With the NBA Finals concluding this week, the Detroit Pistons have now officially begun a massive offseason. They have a top 5 Draft Pick, are projected to have $60+ Million in cap space, will potentially extend Cade Cunningham, need to hire a new head coach, and it is Trajan Langdon's first offseason as the new President of Basketball Operations.
After Woj dropped this bomb yesterday, even more pressure will be put on Trajan Langdon, as the NBA is already cutting deals.
BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are trading two-time All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso to the Oklahoma City Thunder for guard Josh Giddey, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/V3t12MA3Uo
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2024
The ultimate hustling, sharp shooting fan favorite for....Josh Giddey. This trade is yet another fleecing from Sam Presti, a GM who seems to do no wrong.
These are the types of deals the Pistons should be exploring.
Will the Detroit Pistons try to make an impact trade?
A trade like this moves my eyes directly at the Pistons' leader: Trajan Langdon. There are no excuses. Until winning basketball is being played in Detroit, no big-time free agents will sign here therefore trading for players is the only route.
The Caruso-Giddey trade shows that there are good players available for not that much and that teams are willing to take chances on young players with potential (AKA the entire Pistons roster). What can a guy like Jaden Ivey get you? What can a guy like Jalen Duren get you? I would've traded either of those guys for Alex Caruso, regardless of Caruso's looming extension.
The Pistons' roster has a bunch of Lego pieces that amount to nothing; they don't fit together. Cade needs a competent roster around him that makes sense for his playing style. Shooters and defenders. Seeing the Thunder trade a nothing-burger in Giddey for a guy who is the epitome of shooting and defense really just lit my fire and makes me hope that Langdon can do similar for our only star in Cade Cunningham.
At the end of the day, it's all about what Langdon's plan is. He hasn't spoken yet, so in the meantime we have to go off of what we'd like Langdon's plan to be. If I'm Langdon, my plan is to build around Cade and make everyone else available for trade.
Surround Cade with winning players, get Cade and the team playoff experience, whether that's a play-in experience or a real playoff series. Until we see Cade in the playoffs, we won't really know if he's THAT guy or just a guy.
You don't really know what you have until you play playoff basketball. I've seen Giddey in the playoffs look clueless and get benched. I've seen Caruso in the playoffs make winning play after winning play, leading to a championship ring on his finger. There are good players out there available for trade. Sam Presti keeps finding these deals, so I expect no less from Trajan Langdon.