The Detroit Pistons will likely just use the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to take the best player available, but they do have options.
This draft is a complete crapshoot outside of the top-4 (and even within it), so teams like the Detroit Pistons might feel they can trade down and still get the guy they like or might feel compelled to trade up to try and get one of those top four guys even though there is no consensus.
It will all come down to trying to get the best player possible to pair with Cade Cunningham, and Troy Weaver can’t miss on this one, as they have already gotten little contribution (so far) from 7th pick Killian Hayes and need that second star to pair with Cade.
Though it’s most likely the Pistons just draft a guy with the 5th pick, you never know with Troy Weaver, as he will be aggressive to pursue his guy if he has identified the player he really wants.
That could lead to some movement in the top-10 of the 2022 NBA Draft, so here are some possible trades with every team in the top-10. These are for entertainment purposes only, as it is unlikely that any of them will actually happen.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#10: Washington Wizards
The Wizards are in NBA purgatory, as they have some good veteran players like Bradley Beal, but not much around him. They can’t compete with this roster but have few ways to improve outside of trading Beal.
If they don’t move Beal, they might try to move up in the draft, but do they have anything the Detroit Pistons would want?
It usually takes at least one extra first-round pick to move up at all in the lottery, so to jump into the top-5, the Wizards are going to have to throw in at least two assets.
In this trade, the Wizards move up to try and get a better player to put with Beal, and the Detroit Pistons get a promising 21-year-old player who is still on a rookie deal.
He would give the Detroit Pistons another young, versatile wing, though Avdija hasn’t been super impressive so far. The Pistons also get the 10th pick in this draft and a protected 2025 pick, which would be the next time the Wizards could trade one.
Washington might think this too much to give up just to move up five spots, but if Troy Weaver thought he could still get an impact player at 10, add Avdija who would be a bench upgrade, and a future pick, there might be some interest.
It’s an interesting one, but pretty risky for both teams, as the Pistons would be banking that they can get a quality player later in the 2022 NBA Draft and the Wizards would be banking that they’d be good by 2025 so that pick wouldn’t be a high one.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#9: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are an interesting team heading into this draft, as they did unexpectedly make the play-in this season after a strong second half.
They don’t have a superstar to build around, though they do have an All-Star in Dejounte Murray and a pretty good cast of role players around him, some with high-ceiling potential like Josh Primo.
If the Spurs had a guy in mind in the top-5, would they be willing to give up an asset to get him? The Spurs have three picks in the first round and could use them to move up, which would be surprising but not out of the question.
I can’t see this being enough to move up four spots, as the 20th pick isn’t all that valuable, though Troy Weaver has found good players (Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart) in that range.
Detroit might want sharpshooter Josh Richardson as well, which San Antonio would probably balk at unless they wanted to get off his deal. A trade like that would also eat into Detroit’s cap space for a non-star, which might not be palatable.
It’s hard to see the Detroit Pistons going for this one unless Troy Weaver has identified a sleeper who he thinks will drop to the 9th pick.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#8: New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are a team I have discussed in the past and they are in one of the best spots of any team in the NBA.
They have a great young core, already made he playoffs this season, are getting Zion Williamson back and still have the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
They can just take the best player available, but if they really wanted to push their chips in and go for it next season, here is a trade that could work for both teams.
In this trade, the Pelicans get an upgrade, add a guy who can help them win now, as well as provide insurance against injuries to Zion and Brandon Ingram.
This would be an all-in move for the Pelicans, but they don’t really need another young player, as they already had three rookies playing impact minutes in the playoffs this season.
They’d also get off both the Graham and Temple contracts, which they would love to do, as neither was a big part of the rotation and are not part of the future.
The 8th pick would be the big prize for the Detroit Pistons, who would have to take on two lousy contracts to get it, though Graham could have some value as a bench shooter.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#7: Portland Trail Blazers
The possibility of the Detroit Pistons trading with the Portland Trail Blazers has been discussed A LOT, as they are still the most logical destination for Jerami Grant.
Portland just got a brand new owner, as well as a new front office, so they will be trying to make a splash right away, making this type of trade more likely in my opinion, as it would potentially allow the Blazers to milk the last few year’s of Damian Lillard’s prime without going into full rebuild mode.
In this trade, the Trail Blazers get a quality player to put with Lillard and Anfernee Simons, as well as a second-round pick.
The Detroit Pistons get their 7th pick and the washed Eric Bledsoe, whose contract is not fully guaranteed. The Pistons could just buy him out and pocket the cap space, so they are getting a bonus in addition to the 7th pick.
I still have a hard time believing Portland would do this unless they had a plan to get another guy because Grant alone does not make them a contender, or probably even a playoff team in the Western Conference.
But if Portland can land fellow Team USA player Zach LaVine to go with Lillard, Simons and Grant, then they might have something.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#6: Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a team I have written about as a possibility for a draft day trade. I could see the Pacers potentially wanting to trade up with the Detroit Pistons to get local star Jaden Ivey, who would be a great fit with Haliburton and give them their backcourt of the future.
