Detroit Pistons control NBA trade deadline but strategy hasn't changed from script

Detroit Pistons control NBA trade deadline but strategy hasn’t changed from script

Posted by author February 2, 2025 NBA

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Pistons on pace to triple last season’s win total, and first-year president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon leads the only team with cap space at Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.

Even the most optimistic projections fell short of where the Detroit Pistons currently stand — 24-24 overall, firmly in the playoff race with their highest win total since 2018-19.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m., and the Pistons might be the only team in the postseason hunt that has already exceeded expectations. They are also the only team in the NBA with cap space, giving them disproportionate power to shape the deadline as cash-strapped contenders hunt for ways to add talent.

At the beginning of the season, first-year president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon made it clear this would be an evaluation period for the franchise.

Now on pace to nearly triple last season’s 14-win finish, the front office is thrilled with the rapid improvement but hasn’t severed from its initial script.

“Right now, we’re not in a rush to do anything,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Wednesday. “We’re still really process-driven and like we’ve talked about from the beginning of the year until now, evaluate what’s in front of us, weigh what the successes are, the strengths are of this group and then make decisions from there.

“I’m sure whatever Trajan and the crew decides to do, obviously with my input, it’ll be what’s best to benefit this group long term, but it won’t be something that’s a rush or something that’s looking to get us outside of our plan that we had coming in.”

Langdon inherited a Pistons team fresh off a season closer to a disgrace than a disappointment. Their 14 wins were the fewest in franchise history, and they got there via a devastating 28-game losing streak that spanned two months and eventually led to the firing of the previous coaching staff and front office.

That last season already feels distant is a testament to the amount of progress that has been made in a short span of time. The Pistons went 10-6 overall in January and are 13-7 since Dec. 21, tied for third in wins in that span with the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Cade Cunningham’s ascendance to All-Star, and the winning that has come with it, has given the franchise a clear direction.

Now comes the tricky part: figuring out how to leverage the team’s favorable cap situation in a way that allows it to contend, sustainably, and maximize Cunningham’s window. The 23-year-old will begin the first year of his five-year, $224 maximum extension next season. He’s tied to the Pistons through the 2029-30 season.

A lot can change in five years. In 2020, the Pistons had just hired Troy Weaver, had Blake Griffin under contract and were a year away from drafting Cunningham. The only player remaining from that 2020-21 roster is backup center Isaiah Stewart.

With that in mind, it’s easier to understand why Langdon isn’t in a rush. This year’s team entered the season improved but still undermanned, lacking a veteran ball-handler. In spite of its perceived shortcomings, it’s already won 10 more games than last season with 34 games still to play.

Even after Jaden Ivey’s broken fibula Jan. 1 that will cost him most, if not all, of the rest of the season, the Pistons have continued to hum. They snapped a three-game losing streak Friday with a convincing 117-102 home win over the Dallas Mavericks, during which Cunningham scored 40 points on 17-for-30 shooting. All three losses were on the road against teams ahead of them in the standings.

They will play their next five at home against teams below them in the standings, with the exception of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Going into the All-Star break, they have a chance to pad the gap between them and the No. 10 seed Chicago Bulls (21-28), who they’ll play at home Sunday, and face twice on a rare road back-to-back Feb. 11 and 12.

The new collective bargaining agreement has a more-punitive second apron, which will force tax-paying contending teams teams to unload salary if they wish to add roster upgrades. Because the Pistons are the only team with cap space, they’re well-positioned to absorb salary and collect assets.

Like the Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and other young teams that have recently rebuilt, the Pistons have a rare opportunity to win games, develop their young players and make rebuild-focused transactions all at the same time.

Given they still owe a future first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they’re inherently limited in trade talks compared to the Grizzlies and Thunder, who not only have better records but a surplus of draft picks and young assets to dangle in negotiations.

It’s shaping up to be a busy deadline week, with Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal and De’Aaron Fox among the big names who could be moved. Plans can always change, but the one the Pistons entered the season with has worked better than anyone within the organization could’ve guessed.

They’re unlikely to deviate from it.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.