Pistons can only hope for one outcome in the Giannis saga

Giannis Antetokounmpo was a featured part of the NBA trade deadline this year, with daily excruciating minutiae of his every thought and word driving headlines that never came to fruition. Giannis wasn’t traded, but you can bet the trade rumors will be even louder this summer, especially if Giannis doesn’t sign an extension.  The Pistons can only hope for one outcome here, which is to see Giannis traded out of the Central Division and hopefully the Eastern Conference. 

Pistons fans are going to talk themselves into the possibility of Giannis coming to Detroit, and you never know, maybe he’ll see the young Pistons as his best opportunity to win titles over the latter stages of his career. 

But my guess is that he’ll be headed elsewhere if he is traded, and let’s not get it twisted, if Giannis doesn’t sign an extension to stay in Milwaukee, then they have to trade him, as they’d risk another season of this constant talk and even potentially losing Giannis for nothing, as he has a player option after next season, so will essentially be on an expiring deal next year.

The same challenges remain for the Pistons, which is that they’d have to give up too many rotation players to match salary, and it would be tough to put together a deep roster. 

I don’t expect the Pistons to trade for Giannis (sorry), so there is really only one thing they can hope for. 

The Pistons need Giannis traded to the Western Conference 

The Bucks will likely trade Giannis at some point, but they were smart to wait until the summer, as teams like the Knicks and Heat will have more to offer in terms of draft assets. 

If the Bucks are to trade him, Giannis will have some say on where he goes, and the worst-case scenario for the Pistons is that he ends up on the Knicks. 

On one hand, this could gut their depth, and it would put all of their eggs in one basket, as they’d be in a tough spot if it didn’t work out, as they will have to give up players and picks to get him in the first place. 

On the other, Giannis is one of the few transformative talents in the NBA, and the idea of him playing for the Knicks is not appealing, as the Pistons would still be looking at going through him in a potential playoff matchup for the foreseeable future. 

If Giannis gets traded, I’m hoping it will be to the Warriors, as they aren’t as much threat to the Pistons, and their age puts them one injury away from being a lottery team, as they have no depth and would be putting a lot of faith in older players. 

We’ve not seen the end of the Giannis soap opera, as he will be the focal point of the offseason, one who hopefully ends up out of the Pistons’ hair.