Detroit Pistons: Is there a trade out there for the #1 pick?

In case you’ve been living in a cave for the last few months, the Detroit Pistons are less than a week away from knowing if they will get the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama.

The Detroit Pistons have a 14 percent chance at the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery, and fans are praying that lightning strikes for the second time in three years.

We often hear words like “generational” tossed around in NBA Drafts, but in the case of Wembanyama, it might be true, as we’ve not seen a draft prospect this hyped since Lebron James still had a hairline.

That is why some executives are saying that they wouldn’t trade this year’s #1 pick for any current player in the NBA, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In some drafts, trading up for the #1 pick is possible, as the 76ers did it fairly recently to disastrous effects when they traded up to take Markelle Fultz while the Celtics went back and got Jayson Tatum with the 3rd pick.

I recently had a reader tell me that if the Detroit Pistons don’t get the #1 pick, that they should just “trade up for it,” which made me laugh, as the Pistons don’t have the assets to make such a trade, even if they were giving up the #2 pick and a couple of their young players, that’s how valuable Wembanyama is perceived to be.

So the question is whether there is anyone that could prompt a trade for #1 the 2023 NBA Draft.

Detroit Pistons: Trading for the #1 pick

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Even though he did not win MVP, Giannis is still widely considered to be the best player in the league. The “Greek Freak” is sort of the prototype for a guy like Wembanyama, as he is basically a seven footer who can run the offense, block shots and is pretty much impossible to stop.

Giannis is also under contract through 2025-26 (player option) and has proven himself to be a durable, MVP-caliber player who is easy to build around. Milwaukee could offer up Giannis, but other than that, they don’t have much, as they have no first-round pick this season and owe picks or have swaps for the next several after that.

So Giannis straight up for the #1 pick, would you do it? The safe answer is “of course!” As hyped as Wembanyama is, we’ve not yet seen him do it in the NBA, nor see him stay healthy through the rigors of a full NBA season. Giannis immediately makes any team a playoff contender and a lot of teams a contender for the title.

But I still wouldn’t do it.

Yes, Wembanyama is more of a risk, but there is also a good chance that he will BE Giannis in a year or two, and an MVP-caliber player on a rookie deal is the most valuable commodity in the NBA. There might not be a comp for how good Wembanyama can be defensively, and he’s already a better shooter than Giannis, so imagine the Greek Freak only a better shooter and shot blocker and that’s what Wembanyama can be.

As good as Giannis is, he’s making $45 million plus over the next two seasons, and then can hit free agency, and two guaranteed years of Giannis is not worth what could be at least seven years of Wemby.

Detroit Pistons: Trading for the #1 pick

Nikola Jokic

Like Giannis, Jokic is a multiple-time MVP winner who immediately raises the ceiling of what any team can be. He’s also 28-years-old and also under a contract that will pay him between $48-56 million per season (phew!) up until a whopping $61 million player option in the 2027-28 season when he’ll be 33-years-old.

So any team trading the #1 pick for Jokic would get more guaranteed years out of him. I would also say that Jokic is a safer bet just because his game doesn’t rely on athleticism like Giannis’, so he is likely to age well and still be effective well into his mid to late 30’s.

He has never been one to miss a lot of games, and he’s the type of player that can make every other player on the team better.

The Nuggets also have more in terms of assets to attach to any deal, so they could swing for the fences and try to trade for the #1 pick.

The only knock against Jokic, who is still somehow underrated, is that he’s not the type of player who is going to put butts in the seats of your arena, where Wembanyama is estimated to bring $500 million in instant revenue to whatever team gets lucky enough to draft him.

Because of his guaranteed years and the style he plays, Jokic is closer to being a possibility for a trade, but it’s still hard to see any team giving up Wemby for a guy who makes nearly $50 million next season when they can have Victor on a rookie deal.

Detroit Pistons: Trading for the #1 pick

Luka Doncic

To me, the only other player who would even be considered in a trade for the #1 pick would be Luka Doncic.

The big advantage Luka has over the other two is that he is still just 24-years-old and already playing at an MVP level. He’s also under contract, but his will “only” pay him up to $45 million before he has a player option for the 2026-27 season. After that, Doncic will sign what will likely be the biggest contract in NBA history.

Dallas could also add their own top-10 pick this season to the deal to sweeten the pot, so Luka plus pick #10 might be the best offer out there.

It’s still probably not enough.

While Luka has shown that he can drag a mediocre supporting cast to the playoffs, he’s not won much yet and hasn’t shown the type of dedication he needs to getting into and staying in peak physical shape.

He’s also not a great defensive player, so you’d be trading the chance to have the league’s best defender and an unstoppable offensive force for a guy who has only shown that he can thrive in a helio-centric offense that revolves around him.

Given his age, Luka is probably the only player you would consider trading the #1 pick to get, but again, you’d be potentially giving up a guy who could instantly be one of the best two-way players in the league on a rookie deal.

Luka gets you closer, but I still think most teams would roll with Wembanyama. There are injury concerns given his frame, but when you consider his potential and the fact that he’ll be under team control for the foreseeable future, it would be hard to trade Wembanyama for just about anyone.

So unless the Detroit Pistons land the #1 pick, Wembanyama will not be coming to the Motor City.