The Detroit Pistons got the offseason started with a bang, trading Jerami Grant and then pulling off a coup in the 2022 NBA Draft that landed them Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Gabriel Procida.
The grades for the Jerami Grant trade have been high, as Detroit not only landed the lottery pick they coveted, but didn’t take back much money to do it, as they only have to take on Kemba Walker’s expiring deal.
Many people thought the Pistons might have to take on $60 million of the broken-down Gordon Hayward to get that lottery pick, so Troy Weaver did very well to get the guy he wanted without adding another Blake Griffin-like albatross to the cap sheet.
Detroit still has the cap space to make a splashy move, but they also have some internal options to consider. So how much cap space will they have exactly? Well, that really depends.
How much cap space do the Detroit Pistons have?
According to Spotrac, the Detroit Pistons could have as much as $54,126,970 in cap space depending on what they do with their own guys. That number represents them not picking up any of their team options and does not reflect the likely buyout of Kemba Walker.
But Spotrac predicts the Pistons will have more like $32 million in space after the dust settles, which likely includes the Walker buyout, and exercising the options on either Hamidou Diallo or Frank Jackson, retaining Marvin Bagley III, as well as cap holds for the two rookies.
It will be far less than that if the Pistons keep all of these guys, but they still should have enough to make a splashy move in free agency or spread it around to multiple players.
How will the Pistons use their cap space?
There are a number of free agents that might interest the Detroit Pistons and Miles Bridges is likely at the top of the list. If Detroit were to go after him or a guy like Ayton, then you can probably waive goodbye to pretty much all of the players mentioned above.
I don’t think the Pistons are going to go deep into the luxury tax to keep Marvin Bagley III, so if the Pistons want to land a big-time free agent, it will likely be the only thing they do without further trades (a guy like Kelly Olynyk is certainly going to generate some interest).
The Pistons could also spread that money around a little, grab a few mid-tier guys like Otto Porter Jr., Taurean Prince or Bryn Forbes to upgrade their roster with more veteran depth.
The final option is to just sit on the cap space and keep some “dry powder” for future moves, as Detroit could be in a position to make a trade and take on a bigger contract this offseason or at the trade deadline.
The Detroit Pistons hold all of the cards at the moment and can decide to make the splashy move or bide their time and wait for an opportunity to pounce.