The Detroit Pistons are days away from the NBA Draft Lottery, which could prove to be a turning point in franchise history.
But the draft alone won’t determine the Pistons’ improvement for next season, as they also have cap space to spend on free agents or to use in trades.
Every year we see free-agent fallout from the playoffs where a guy increases his value on the big stage or a team’s early exit causes a free agent or his team to rethink their options.
That will be the case this season, as each playoff series has some potential free-agent fallout depending on who wins.
Detroit Pistons: Potential free-agent fallout from each playoff series
Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns
The Denver Nuggets were the first team to advance to the Western Conference Finals by blowing out the Suns last night behind more brilliance from Nikola Jokic. Even after winning back-to-back MVPs and being heavily considered for a third, Jokic is still somehow underrated and only made 2nd team All-NBA, not that he’ll care, as his only goal this season is to win a ring.
Making the NBA Finals or winning a ring might make it harder for the Nuggets to retain free agent Bruce Brown, who has proven to be a very valuable role player in the regular season and playoffs. A reunion with the Detroit Pistons would be possible.
The Suns don’t really have any major free agents, but will their loss spark a trade? They might already be regretting the Ayton extension (the Pistons may have dodged a bullet there) and could look to move the big man this summer, as they don’t have many other ways to improve or change their roster. The Suns could just run it back but we could definitely see Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton hit the trade market.