NBA Free Agency: How much money can the Detroit Pistons spend?

It’s always dangerous to see the Troy Weaver move in a vacuum, but for the sake of discussion, let’s say Troitroy turns the wheel and treats it as a GM. Detroit Pistons..

Let’s say you have at least 6 players added in draft and trade here. Let’s pretend that this is the list Pistons has for the opening knight and let’s get to the point where we start building rotations. It helps to assess at least what will happen to the next Weaver movement as the team prepares to launch a free agent on Thursday.

For confused Pistons fans, I know you have a question. They are probably: what the hell happened? How much money is left in Detroit? How does this work? What’s next? God, why?

Take them one at a time.

Photo by Chris Schwegler / NBAE via Getty Images

What the hell happened?

One big move of Weaver is actually divided into three components (so far).He exchanged Jerami Grant in 2025 before the draft Milwaukee Bucks The first round and the second round jump from the 40s to the 36th pick.

upon NBA draft At night he was part of a complex three-team contract New York Knicks When Charlotte Hornets It brought Detroit the thirteenth pick used to select Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker.

On Tuesday night, Weaver signed another deal with Knicks, and Detroit won Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks. That’s $ 6 million without any exchange for future second round picks (including Detroit’s own 2023 pick, which was exchanged for Kiri Thomas in 2018).

That’s not true though. They could technically receive an exception to the $ 20 million traded player received from Portland under a grant contract. Knicks is attractive to Knicks because he leaves space and doesn’t get anything back, so he can sign Jalen Brunson for a deal that he’s likely to regret.

The exception of a traded player cannot be traded with a player. Therefore, this is set up as two separate transactions.

How much money did Detroit leave?

The Pistons entered the off-season with the NBA’s largest cap space, and when the grant traded, it swelled to $ 55 million. But after all this dust has settled, the piston will have about $ 23 million, By Bobby Marks on ESPN..

Of course, it doesn’t take into account the inevitable new contract of Marvin Bagley III, who is widely expected to return to Detroit with a new multi-year contract.

For discussion, Bagley will be given a starting salary of $ 8 million next season. Boldly, let’s say the $ 6 million cash from Knicks represents the number of Kemba buyouts. This means Detroit will get another $ 3 million back. It will leave $ 18 million to spend on free agents, and Piston will have only one roster spot to meet with 14 players under the deal.

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How does this work?

Wow, this is a difficult question. The simple answer is probably not. The slightly longer answer is that it obviously doesn’t mean that there is more movement on the horizon. And the galaxy’s brain answer is that Weaver believes it can work well and is ready to remove this lineup next season.

You can start thinking about rotation, but it’s a little hard to even understand who the starter will be. First, the team has a huge crater with a power forward spot, and second, they are about to replace a traditional center and sign a multi-year contract with Bagley. His best position is the center. There are only two. It’s been a few years since Isaiah Stewart drafted all 71 games last season.

Strip off the band-aid and think about the starting lineup.

• Point guard: Cade Cunningham
• Shooting Guard: Alec Burks
• Small Forward: Saddiq Bey
• Power forward: crater Marvin Bagley III
• Center: Nerlens Noel

This starting lineup is certainly not without controversy. First, I put veteran Alec Burks’ three-point shooting and defense on top of the shiny new piece and franchise building block Jaden Ivey. However, defense and three-point fire are important and lacking in Detroit.

Second, I’m giving Bagley the first power forward job, which is almost the default. There really aren’t any clear candidates on the list. Want to put Stewart there and tell him to shoot 6 three games? Do you want Kelly Olynyk to be physically able to withstand the grind of chasing young and fast players in each game? Would you like to shift down and start Bey there and look for a new small forward? That position is certainly the team’s biggest question at the moment.

The center then replaces the tenacious but smaller Stewart with Noel just because Noel provides some verticality. Stewart isn’t, it’s also a more robust rim protector. However, at this point, Stewart is a better rebounder, despite giving up on the 3-inch, and because of its versatility, it could also be a better overall defender.

Now we get to the bench where things are much more fun.

• Point guard: Killian Hayes
• Shooting guard: Jaden Ivey
• Small Forward: Isaia Rivers
• Power Forward: Kelly Olynyk
• Center: Isaiah Stewart

It works as if the rotation is 10 depths, repeater Cory Joseph (last season, 1,600 minutes), Hamidou Diallo (1,269 minutes), Saben Lee (604 minutes), or the ultimate lob. It also does not consider the threat Jalen Duren.

In reality, Casey is unlikely to go to a rotation of 10 people, but when things are clicked, this is probably the bench team he wants to deploy. Imagine a path where Hayes could park the liver and Olynyk around and pass it to Ivy and Durene.

And when newcomers are struggling, you look to trusted veterans. Joseph could get the first dive to spell the Ivy and Durene Center Minutes absorbed by the trio of Olynyk, Bagley and Stewart.

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images

What’s next?

The Pistons have a clear need for a power forward, and to do so, they also need to add more perimeter fire and about $ 18 million. The team can sign a new viable starting power forward (get off Otto Porter Jr. or Bobby Portis), but that only exacerbates the tycoon excess.

I think it’s perfectly fair to think that trade is imminent. Players who should probably pack the bag overnight include Olynyk, Lee, Joseph, Dialo, Stewart and Haze. I’m not saying they are all traded, not even most of them. But if Weaver is trying to further strengthen and balance his roster, they are probably the names he is trying to fit into the deal.

God, why?

Pistons fans once dreamed of exchanging Jerami Grant for John Collins, or a seventh pick overall. They looked at the cap space and wanted Deandre Ayton and Miles Bridges. They even watched play-in games and playoffs.

Detroit, aside from how unlikely it is, a credible veteran whose contract expires, a young man with an absolute metric ton of cap space and flexibility, by chance and perhaps unexpected additions of ivy and durene. The future has ended with a new commitment to nurture.

As talented veterans whose transactions expire, Noel and Burks can help the Detroit floor and compete for real assets in time for the deadline. If the Pistons struggle again this year, the next draft will be ridiculously deep and I feel I can get a true impact player anywhere in the top eight of the draft.

And if Noel and Burks are still past the deadline, Detroit has the ability to keep them, fill the gap, or reject their options and go big-game hunting, but this time around.

Detroit cap sheets are ridiculously clean next season. Pistons will see $ 8.9 million of dead money coming out of books from DeAndre Jordan and Zhaire Smith. They also guarantee only $ 3 million to Olynyk.

With the resurrection of Cade, Killian, Beef Stew, Saddiq, Livers, Ivey and Duren, the salary commitment for 2023-24 is only $ 45 million. The salary cap is expected to be around $ 132 million.

Troy Weaver thinks there are several ways to take advantage of about $ 90 million in cap space. He is confident that he will do it with the aim of building a team that can win now and in the near future.