There has been a lot noise about the Detroit Pistons trading away the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Most of it is just that _ noise. But there are some deals out there, if offered, the Pistons would most likely go for.
No one likes a vacuum, so between June 22, the night of the NBA Draft Lottery, and July 29, the night of the draft, there is going to be lots of discussions about who is going where in the draft.
Since, for the first time since the early days of the Nixon administration, the Detroit Pistons have the No. 1 pick, all draft talk starts with them. It is hard to know how things will fall, until you see who is going first.
On the record, Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has been clear since Detroit got No. 1: They will look at five players, evaluate them, and trades are an option. (Sorry, Cade Cunningham fans)
That Weaver said he is open to trades (it does not mean he WILL trade, only that it is an option), opened up a hornets nest of speculation. Just about every fan of a downtrodden team, or one maybe a piece away from contention, have concocted some type of trade with Detroit.
The cockamamie trades are usually along the lines of:
"Team A – Overpaid players who are garbage + couple of almost worthless late first-round picks = Detroit’s No. 1."
Now, Weaver did not just fall off the turnip truck and, even if he did, he still would not go for these one-sided deals.
However, there are some trade possibilities, that a smart GM would go for.
All would involve remaining in the top three, as one never know when a team will get this high in the draft again (it had been 51 years since they last were No.1 after all). Most experts project four players with star potential in the draft: Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs.
What trades would make Detroit Pistons give up No.1 in draft?
We are going to discount the Pistons being interested in Suggs. Not that he is not going to be a great player. But Suggs is a slick point guard who is not great shooting from outside. Detroit just drafted a similar player in Killian Hayes last year. No need to trade down for Hayes 2.0.
The Houston Rockets have the No. 2 pick in the draft, with the Cleveland Cavaliers at third. This will be important in any trade consideration.
Now, we are not saying these trades are going to happen, or even under consideration (the Pistons certainly are not talking). But these are the type of trades in which Detroit would give up the No. 1 selection in the draft.
Her are three sensible trades for No. 1 which the Pistons would agree to: