Trajan Langdon and the Detroit Pistons went into this offseason with a plan and they have executed it so far.
The Pistons wanted to pick up some assets for taking on the contract of a still useful player and did when they traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. They were also able to use cap space to move up in the draft, taking Bobi Klintman with the 37th pick.
Langdon clearly wanted to avoid any long-term deals, so signed Tobias Harris to a two-year contract that shouldn’t hurt the bottom line financially and will help Detroit’s young players in their development.
The Pistons still have around $26 million remaining to spend, and with the group of viable free agents shrinking, may turn to a trade to use it.
Here are the top remaining targets and the Pistons chances of landing one of them. If you are hoping for another big name to come to Detroit, you will probably have to wait.
Lauri Markkanen: 0%
I’ll let the great Debbie Gibson summarize the Pistons’ chances of landing Lauri Markkanen:
Heading into the offseason, the Jazz kept saying they had no interest in moving Markkanen, but after seeing what the Knicks gave up for Mikal Bridges, that tune changed.
The Jazz aren’t good enough to compete right now and not bad enough to tank, so cashing in on Markkanen may be their best move.
They are going to ask for something like a young player and five picks or so, so the Pistons aren’t even in the conversation. Even if Detroit were to offer up Ivey and Duren, they’d still come up short, as Utah is going to hold out.
The OKC Thunder are the team to watch here, though they have already made impact additions with Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Not too many other teams have the assets to offer, and that includes the Detroit Pistons. So as Debbie said, this one is only in our dreams.
Brandon Ingram: 1%
I would have put this one a lot higher earlier in the offseason, especially after the Pistons hired Trajan Langdon.
Yes, Langdon was the former GM of Ingram’s team, but he’s also the GM who didn’t offer BI an extension, so maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised here.
The likelihood of Ingram decreased even more after the Pistons signed Tobias Harris, who is more of a stopgap veteran than a building block as Ingram would be.
If Ingram’s price dropped significantly, who knows, as Detroit could slot him into the three spot with Harris at the four, giving them two consistent scorers around Cade Cunningham. But they all like to work in the mid-range, so it’s hard to see that working.
This one is not happening either.
Cam Johnson: 7%
The Nets are reportedly shopping some of their guys now that they have traded Mikal Bridges and appear to be rebuilding. You never know with the Nets, who seem to vacillate from tanking to trying to win a title from season to season.
I’m not a huge fan of Johnson, who misses too many games, but he is an elite shooter for his size and his deal isn’t bad. He has three years remaining at $23, 21 and 23 million per season, which begs the question why the Nets would be that interested in moving him.
He also plays the same position as Harris, though the two could share the floor together, especially if the Pistons put Ausar Thompson at the two. Could the Pistons get Johnson for the cost of Jaden Ivey? Would that be too much to give up for a 28-year-old who has only played more than 60 games once in his career? Probably.
Russell Westbrook: 1%
Hard to see this one, though the Pistons could use another veteran guard off the bench.
Westbrook opted into his $4 million for next season on the Clippers, who were probably hoping he wouldn’t.
Westbrook is still a productive player who rarely misses games, so if the Clippers wanted to send Detroit a pick to take on his deal (they don’t), then why not?
He’s not a fit on the Pistons given that he still can’t shoot, but I love the fact that Westbrook shows up and competes every night, something the young Pistons could learn from.
DeMar DeRozan: 0%
DeRozan would have to be a sign-and-trade, which makes little sense for the Pistons, who could just sign him outright now that he is an unrestricted free agent.
Can we marvel for a second at just how awful the Bulls’ front office is? Their asset management has been criminal, and now they are likely to lose DeRozan for nothing. Be careful what you wish for, folks, as there are worse owners than Tom Gores, see Reinsdorf, Jerry for an example.
DeRozan might have been a possibility if the Pistons hadn’t signed Tobias Harris, as he too will likely be on a short-term deal, though he will probably get more. He’s also older, though DeRozan rarely misses games.
As with Ingram, it’s hard to see how Cade, Harris and DeRozan would co-exist.
Zach LaVine: 14%
I can see a world in which Trajan Langdon is slow playing this one to get LaVine on the best possible deal.
At this point, the Pistons are one of the only teams with the cap space to take on his deal, though they would now have to send back at least one contract to make the money work. My guess would be Isaiah Stewart, which seems unlikely given the Pistons’ lack of center depth.
Langdon has also shown no interest in long-term deals, so may balk at the three years unless there were multiple assets attached, one for LaVine, one for Stewart.
The problem is that the Bulls don’t have them, as they gave away Alex Caruso for Giddey (and no picks), didn’t trade Drummond (walked for nothing) and are now about to lose DeRozan for nothing as well. They owe a pick to the Spurs and the one coming to them from the Trail Blazers has protections that make it unlikely to ever convey.
I’d say the possibility for LaVine is higher than anyone else listed here, but it’s still very low and I can’t see it happening unless the Bulls can find a third team with a pick or two to throw the Pistons’ way.