The Detroit Pistons are the only team in the NBA with any kind of cap space, which puts them in a fortuitous position.
A lot of fans were hoping the team would use their final roster spot on a backup point guard or a veteran center, but staying flexible offers the Pistons more opportunity in the future.
The Pistons may not have the assets (yet) to make a trade for a star, but they can load up on draft assets and expiring contracts as the third team in a deal, using their cap space to fatten up as much as possible for a big future trade of their own.
That’s what happens in a recent trade proposal that sees Giannis Antetokounmpo on the move to Houston.
Pistons use cap space in proposed Giannis Antetokounmpo trade
The Milwaukee Bucks are currently tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Detroit Pistons at 1-4 to start the season.
It's not a position Milwaukee thought they’d find themselves in at any point in the year even though it is far too early to panic.
But the Bucks are a mess. They did nothing to improve this offseason and their roster is getting old. Damian Lillard, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton aren’t getting any younger and the Bucks have done little to put young talent in their pipeline.
Giannis is a one-man cash register and the long-time face of the franchise, so it wouldn’t be easy to move him, but the Bucks may not have a choice if they want to stay relevent in the post-Giannis years.
Trading him may be the only way out, as they are limited in ways to alter the roster otherwise.
Here is the 3-team deal Bleacher Report came up with:
Houston gets:
-Giannis Antetokounmpo (from Bucks)
-A.J. Green (from Bucks)
-Chris Livingston (from Bucks)
-Delon Wright (from Bucks)
Milwaukee gets:
-Reed Sheppard (from Rockets)
-Jabari Smith Jr. (from Rockets)
-Amen Thompson (from Rockets)
-Wendell Moore Jr. (from Pistons)
-2027 first-rounder (higher of the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns or Rockets, from Rockets)
-2028 first-round swap (from Rockets)
-2029 first-rounder (highest of the Dallas Mavericks, Suns or Rockets, from Rockets)2031 first-rounder (from Rockets)
-$29.4 million trade exception (Giannis Antetokounmpo)
-$2.1 million trade exception (AJ Green)
Detroit gets:
-Jeff Green (from Rockets)
-Jock Landale (from Rockets)
-MarJon Beauchamp (from Bucks)
-$7.24 million (from Rockets)
-2026 protected second-rounder (from Rockets)
-2026 second-rounder (second highest of the Philadelphia 76ers, Mavericks or Oklahoma City Thunder, from Rockets)
-2026 second-rounder (lower of the LA Clippers and whichever is the highest from the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat, from Rockets)
Phew!
The travel agents would be busy with this deal.
Houston has a surplus of young talent and won’t be able to keep them all, especially after inking Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun to extensions. This would be a way to cash in, get the superstar they want and be an instant contender for a title with Giannis and an exciting young core around him.
The Bucks aren’t likely to find a better deal than this in terms of young talent, as they are getting some of the best players from the last several drafts. All three of Sheppard, Thompson and Smith Jr. are good players who have high ceilings and plenty of room to improve.
If you are going to rebuild, at least do it with talent and not only draft picks, but the Bucks would get a couple of those as well to go along with a giant trade exception.
It’s hard for me to see the Bucks trading Giannis, but if they do, this might represent their best deal unless OKC wanted to get involved with all of their draft picks and young players.
As for the Pistons, this is another one of those deals in which they give up nothing to take on a few contracts and second-round picks. They currently don’t have any second rounders in 2026 and this would give them three.
They’d essentially be swapping out Paul Reed (who would have to be waived) for Jock Landale, the only contract involved for Detroit that would extend past this season.
Green and Beauchamp are expiring deals to add to the coffers, which would give the Pistons more cap space coming off the books next offseason, just in time to make a big move of their own.
There’s not much at stake here for Detroit, so it’s pretty much a no-brainer and the exact type of move I expect Trajan Langdon to make at some point this season, as it’s the reason he held onto a roster spot and cap space.