If the Pistons weren’t going to take Ivey anyway, why wouldn’t they trade back one spot, as they can pick up an asset or two and still get the guy they like. If Ivey and Shaedon Sharpe are both on the board, and the Pistons prefer Sharpe, then this trade makes sense.
The 31st pick probably isn’t enough to get the Detroit Pistons to move down, but if Indiana were willing to put a future 1st-round pick on the table, I can’t see Detroit saying no to this one, as they would have nothing to lose unless Indiana was going to pick the guy they really wanted.
The Cleveland pick likely won’t be in the lottery, but it’s still an asset that the Detroit Pistons could pick up for practically nothing, especially if they weren’t going to take Ivey anyway.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#4: Sacramento Kings
The Kings are another team that are a possible trade candidate for the Detroit Pistons, as they have reportedly said they are looking for a player who would help them win now.
The question is whether they would be willing to move off the 4th pick to get him or if the Pistons would be willing to take back a player to offset the salaries.
This trade is complicated by the fact that the Kings don’t have any cap space, so they’d have to make additional moves. The Detroit Pistons also have protections on future picks, so would have to go beyond them, which would make this pick potentially not convey until 2028, which probably wouldn’t interest the Kings.
Detroit could take back Richaun Holmes, but he’s not much help and his contract runs two years longer than Grant’s.
Because of all of this, it’s hard to see these two teams making a trade, though it does make sense for both. The 4th pick is probably too much to give up for Grant (even with a future pick attached) and the Pistons don’t want to take on any long-term money.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#3: Houston Rockets
The higher we get in the 2022 NBA Draft, the more the Detroit Pistons would have to give up, so I think it’s highly unlikely that this happens unless the Pistons really want someone from the top-3 (Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero) and don’t think there is anyone else worth drafting behind them.
It’s still possible that one of the “Big 3” is going to fall to the Pistons anyway, making this trade even less likely.
This would probably break the Internet if it happened.
If you hear someone screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” outside of your window, that’s just me reacting to my own idea.
Like I said, the only way I could see something like this is if the Detroit Pistons thought that guy at pick three was going to be the perfect second star to put next to Cade Cunningham.
Houston might jump at the chance to clear some cap space and get Wall off their roster. Can the guy still play at all? If so, he could get minutes on the Pistons, who would eat his huge salary with their cap space and then clear $47 million off their books the next offseason when there are better free agents to pursue.
As much as I would hate to take on that Wall contract even for a year, it is somewhat tempting, as he wouldn’t be bad next to Cade, would give the Pistons a mountain of cap space next summer and would hopefully net them the perfect complement for their young core.
I don’t know that Houston would be this desperate to shed Wall, but are they really going to sit him for another season? I may have somewhat talked myself into this one.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#2: OKC Thunder
No one really knows what the Thunder are going to do, as they own about half the NBA’s future picks.
Would they want more? Are there any young players on the Detroit Pistons that could entice them to move back? Are the Thunder going to try and add a star with all of those assets?
It’s hard to say, but if they don’t like either Holmgren or Banchero, they could get multiple assets with that pick.
I can’t see Stewart being enough to come off the second pick, so the Detroit Pistons have to add another future first rounder, which they could do since OKC is the one team that could remove the protections preventing the Pistons from trading a first-round pick.
It’s hard to see either team doing this, as Detroit probably thinks they can find a guy at five anyway, and the Thunder certainly don’t need any more draft picks. At some point they have to try to win, right?
I could see Detroit considering this one if Jabari Smith fell, as he seems like the best complement for Cade Cunningham, but otherwise, they’d probably just be happy to choose 5th and not have to give anything up.
Detroit Pistons: 2022 NBA Draft trades with the top-10
#1: Orlando Magic
The Magic are the least-likely team to trade out of their spot, as they will have their choice of player and the Detroit Pistons probably don’t have the necessary assets to even make a reasonable offer.
Considering the Pistons don’t have any near-future firsts to trade until the one they owe OKC is conveyed, it’s hard to even put together a package that is not hugely lopsided.
Pistons’ fans are going to hate this one, but let’s be real, you aren’t getting the number one pick without giving up a treasure chest of assets and probably not even then.
I can’t see either team being interested in this, but the Pistons would have to throw at least one of their best young players and a future pick (agin, way into the future) to even get the Magic to consider trading the 1st pick, even in a draft without a consensus top player.
The Pistons would have to believe there is a guy who is a future cornerstone of the franchise, as they’d be giving one up in Bey, and this is a draft where the 5th pick might end up being better than the 1st.
This is why trades for the number one pick rarely happen, and this one won’t either, but it gives you some idea of what it might take.
The Detroit Pistons have a lot of options with the 5th pick and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if they make a trade this year.