A reunion and lottery luck could make Detroit Pistons relevant again

The Detroit Pistons have recently been reported as saying they hope to “be great next year,” and as hard as it is to believe right now, it is possible, though most of us would settle for “not awful.”

The NBA has more parity than ever, and we’ve recently seen teams like the Cavaliers and Kings go from the cellar to playoff contention in the course of one or two offseasons.

It’s going to take some luck and savvy moves for the Detroit Pistons, but they are closer than you might think, especially if they can add the right guys in free agency and get very lucky in the 2023 NBA Draft.

All we have are dreams and hope at the moment, so let’s look at one possibility that would immediately get the Detroit Pistons back to being relevant in the NBA.

Detroit Pistons: Lottery odds and free agency

The chances of landing the number one pick are minuscule even if the Detroit Pistons end up with the worst record in the league. Currently they have the second-worst record, so would have a 14 percent chance of winning the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.

It’s not likely to happen, but we are dreaming here, so let’s say for the sake of argument that it does.

Whatever team lands Wembanyama will immediately be better and he may be good enough to get a bad team into the play-in picture right away, especially with the right complementary moves.

About a month ago, I wrote about the possibility of the Detroit Pistons pursuing former Piston Jerami Grant as a free agent this offseason. Grant will hit the market and be one of the top targets, Detroit has a load of cap space, needs a two-way forward and he left on good terms with the team.

James Edwards III of The Athletic (SUBSCRIPTION) recently stoked those flames by saying you can’t count out a reunion with Grant this summer. So let’s say that happens too.

This is a team that could immediately challenge for a play-in spot and possibly more, with plenty of room to grow.

• Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
• Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
• Jerami Grant/Bojan Bogdanovic
• Victor Wembanyama/Isaiah Stewart/Saddiq Bey
• Jalen Duren/Marvin Bagley III/Isaiah Stewart

Inject this into my veins! The Pistons would have one of the longest, most versatile defenses in the league in the starting five, and then would have a bench full of perfect complementary shooters and bigs to match up with just about anyone.

Of course, I am just dreaming here, but allow a man to dream! The real point is that the Detroit Pistons aren’t that far from potentially being good, even if they don’t luck out and land Wembanyama, as the right draft pick and free agents could get them back into the mix next season.