If you had to choose one word to describe the Detroit Pistons’ offseason, it might be “underwhelming.”
They didn’t use their cap space to land a big-time free agent, but instead kicked it down the road a year with trades for the expiring contracts of Joe Harris and Monte Morris.
It seemed like the entire league was at a standstill waiting for the trade of Damian Lillard and the eventual fallout, and when it finally happened, we saw a flurry of movement over the past few days.
Fans may be annoyed that the Detroit Pistons weren’t involved in any of it, as they still have some big roster questions, but player movement is good for Detroit and could set them up for future moves.
Will the Detroit Pistons be involved in the James Harden trade?
Now that Damian Lillard has been traded, the next unhappy star to be moved could be James Harden.
Harden has repeatedly expressed his disdain for Daryl Morey, who maintains that the 76ers have every intention of keeping him. But it seems unlikely given the rancor that is clearly there, so we could still see Harden traded before the season starts.
James Harden is not in Philadelphia for Media Day today as the 10-time All-Star awaits a trade from the 76ers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 2, 2023
If so, the Detroit Pistons might be involved, as they not only have a nice player in Bojan Bogdanovic to use to help match contracts, but have the expiring deal of Joe Harris that could help grease the wheels of a trade.
As we saw with Lillard, it will be tough for Philly to deal Harden without multiple teams being involved, as few contenders have the matching contracts or assets to do it.
Detroit does have those contracts, and Bogdanovic is not just some throw in, as he could help any of the contending teams. This could put the Pistons in a good position to pile on some assets in the Harden deal depending on which other teams are involved.
Speaking of Bogdanovic…
Detroit Pistons: Is Bojan Bogdanovic now the top trade target?
The trade market for James Harden isn’t huge, and he may not get traded anyway, so most teams will have to look elsewhere if they want to make impact additions before the trade deadline.
The arms race has officially begun, with the top two teams in the Eastern Conference both adding All-NBA players and the rest of the contenders may feel compelled to make moves to keep up.
When you consider his production and contract (only partially guaranteed after this season) Bojan Bogdanovic is now one of the top trade targets in the NBA.
His shooting could help any contender and after teams watched the Bucks add Lillard and the Celtics add Holiday, they could think a move is necessary if they want to compete.
The Pistons have been in this position before, and last season resisted the urge to move Bogdanovic, but with teams more desperate to upgrade their rosters, we could see even more competition for his services next season.
That puts the Detroit Pistons in a good position, especially in the context of their current roster situation.
Detroit Pistons: Bojan Bogdanovic is not the only asset
In addition to Bojan Bogdanovic, the Detroit Pistons also have Alec Burks and Joe Harris, two sharpshooters that contending teams might want at the NBA trade deadline.
They also have guys like Marvin Bagley III, James Wiseman and Killian Hayes, who have not proven themselves but could at least offer upside and youth.
And the great news is that all of these players (except MBIII) are on expiring contracts, which will make it easier to move them in bigger deals that require multiple players to make the money work.
Big trades almost always require expiring deals to make the money work, and the Pistons have six of them of various sizes to use in trades. If you need a bigger deal, they have Bogs and Harris. If you need a small salary to pad a deal, they have Killian Hayes.
This will make it much easier for the Pistons to get involved in a deal as the primary player or be a third or fourth team that provides contracts in exchange for assets.
Pistons fans are getting sick of hearing about “acquiring assets” instead of making moves to try and win, but more assets increase the likelihood that they can actually use their cap space to make a big trade of their own in the near future.
I don’t know if Troy Weaver has a plan, but all of this player movement should be good for the Detroit Pistons, as it makes their assets more valuable to teams trying to keep up with the Bucks and Celtics.