The offseason has barely started and already the trade rumors are flying, many of them involving the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons reportedly turned down a huge offer from OKC, which makes sense, as it is just too hard to walk away from a potential superstar in Cade Cunningham who is going to be on a rookie deal.
Most people believe the Detroit Pistons will try to trade into the first round of the NBA Draft, which would make sense given that they have three picks in the second round and not enough roster spots for them.
There are a number of teams the Pistons could target in trades to move into the first round, but even if they are unable to make it work, I still expect the Pistons to make some kind of move.
This is true of the entire NBA, as there are a number of factors that could make this offseason a wild one when it comes to trades.
Detroit Pistons: This free agent class is top heavy, but weak
If you look at the potential free agents hitting the market this offseason, there are some big names, but most of them are on the wrong side of 30 or unlikely to leave their current teams.
Once you get past Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, there isn’t much in terms of game-changing free agents. Teams would rather try to pull off a trade then overpay for a guy like Victor Oladipo or Tim Hardaway Jr., which could lead to a lot of wheeling and dealing.
There are some good mid-level free agents to target, but this isn’t a great free agent class unless you are looking for that one veteran who might put you over the top.
Detroit Pistons: Cap space is limited around the league
If you look around the league, there are really only a handful of teams that have cap space to spend on free agents. There are around 8 teams that might have space depending on what they do with their own free agents.
Teams without cap space have a hard time adding impact talent and will look for trades instead, as the New Orleans Pelicans just did with their trade with Memphis. The Grizzlies are one of the few teams projected to have some cap space, so the Pelicans were able to use that to absorb Eric Bledsoe’s contract in exchange for an asset.
I think there are going to be a LOT of these types of trades, as most of the teams with cap aren’t that good and will look to pick up assets in exchange for bad contracts.
Detroit Pistons: The league is wide open
After the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns made unlikely runs to the Finals, just about every team around the league thinks they could be next.
Both the Suns and the Hawks made huge leaps from outside of the playoffs into the Conference Finals, with the Suns making it all the way to the Finals. There are at least 5-6 teams in the East who probably think they have a shot, and pretty much the entire Western Conference will be trying to win.
Seeing that the Suns were able to make a massive jump just by adding Chris Paul via trade, a lot of teams will be looking to find their own impact player who can get them over the top.
This is going to lead to a lot of trades because there just won’t be many of these guys available in free agency.
This is going to be a wild offseason for the Detroit Pistons and the rest of the NBA, so buckle up.