The Detroit Pistons start the 2024-25 regular season on Wednesday and it appears their roster is set, for now.
The Pistons recently waived five players to get their roster down to 15, which includes two-way contract Daniss Jenkins.
They have an open roster spot and around $10 million in cap space, so the Pistons are well-positioned to make a move at some point before the trade deadline.
Or it could come sooner, as Trajan Langdon has been hinting that the Pistons would be willing to take on a contract or two in salary dumps for picks and it seems as though they are waiting for the right deal to fall into their laps.
Late offseason trades in the NBA
The last few seasons we’ve seen some big moves made late in the offseason after it seemed as though the dust had settled.
There are several teams with aging superstars that didn’t do much this offseason and may be feeling the last-minute panic to make a move.
Teams like the Warriors, Bucks, Heat and Lakers all have time as their biggest enemy as they try to maximize their championship chances around their stars.
At some point, one or more of these teams are going to make moves, which is what happens in a recent trade proposal in which the Pistons, their cap space and open roster spot come into play.
Four team trade with the Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics
If the Pistons make a move before the season, it won’t likely be one that brings in a star player, as Detroit is looking for picks and expiring contracts that don’t extend past two seasons, which is the apparent timeline Langdon has set for his young team.
This deal would give the Pistons some of both while shaking up the foundation of the NBA with a superstar changing teams. This trade was proposed by Bleacher Report:
Warriors get: Jimmy Butler, Anton Watson
Heat get: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, $14.9 million trade exception
Celtics get: $1.1 million
Pistons get: Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II, 2026 2nd-round pick (ATL), 2026 2nd-round pick (LAL), 2028 2nd-round pick (ATL), $4 million
This would certainly get social media buzzing.
In this deal, the Warriors desperately try to get back to the elite of the Western Conference behind 36-year-old Stephen Curry and 35-year-old Jimmy Butler and give up their best young player to do it.
This would be one way to try for another title, good luck with that Warriors.
The Heat would stay somewhat relevant but lose their best player, especially for a potential appearance in the playoffs.
I don’t particularly like this trade for either team, but ultimately, they are not my concern. What about the Detroit Pistons, would this be a good way for them to cash in on their roster flexibility and cap space?
Detroit Pistons add defense and picks in mega-trade
Obviously, Butler going to the Warriors would grab all of the headlines, but this would be a sneaky good deal for the Pistons, though one that comes with some challenges.
The first would be that they would have to open a roster spot by cutting Paul Reed, who wasn’t great in preseason but has shown he can be an impact backup. But if he is only going to be playing 3rd center minutes, replacing him with Looney is no big deal.
Gary Payton II would also be a decent defensive upgrade in the backup guard ranks and would give coach Bickerstaff a defender to bring off the bench for a few minutes per game instead of Marcus Sasser, who then becomes trade bait himself.
Most importantly, these two have expiring contracts that would be easy to move at the deadline, potentially for more second-round picks, especially in the case of Looney, who has shown he can be an impact backup in the playoffs.
The Pistons aren’t giving up anything but cap space they aren’t using anyway and would pick up three more second-round picks (with the chance for another at the trade deadline) as well as two guys who would help their overall depth.
If the Pistons are going to do a salary dump trade like this, then this one isn’t bad, as second-round picks should have more value in the apron era as teams try to stay away from guaranteed money, which may allow the Pistons to move into the first round in one of these years.