The Giannis Antetokounmpo trade has finally happened … and the Detroit Pistons were not involved. Yet. Despite weeks of speculation, when the Milwaukee Bucks superstar’s trade was broken by Shams Charania of ESPN, it involved just the two primary two teams — the Buck and Miami Heat. The Pistons were seen as a natural fit for and highly interested in Miami’s Tyler Herro, who did, indeed, get shipped in the deal. The Wisconsin native is currently slated to be a member of the Bucks, but the deal will
not be made official until the new league year on July 6. That gives plenty of times for other organizations, including Detroit, to join the fray.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls decided to sacrifice their cap space to take on Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton in a deal that also saw the Minnesota Timberwolves jettison Julius Randle to the Nets. That opened up the flexibility for Minnesota to agree to a massive new deal for Ayo Donsunmu for north of $100 million. It also might also eat into the cap space for Brookyln, but I have heard there are structures that would allow them to do the deal without using cap space that I don’t quite understand.
If the Nets and Bulls are mostly out on major free agent acquisitions, that leaves the Lakers as the only potential threat, however minor, to lure Jalen Duren with a big offer sheet. I anticipate a multi-year deal for Duren to return to Detroit any day.
Donsunmu getting such a huge contract hints at the going rate for ball-handlers and scorers, which is precisely what Detroit is on the market for. In other words, it expensive.
That is why the Pistons are one of the “many” reported suitors for new Buck Tyler Herro, and why the cost for Detroit might have been as much as Isaiah Stewart, plus Ron Holland, plus stuff.
One other free agent target has also fallen off the board for Detroit with CJ McCollum agreeing on a deal to return to the Atlanta Hawks for another go-round. Oh yeah, and Aaron Wiggins was shipped off the OKC to save a boatload of cap space and put less pressure on them to deal Isaiah Joe, another Detroit target, though a trade might still be needed for financial reasons.
The Pistons currently have the No. 21 pick in the draft, and that feels like the range to be able to grab a skilled guard or wing. It also could present opportunities to draft another defensive-minded big if you really want to take all these Isaiah Stewart trade rumors to heart.
Langdon has said he’s more likely to trade up to get a targeted player than he is to trade down in the draft. We will see what happens.
If any other juicy rumors pop up, add them in the comments. If anything really interesting comes along that involves Detroit, expect that to get its own post.
