The Detroit Pistons haven’t made a splashy move this summer, and it may not be coming.
They’ve certainly explored a lot of options, but nothing has come to fruition yet, and while the offseason isn’t over, it’s difficult to see where the quintessential ”big move” is coming from.
Trajan Langdon has improved on the fringes, adding shooting and depth to the power forward spot and bench, but they also lost key parts of their identity in Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris, so it could be a wash.
Whether you think the Pistons have improved or not, they still haven’t addressed some of the key issues that got them bounced from the playoffs.
A large swath of the Pistons fanbase is sick to death of hearing about patience, and I understand, but the truth is Detroit is now set up to make a big move, just not right now, so patience may be required.
The Pistons are better set up for a trade deadline move
I am withholding my overall judgement on the Pistons’ offseason until it is complete, as Trajan Langdon may yet have a big move up his sleeve.
But even if he doesn’t make it now, he has better positioned his team to eventually make that move. What has held the Pistons back in the past is a lack of movable contracts to match salary, which would have required them to dig into parts of their roster they didn’t want to touch.
With Isaiah Joe, Kevin Huerter, Duncan Robinson, Taurean Prince and John Collins, the Pistons have contracts that are short-term, team-friendly and would be easy to move. All of these players also represent a skill set every team is looking for at the trade deadline, which is 3-point shooting.
The Pistons can’t trade most of these guys yet, but they will go into next year’s trade deadline with far more options when it comes to matching salary.
There may be more talent available
The Pistons’ offseason ambition has mostly been met with unwilling dance partners, as guys like Trey Murphy III and Tyler Herro were more available in silly season fantasyland than they were in reality.
That might not be true at the trade deadline when their respective teams both stink. There will be bad teams suddenly looking to deal contracts.
This is especially true of expiring deals, so the price tag for players like Michael Porter Jr. may come down when they are viewed as half-season rentals. The Pistons may be able to flip Collins and Robinson (just as an example) for an upgrade with a team looking for financial flexibility with their expiring deals.
Maybe this is just me coping, but the reality is what it is if the Pistons can’t find a big deal. I’m still holding out for that second scorer, but we may have to be patient, which is a virtue in short supply these days.
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