Pistons need to be greedy on NBA Draft night

The Detroit Pistons would love to land a young talent in tomorrow’s NBA Draft, but their 21st pick is also one of their best trade assets, which could prove challenging. 

The Pistons didn’t have a pick in the first round of last year’s draft, so missed a chance to add a project player, and this draft is even deeper with opportunities for a talent to fall to the Pistons. 

Keeping a steady pipeline of young, inexpensive talent is crucial to team building and gives teams a lot more flexibility, which is why we’re not seeing panic in OKC even though they have to trade a few guys to cut payroll. 

They have the young, cheap players to replace them just as the guys at the top of the payroll get more expensive. 

The Pistons can’t afford to not have a pick two years in a row, and this might be the best pick they have for the foreseeable future. They would have been choosing 28th this season if not for the pick swap they got from Minnesota, and even if they don’t win 60 games again next year, their pick will likely be in the high 20’s in a draft that is not projected to be as deep with talent. 

The Pistons have to get greedy here and try to have their cake and eat it too. 

Keeping the 2026 pick out of a trade is crucial for the Pistons 

There could be a lot of player movement around the draft, especially if the first big domino of the summer falls and Giannis is traded out of Milwaukee. 

That trade may open up opportunities for the Pistons when it comes to Tyler Herro, but they should absolutely draw the line at including this year’s pick in the deal, as this might be their best opportunity to add an impact player in the draft. 

Even if the Pistons had to include additional second round picks to sweeten a deal, they should balk at giving up this year’s pick. But the best-case scenario is the Pistons landing a scoring talent and still keeping their pick. 

The Pistons roster is about to get expensive 

The Pistons are negotiating extensions with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, and if they both sign them, this roster is about to get expensive with Cade Cunningham already on a max deal. 

Finding cheap talent is going to be key to keeping this team together as they start to make more money, so not having a first-round pick two years in a row would be detrimental to that effort. 

If anything, the Pistons should try to move up in the draft, as they could really use an impact player with this pick, especially if they can land one of the top forwards. 

One way or another, the Pistons have to walk away from this draft with a young player coming in and can’t be too loose with it in a trade unless it is bringing back a long-term answer. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow