At this point, we’ve all heard about how the Detroit Pistons are the only team in the NBA with cap space, which could work to their advantage at the NBA trade deadline.
There are myriad ways they could use it by taking a salary dump for picks, packaging it with a player to add impact talent or somewhere in between.
They could also use their $14 million in space to simply eat a contract from one of the 1st or 2nd tax apron teams desperate to get more flexible financially.
When you look at the apron teams (the 2nd apron in particular) there might be opportunities for the Pistons to get a player who can help them at the deadline for practically nothing.
NBA 1st tax apron teams
There are nine teams currently over the 1st tax apron according to Spotrac and four of those are over the second apron as well:
-Phoenix Suns
-Minnesota Timberwolves
-Boston Celtics
-Milwaukee Bucks
-New York Knicks
-Miami Heat
-Los Angeles Lakers
-Denver Nuggets
-Philadelphia 76ers
Of the 1st apron teams, the Heat and 76ers seem the most likely to shed salary, Miami because of the inevitable Jimmy Butler trade and Philly because they are currently out of the play-in picture and going through a nightmare season when it comes to injuries.
NBA 2nd tax apron teams
There are four teams over the 2nd apron, which is where we are going to focus our attention for the Pistons, since exceeding the 2nd apron comes with some serious penalties when it comes to roster building, as it limits what teams can do in trades.
Phoenix Suns: $-28.2 million
The Suns are the most expensive team by far, over $28 million over the second tax apron, so they are not likely to make a trade that can get them out of it.
If they were looking to cut salary, they could look to attach a pick to Jusuf Nurkic to get off the final year of his deal.
The Pistons could potentially take on Nurkic and one of those first-round picks the Suns just got from Utah in exchange for someone like Simone Fontecchio, which would give the Suns some relief, though I am not sure their owner cares.
Minnesota Timberwolves: $-16.1 million
This wouldn’t get them all the way there, but dumping Mike Conley Jr. into the Pistons’ cap space would be a good start to getting out from under the 2nd apron.
Conley’s numbers are down across the board, he’s 37-years-old and still has another year on his deal at around $10 million. The Pistons could use a veteran point guard and they wouldn’t have to send a contract back. They may even be able to pick up a 2nd-round pick for their troubles.
Boston Celtics: $-7.6 million
Of these four teams, Boston seems the least likely to dump salary, but if they wanted to swap Kristaps Porzingis for Isaiah Stewart, they could get out from under the 2nd apron and possibly improve, as Stewart would be a great fit there.
I don’t see this happening for many reasons, but Boston could be a team to watch for a salary dump. Would they consider shifting Sam Hauser? Probably not, but worth exploring.
Milwaukee Bucks: $-6.4 million
The most obvious choice here is the Pistons taking Pat Connaughton into their cap space in exchange for a couple of 2nd-round picks, which would make me want to puke.
Connaughton is terrible and still has another year on his deal at over $9 million. No thanks. Attach a first or kick rocks.
But what about Khris Middleton? The Pistons could potentially send Tim Hardaway Jr. and Simone Fontecchio to Milwaukee, which would get the Bucks out from under the 2nd apron.
Of course, with Middleton’s injury history and struggles this season, the Pistons aren’t going to do this for free, especially since they would be on the hook for his $34 million player option next season.
This one is interesting if the Pistons could land a future 1st, but I can’t see it happening, as Trajan Langdon has so far avoided injury-prone players and Middleton is a walking injury report.
There are certainly other names (mostly from the 1st apron teams) that will be made available and the Pistons might be able to get someone for free just for having cap space.
This is shaping up to be a wild trade deadline for Detroit, as they are likely to be involved in just about any big deal that goes down.