You may have felt an unfamiliar feeling if you were a Pistons fan watching the 2025 NBA Draft lottery: Apathy.
After five straight years and six of the last seven, the Pistons’ fate is no longer tied to the ping-pong ball algorithm of the NBA Draft Lottery, and it feels pretty good to be able to relax without an array of good luck charms, anxiously waiting for something that only has a 14 percent chance of happening.
After unexpectedly making the playoffs, Detroit had to give their pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which will convey as the 17th selection in this year's draft.
It was the leftover debt from the Isaiah Stewart trade way back in 2020, which means the Pistons will finally head into an offseason with ownership of all of their future draft picks.
It was nice not to watch in dismay as the Pistons dropped to the 5th pick again, though three straight picks at that spot did yield them Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II, so we can’t complain too much.
They are part of a foundation that hopes they’ve made lottery appearances a thing of the past.
The Pistons control their picks, but aren’t likely to go wild this summer
Once their pick conveys to Minnesota, Detroit will be able to trade four first-round picks and three swaps, enough to get into a conversation for a star player in a trade.
For me, there is only one guy (who might be available) worth giving up that kind of package to get, and it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who set the summer up for drama after the latest report said he’s open-minded to changing teams.
Giannis is a long shot for many reasons, and aside from him, it seems unlikely the Pistons would go all-in to aggressively pursue a star. They are happy to be patient, count on internal growth from their players and to lean into player development as a way to sustainable success.
Detroit does have a pick in the second round (37th), which could be a sneaky-good asset if a tax team wants to trade back to avoid a higher guaranteed salary. The Pistons have a ton of extra second-round picks to throw around, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see them move up or to even use their pick in a trade for a role player that a team needs to shed for salary reasons.
It may not be as exciting, but it’s nice not to be in the lottery and to see a future that doesn’t rely on complete uknowns.