After re-signing Hamidou Diallo, the Detroit Pistons are nearly done constructing their roster for the 2021-22 season.
They will still have to cut or trade one player to make room for Diallo, but other than that, this is pretty much the team.
Detroit has improved in some key areas, but will rely heavily on internal development from their young players if they want to improve upon their 20 wins from last season.
Cade Cunningham was the big obvious addition along with free agent Kelly Olynyk, but these two are probably not enough to propel the Pistons into serious contention for a playoff spot.
They are probably still at least a year away, but luckily the Detroit Pistons will have a big advantage over the competition next offseason, as they will be one of the only teams with cap space.
Detroit Pistons: How much cap space will the Pistons have next offseason?
According to Bobby Marks at ESPN, the Detroit Pistons will be one of only four teams to have any cap space next summer, the other three being the Magic, Spurs and Timberwolves.
ESPN is projecting that the Pistons, Magic and Spurs will all have at least $30 million in cap space while the Timberwolves will have around $20 million.
All of these teams are currently rebuilding, so there really isn’t a marquee free-agent destination for the Pistons to compete with next offseason.
The Detroit Pistons will be getting the heavy burden of the Blake Griffin contract off their books, so Troy Weaver is going to have some money to play around with.
The question is what he’ll do with it. Will the Pistons be able to lure a big-name free agent to Detroit? Are there even going to be any? Let’s take a look.
Detroit Pistons cap space: 2022 NBA free agents
Like this offseason, there will be some huge names at the top of the list of 2022 NBA free agents, but also like this season, none of them are likely to change teams.
The biggest names are James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal, who are all likely to sign max extensions with their current teams. Beal would be the most likely to leave, but if he does, it will likely be via trade, as he’ll want to get his full five-year max.
Just below them would be Zach LaVine and Russell Westbrook, but I don’t see either of them as great fits on the Detroit Pistons.
Depending on how the roster shakes out, I could see LaVine joining Cade Cunningham in the Pistons’ backcourt, but it would take a max deal to pry him away from the Bulls, which seems unlikely.
According to ESPN, here are the top starters in free agency and their respective status next offseason:
"Top Starter: Kevin Huerter (restricted), Collin Sexton (restricted), Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. (restricted), Jaren Jackson Jr. (restricted), Jonas Valanciunas, Mikal Bridges (restricted) and Deandre Ayton (restricted) Starter: Josh Richardson, Miles Bridges (restricted), John Wall, T.J. Warren, Ivica Zubac (team), Kyle Anderson, Victor Oladipo, Donte DiVincenzo(restricted), Mitchell Robinson, Luguentz Dort (team), Wendell Carter Jr. (restricted), Andre Drummond, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, Marvin Bagley III (restricted), Lonnie Walker IV (restricted), Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Daniel Gafford (team)"
None of these players would qualify as stars but there are some interesting names that might be good fits on the Pistons.
A guy like Kevin Huerter could definitely help their shooting. Michael Porter Jr. probably has the most upside but I also think he’s the least likely to leave his team, same with Jaren Jackson Jr.
I love Miles Bridges and Luguentz Dort, who both seem like Troy Weaver guys but other than that there aren’t a ton of names that would provide obvious upgrades for the Pistons.
Luckily there are other ways to use cap space.
Detroit Pistons: Making trades is a better way to use cap space
Let’s face it, even with Cade Cunningham on board, the Pistons are never going to be top free-agent destination simply because they are not on a coast and have a state income tax.
But that doesn’t mean the Pistons can’t land a big name player, they will just have to do it the way they always have, by making trades.
Having cap space could allow the Pistons to make a trade for a guy already on a max deal without necessarily sending equal money back.
The other way cap space can be valuable is to facilitate a trade between two other teams that don’t have it.
If the Pistons can get involved in a 3-way deal, they can probably pick up some nice assets just by using their cap space make a trade possible, as Memphis has done very successfully in the past.
I don’t think the Detroit Pistons are going to lure one of the top free agents to Detroit, but they can get a nice secondary role player or load up on assets in a three-way trade.
The Detroit Pistons won’t be sitting on the sidelines next offseason, as they are going to have the cap space to be a big player in free agency and trades.