Detroit Pistons: One big name or more depth in free agency?

NBA free agency starts tonight at 6PM ET and there will likely be a tornado of moves, some of which could include the Detroit Pistons.

As one of the teams with cap space, Detroit can get involved in free agency in myriad ways that don’t necessarily involve cutting a huge check for a starting-level player.

It may be more prudent to use the cap space to facilitate a trade, to take on a contract in exchange fo assets or try to move one of the bigs to better balance the roster.

Of course many fans are hoping the Pistons will land a player like Cam Johnson or Jerami Grant, which would take most if not all of their available cap space.

If you look at the options, and take Troy Weaver’s statements at face value, those fans might be disappointed, as he tried to downplay free agency and talked about building around what they already have.

So that leads to the question of how exactly the Detroit Pistons should use their cap space.

Detroit Pistons: One big name or more depth in free agency?

One name that was connected to the Pistons is already gone, as it was announced that Harrison Barnes is going back to the Kings on a three-year deal that will pay him $54 million.

Detroit still has options, but now there will be more teams vying for the same guys, which could make landing a Jerami Grant or Cam Johnson very expensive, as the Pistons will likely have to blow away other team’s offers.

Knowing that, there is an argument that the Pistons should just use trades and complementary signings to fill our their roster rather than blow all of their cap space on one guy.

Let’s take a look at two hypotheticals, one where Detroit lands the big name, one in which they do not.