The Detroit Pistons will be players in the Giannis Antetokounmpo drama this offseason.
Giannis set the NBA world on fire yesterday when a report revealed that he is open minded about leaving Milwaukee for the first time in his career.
That announcement had teams and fans scrambling to come up with their best trade packages with everyone fantasizing about adding a two-time MVP to their roster.
Bobby Marks of ESPN broke down what each team could offer Milwaukee for Giannis, and which teams would be the frontrunners if he were made available for trade.
He listed the Pistons as a “wildcard” after frontrunners Houston and San Antonio, who both have more draft picks at their disposal than Detroit.
The Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz come next, as they too are loaded with draft capital, which will be one of the required assets along with the right contracts and young talent.
The Pistons sit atop the next tier, which also includes Memphis, New Orleans, OKC, Orlando and Philly as the last group of teams that have a realistic chance at Giannis, as they at least meet the financial and draft-asset requirements, though each would have their own challenges.
So technically, the Pistons can’t be ruled out, but that doesn’t mean Giannis is coming to the Motor City.
Is trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo a realistic possibility for the Detroit Pistons?
The answer to this question is probably not.
The idea of pairing Cade Cunningham with another superstar is certainly appealing and may even get the attention of Giannis, who has played the Pistons plenty and knows they are a team on the rise.
Giannis has never played with a guy like Cade Cunningham and the two would instantly be the top duo in the Eastern Conference.
But aside from that, challenges abound when it comes to trading for Giannis.
The first is that there are other teams that could offer better trade packages than the Pistons, starting with both Houston and San Antonio, who have young talent, a ton of extra draft picks and desirable situations.
Houston has already reportedly tapped out on chasing Devin Booker or Kevin Durant, so may be happy being patient with a super talented and young roster that was just the #2 seed in the Western Conference.
San Antonio is the big threat here, as they have the best young player in the game and would instantly be title contenders with a big three of Giannis, Wemby and De’Aaron Fox.
It really depends on what the Bucks would want and whether they would value some of the Pistons’ young guys more than future draft capital.
This is also true of Utah and Brooklyn, whose talent might not be as intriguing as Detroit’s, but who have a ton of draft picks to throw around.
There are also the desires of Giannis to take into account, as he will have some say on where he ends up and might try to steer the Bucks toward his team of choice. Just about any good team turns into a contender with Giannis, but he’ll want an opportunity to win now but also to join a team that looks to have a bright future that doesn't have to completely rest on his shoulders.
The final question is how much of the roster the Pistons would have to give up and whether that cost would be worth it, even for a player of Giannis’ caliber.
To make the money work, Tobias Harris would almost have to be included. On top of that, the Bucks are certain to want at least two of the Pistons’ young players, say Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey or Duren and Ausar Thompson etc.
Then the Pistons would likely have to pile all of their available draft picks on top of that, which would be 3-4 first rounders and a similar number of swaps.
That’s a ton to give up and would suddenly give the Pistons a top-heavy roster without much depth and limited avenues to add it. I know a lot of people would be happy to try and navigate that if it meant pairing Giannis with Cade, but it would be tough to fill out a roster around them, ask the Bucks, who have been trying unsuccessfully to do it the last two seasons.
All of this makes Detroit an extreme long shot, but it would be malpractice not to at least inquire if Giannis is made available.