Detroit Pistons: Why the Bulls’ failure could be huge for Detroit
Fans of the Detroit Pistons should be monitoring the Chicago Bulls closely this season.
As a longtime Pistons’ fan, I absolutely hate the Bulls, so hoping they lose will be nothing new for me.
The Bulls are one of Detroit’s biggest rivals and they are in the same division, so there are obvious reasons we want them to lose.
Related Story. What the Pistons need to do differently to beat the Bulls this time. light
The Bulls got the better of the Pistons on opening night, but there wasn’t a huge gap in talent between the teams even though the Pistons were missing number one pick Cade Cunningham.
The Pistons are trying to say alive without their star early in the season, and the Bulls are trying to keep theirs happy, which is something Pistons’ fans need to monitor.
It might be a pipe dream, but I do believe there is a scenario where the Detroit Pistons could end up with Zach LaVine next season.
Hear me out.
Step 1: The Detroit Pistons need the Chicago Bulls to miss the playoffs
Zach LaVine is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he will be the most coveted player on the market.
Given his age and talent, LaVine is going to get a max deal from someone, and if the Bulls make a leap as a team and make the playoffs, it will mostly likely be them since they can offer LaVine an extra year and more money than anyone else.
But what if they don’t?
Let’s say the Bulls finish outside of the playoffs again, is LaVine really going to re-sign to a team that hasn’t improved since he’s been there and is now relying on players on the wrong side of 30?
The Detroit Pistons will likely finish outside of the playoffs, but will do it with a young, up-and-coming team with this year’s number one pick and a bunch of talented young role players.
If Chicago makes the playoffs and does well, it’s probably a done deal that LaVine stays in Chicago, but if they don’t he might look for a more promising opportunity with a better future than the Bulls currently have.
The Bulls have very little future draft capital, are capped out and only have one young player (Patrick Williams) with high upside, so if LaVine sees a bleak future, he might jump ship, who knows.
If so, the Detroit Pistons will be there with their checkbook.