The Detroit Pistons are heading into the offseason with a bag of cash and plenty of weaknesses to address. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
Cap space isn’t what it used to be now that it is easier for teams to retain stars, so the Pistons may once again be left with money but no one to spend it on in free agency.
That leads us to trades, where Detroit might have better luck landing the impact talent they need.
But at what cost?
How much is too much for the Detroit Pistons?
If Detroit wants to get a good player in a trade, they are going to have to give up something of value in return, a transactional certainty that some fans seem unwilling to accept.
With limited draft assets at their disposal, it is going to come down to which young players they are willing to give up to get a proven player or two.
That means weighing the present against the future, of looking at the odds of making a meaningful trade vs the odds that one or more of the young players will eventually blossom into a star.
It’s a tough line to walk for a team that can’t afford mistakes, not when they aren’t attracting free agents and are in a conference that is trending young and getting better.
The following proposed trade is a good example of the type of decision Detroit will have to make, as it does land them an impact player, but is the cost too much? I don’t envy Trajan Langdon, as these are the types of tough calls he is going to have to make.