Detroit Pistons: Jerami Grant finally traded, so what now?

It finally happened. After nearly a year of rampant speculation, the Detroit Pistons have traded Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Fans of the Pistons were hoping to get the 7th pick in return (which was never close to happening) but instead get a 2025 1st round pick via Milwaukee, a pick swap this year to move up from 46th to 36th and a second-round pick in 2025. The first-round pick in 2025 is protected 1-4, but that probably won’t matter seeing that Giannis Antetokounmpo will still be just 30-years-old and the Bucks aren’t likely to be a lottery team as long as he is there in his prime.

In the end, the Pistons got a similar return to what Houston got in the Christian Wood trade, and it doesn’t appear there were any better deals out there for Grant.

It’s a disappointing return for now but we should withhold judgement until we see the final product. Troy Weaver clearly valued cap space more than any of the players he could get in return for Grant, and the Pistons now have nearly double the amount of any other team.

As of right now, the Pistons have $43 million in cap space that can balloon up to $56 million if they do not pick up any of their team options, which means guys like Frank Jackson and Hamidou Diallo may have played their last games in Detroit.

So what are the Detroit Pistons going to do with all of that cap space?

Detroit Pistons: The most likely scenario

I’d say the most likely scenario is that the Detroit Pistons sign one max free agent with their cap space and then use the rest to retain their own guys.

The Deandre Ayton rumors are really heating up, so if the Pistons were to land him on a max deal, that would leave enough money to re-sign Marvin Bagley III but not much for anything else, depending on the final numbers and what they do with Jackson, Diallo and Garza.

With Grant gone, the Pistons are now most likely to draft Keegan Murray as his replacement, so in the scenario they’d go into next season with this starting five:

• Cade Cunningham
• ?
• Saddiq Bey
• Keegan Murray
• Deandre Ayton

If the Pistons choose to retain Bagley III, it will be difficult for them to get a big-time free agent guard and Ayton even if they were to decline their options.

Detroit Pistons: 2 big-time free agents

Detroit has never really been a free-agent destination, but this year could be different, as they have a promising young core and more money to throw around than anyone else.

If the Detroit Pistons were to decline all of their team options, they could have as much as $56 million in cap space:

That’s enough to throw a bag at two max free agents and there are some good ones on the market, especially the restricted market.

Assuming the Pistons pursue Deandre Ayton, he is going to cost upwards of $30 million per season, which would leave the Pistons around $24 million to spend on free agent number two.

They could go after an unrestricted guy like Jalen Brunson, take a stab at Collin Sexton, or even try to steal Anfernee Simons away from the Trail Blazers. They could go for restricted free agent Miles Bridges, as the Hornets are reportedly balking at giving him a max, though I am not sure how he fits with Saddiq Bey already in the lineup.

It will be tough for the Pistons to steal two restricted free agents, but they have the money and would look like a pretty appealing destination with Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and possibly Ayton on board.

• Cade Cunningham
• Simons/Brunson/Sexton/Bridges
• Saddiq Bey
• Keegan Murray
• Ayton

This is probably the most exciting option and the one that would make the Detroit Pistons better right away, but I also see it as a long shot, as they’d have to either outbid Dallas for Brunson or potentially overpay for one of the restricted free agents.

Detroit Pistons: Using the cap space to make a trade

Free agency isn’t the only way to use cap space, as the Detroit Pistons also have the option of taking on a contract without sending one out, potentially giving some other team cap relief in exchange for assets.

The Hornets are a possibility here (this was written before the trade), as they would love to get off Gordon Hayward’s deal and may be willing to part with one or more of their first-round picks to to do it.

Hayward is owed $60 million over the next two seasons, so the Hornets are going to have to pay to get rid of him, as that is a lot of money to take on for a guy who has played 93 games combined over the last two seasons and has a history of injury problems.

But if the Pistons were able to land another pick or two, this might be a way to use their space without taking on any long-term money, adding more young talent and setting themselves up to have more money in a better free-agent class down the road.

After the Jerami Grant trade last night, just about anything is on the table, and there will obviously be more moves coming.