The Detroit Pistons have made calculated and measured moves this offseason so far, adding veteran talent without sacrificing any long-term assets or financial flexibility.
The team isn’t ready to compete for a title, but does need to create a winning environment for its young players, so hopefully the Pistons will improve next season and we’ll see leaps in development as well as in the win column.
Trajan Langdon set a timeline for this team with the free-agent contracts that he gave out, none of which extend beyond two years, a reasonable assessment of where they are and how long it will take to get where they want to be.
He has positioned the Pistons to eventually make a move for a star, as he added draft assets, retained young talent and set Detroit up with tradable contracts that could eventually be used in a big deal.
But choosing the right star is paramount.
The second apron has changed the financial landscape for the Detroit Pistons and the NBA
The star of this offseason has been the second tax apron, which delivers real damage to teams that cross it.
It has stopped certain trades from happening this summer and has also made teams stay clear of a type of contract and player, namely the “good, not great” star.
Teams can still have three max contracts if they want to, but it makes it much more difficult to fill out a competitive roster, which means teams are going to try to avoid overpaying fringe superstars and giving lucrative third contracts to players who aren’t good enough to be the alpha dog of a title team.
Crossing that second apron doesn’t just mean losing money, it means losing trade exceptions, the ability to aggregate contracts in a trade and limits the types of trades teams can do.
The Pistons are nowhere near the second apron, but as they build, they need to remain financially prudent and not give max deals to the wrong guys.
Here are four players they should avoid. This is not a knock on the players themselves, but their financial hit balanced against what they bring on the floor.
Zach LaVine
LaVine is probably the captain of this team, as he still has three years remaining on his deal that no one in the league wants to touch.
It’s wild, as LaVine is a very good player and a few seasons ago it would have been unthinkable that there was zero trade market for him, but here we are.
This is a guy who has averaged 25 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from long range on high volume over the last five seasons.
But he’s getting paid premium money, the kind of money you give to players who regularly lead their team to the playoffs, don’t miss a lot of games and who make their teammates better. Zach LaVine doesn’t fit that description.
So, a very good player is languishing on a team that doesn’t want him because his contract and injury history are massive red flags in the second apron era. In past years, some contender would have stolen LaVine for little and just taken the tax hit.
Karl-Anthony Towns
KAT had a fantastic season last year and, in the process, shook off many of the criticisms about his game.
You can quibble about his defense, but the man is a center who was a few free throws away from being in the 50/40/90 club. He’s one of the most efficient offensive players in the league and would be a beast around Cade Cunningham.
But if KAT is the best player on your team, where is that team headed? Ask the ‘Wolves, who went out and got Rudy Gobert because they knew the answer to this question.
KAT is the perfect number two or three option on a good team, so you can argue he’s worth what he’s being paid. But he only played 62 games last season, and just 29 the year before that.
He’s also had seasons of 50 and 35 games played.
KAT is amazing and would obviously help the Pistons. He could also be available if Minnesota eventually wants to cut payroll, but at that price, he’s a huge risk.
Brandon Ingram
Even though I like Ingram a lot as a player, this is one I am getting sick of hearing about to be honest.
If Trajan Langdon wanted Ingram, the Pistons would probably have him by now, but he’s another star that comes with big red flags. For all of the talk about how much Zion Williamson has been injured for the Pelicans, Ingram is nearly as bad.
He’s only played more than 70 games once in his career (his rookie season) and has since played 59, 52, 62, 61, 55, 45 and 64 games.
He’s either been the first- or second-best player on the Pelicans and hasn’t led them anywhere and had a miserable playoffs this season as his team flamed out again.
On the right deal, I’d love Ingram, but he is looking for a max contract extension and he just hasn’t done enough or been on the court enough to warrant paying that much.
Ingram falls into that borderline All-Star category of guys you don’t want to overpay, much like LaVine, a very good player with flaws who won’t give you value for money because of the number of games he misses.
Lauri Markkanen
First off, I love Markkanen and think he’d be an ideal player to put around Cade Cunningham, so this has nothing to do with him as a player.
But have you seen what Utah is asking for in a trade? It’s almost like they are trolling the league.
And can I ask, what in the world has Lauri Markkanen done to deserve to be treated like a superstar? He’s made one All-Star team. He’s never even appeared in the playoffs. If you want to know what a team looks like with Markkanen as its best player, ask the Jazz, who won 31 games last season and act like they are sitting on the next Kevin Durant.
He’s been on one winning team in his career, the 2021-22 Cavs, who did not make the playoffs. He averaged 14 points per game for that squad when he wasn't the first option.
Markkanen has never played 70 games in a season in his entire career. It will not only cost a boatload to get him, but he’s going to get a massive extension from someone.
I get it. He’s a seven-footer who can shoot. But he can’t stay healthy and his teams have never been good, so giving up a treasure chest of assets for a guy and then paying him upwards of $50 million a year to play 55 games is not a prudent way to spend money in the apron era.