie Jackson | $16,000,000 | $17,043,478 | $18,086,956 | $0 | $0 |
| Jon Leuer | $10,497,319 | $10,002,681 | $9,508,043 | $0 | $0 |
| Langston Galloway | $6,666,667 | $7,000,000 | $7,333,333 | $0 | $0 |
| Ishmael Smith | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Josh Smith | $5,331,729 | $5,331,729 | $5,331,729 | $0 | $0 |
Through 2019/2020, four of the Pistons top seven highest paid players are either frequently hurt (Reggie Jackson), not playing due to injury or have not lived up to their contract (Jon Leuer, and to an extent, Reggie Jackson), being paid while not playing for the team (Josh Smith), or not really being used (Langston Galloway).
The good news is Langston Galloway probably has some value, and I think Jackson will have some value too because of his ability when he’s healthy.
The bad news is that some of their assets are near impossible to move (Leuer and Smith), and that more of the team’s top paid players could potentially fall into that category too (Blake Griffin, though he’s aging really well to this point).
This all means that the Pistons are at best two years away from being able to recoup some of its dollars to allocate finances elsewhere.
Therefore, if the Pistons want to expedite clearing cap space, the team will likely need to part with young assets on rookie deals (Kennard, Ellenson, Johnson), game-changing assets (Drummond), or draft picks.
The odds are against the Pistons in retaining its first round pick for this year’s draft. Most of the Pistons highest paid contracts are two seasons away from expiring, which means they will not be as valuable to other team until after next season.
Next: Who should the Pistons draft if they capture a top three pick?
With all of that in mind, the Pistons are likely one season out from having a first round pick, (more if the Pistons attach a pick to move a bad contract) and being able to move contracts for a reasonable price, or add players of value from team’s looking to acquire expiring contracts.