Detroit Pistons: This center from the Magic may be best free-agent fit
The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic swapped places in this NBA Draft Lottery, as last season the Magic were picking 5th and the Pistons had the number one pick overall.
This year that honor goes to the Magic, who are building a nice young team around Franz Wagner, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs.
The Magic also have two talented big men under contract for next season in Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. not to mention restricted free agent Mo Bamba.
This could end up being an issue, as the projected top-3 picks in the 2022 NBA Draft (Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero) are all big guys, which would leave the Magic with a crowded front court if they were to keep all of them.
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This has led to speculation that restricted free agent Mo Bamba will be the one to hit the market since Isaac and Carter Jr. are locked into long-term deals.
The Magic would probably like to move Isaac since he hasn’t played in two seasons, but good luck with that. However, his contract is not fully guaranteed over the next three seasons, so Orlando could buy him out and keep Bamba, but that would be very expensive. It’s most likely that Bamba is the odd man out.
Getting the no. 1 pick will certainly impact the future of Mo Bamba.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 18, 2022
The former lottery pick a restricted FA and Orlando has until 6/29 to tender him a $10.1M Qualifying Offer.
The Magic will have close to $29M in cap space without Bamba.
Not only would the Magic clear a roster spot for their #1 pick by letting Bamba walk, but they would also open up a big chunk of cap space by not making him the qualifying offer.
In other words, Mo Bamba is about to become a free agent. Should the Detroit Pistons have interest?
The Detroit Pistons and their cap space
The Pistons are one of the only teams with cap space, so we are going to hear them attached to all manner of players in free agency and trades, even the ones like Russell Westbrook that make no sense.
But the Pistons do have a well-documented need for depth at center, as they currently have just Isaiah Stewart and Kelly Olynyk under contract for next season.
Even if they re-signed Marvin Bagley III, the Pistons would need a third big, and they could go in a lot of directions.
The Detroit Pistons will almost certainly pursue Deandre Ayton, who is the top big man on the market, but if he doesn’t work out, they will look elsewhere to shore up their big man depth, and that includes the Orlando Magic and Mo Bamba.
Even if they could get Ayton, would they be better off investing less in the center position on a guy like Bamba?