The Detroit Pistons will enter the 2020 NBA Draft with only one choice to make. Can they save another?
Surprise! The Detroit Pistons have lost 2 places in the NBA Draft Lottery and will finish 7th this year. I know you’re completely shocked that we didn’t jump into the lottery for the first time in our history, as I am, but I’ll be honest with you, picking at 7 isn’t a bad thing in this superstar- less draft.
The blow in this draft is that there is no clear top guy, but there is we are a plethora of players who would normally go in the 3-15 range. At 7, you’ll have a very nice selection of those guys.
Now I’m not here to talk to you about who the Pistons could take at 7, I’m here to talk to you about who the Pistons can make a deal to grab a mid to late first round pick. The concept is simple.
With the ever-changing salary cap and teams looking to lose their salary to avoid the luxury tax or maintain some flexibility on the roster this summer, there are some major teams I predict would be willing to part ways with their first-round pick. to dump some bad paycheck in Detroit.
With some headroom in the league this summer, the Pistons are in a prime position to take advantage of the uncertainties of the salary cap.
The first team that screams at me is the one that won the lottery and got the # 1 pick. The Minnesota Timberwolves made that lucky jump AND have the 17th and 33rd picks in the draft.
With the expected salary cap hovering around $ 109 million, the Wolves have already surpassed that once they make their # 1 pick, sitting around $ 120 million. Here’s the kicker, presumably they’d like to keep Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez they traded with this year.
To do this without crossing the luxury tax threshold, they would need to move James Johnson’s final year of contract (it’s a player option he will undoubtedly choose) and to do so, they may be willing to part with the 17th and 33rd prediction.
I know it’s not a long-awaited draft pick next year, but as I said, this year is full of players who would normally go in the 3-15 range, and at least one or two guys we like will almost certainly slide to 17.
Carrying James Johnson’s $ 16 million contract may seem like a bit much, but you can always flip expiring contracts to bring back worse long-term deals in exchange for more resources. This is how the Pistons can most effectively rebuild this team.
The Portland Trailblazers are going to be a really cool team to watch this summer. For next season, they are already on the edge of the salary cap, which makes it difficult for them to improve their roster this summer.
They have the sixteenth pick in the draft and may be looking to jump from Trevor Ariza’s expiring $ 12.8 million contract, or Rodney Hood’s $ 6 million player option to create a semblance of ability to make moves. roster this summer and strengthen their depth.
The kicker here is that Ariza’s contract is only guaranteed $ 1.8 million, so the Pistons should probably return something of relative value for the Blazers to move their 16th pick into this deal.
The Boston Celtics have three choices for the first round, 14, 26 and 30. The Celtics may not necessarily have any contracts that you MUST move and get rid of to clear space as they remain a competitive force in the east, but they have too many choices. this year.
Can we have one, please? In all seriousness I’ve seen them shift the 26 or 30 picks for a second rounder and some cash. They are at a point where they have about 14 players under contract next year and there is no need to add two late first round players to this group.
Last but not least, the Philadelphia 76ers will be in hell for the entire ’22 -’23 season. They have $ 147 million committed for the next two years and $ 138 million committed in ’22 -’23, which is WAY over the expected $ 109 million salary limit.
The biggest problem they have is that each of their top four paid guys (ranging from $ 27 million / year to $ 35 million / year) are under contract for at least the next three years.
The Sixers will likely have to give up a resourceful dump truck to get rid of the giant Al Horford deal. Don’t get me wrong, Horford is still an extremely useful player, but he might not be worth half that deal at this point.
This year they have their 21st pick and all of their first round picks for the foreseeable future. Personally, I think it would be a bad idea to accept Horford’s contract, but for a package of first-round picks and Matisse Thybulle, I’d consider it.
The moral of the story is that this is a year where having a mid-to-late pick in the first round can get you the same value as pick number 7. Having both would help add another piece to this rebuild list. With a good chunk of salary roof space, the Pistons are in a prime position to restore their closet.
