Best to look at players making 22mil or less (Fontecchio plus cap space.)
Cam Johnson (Pistons don’t have the draft capital). Duncan if the Heat decide to do a full reset. Ball. brogdon.
Sexton or Clarkson if you go with Wendell Moore instead of Simone.
Cam Johnson works as a guy with a very obvious role going forward making that money acceptable
I think you live with it (I am not a cap expert). Pay Ivey as needed, it’s not my money and the pistons aren’t anywhere near tax offenders.
IMO Pistons need to think about what their core is going to be 2 years from now and work backward.
Cade: +2 to +3 All Star w some top 10 potential
Ivey: +0-2 somewhat plus starter
Ausar: +0-4 could be top 15, could be average
Stewart: +0 league average
Duren: +0-2 somewhat plus starter
Sasser: -1-0 rotation
Holland: -2 to +2 literally anything
That’s a good but not great team? Prob not threatening for a conference final unless absolutely everything goes right?
But I’d think about finding the exact right center for Cade bc I don’t think Duren or Stewart are ever going to be good enough and there are a lot of reasonably priced bigs out there.
Personally, I’m still trying to get a real deal forward, and if either Ausar or Holland pop (very well could) I solve that problem then.
I know NOBODY wants to take a step backwards, but I kind of think Stewart has pretty good trade value right now for a real team (can defend, can play 4 or 5, can shoot some) and is on a very favorable deal. They may be able to get some pretty good value for him?
Yeah those are prob the most expensive players in the game and I kinda think you just either have them and never deal them unless forced and even then it’s at a dear price or you’re making do without them?
I’m up for trading Stewart, he’s replaceable. I like him, but if you can get positive value, they should take it. I’m also up for adding something. At some point value and money has to be used to generate plus players. Pistons still need more plus players. Free agents that are great are always going to be a tough draw, so that’s either trades or player development. Holland, Ivey, Auser stepping up would be ideal, but nothing has shown them as a lock (with Jaden hurt)
I think Cam Johnson is a real NBA starting forward (way moreso than Tobias!) and gettable!
Eh, I don’t think he changes their fortunes in a meaningful way and I’d hate to trade anything of value for him.
Like, 2 years from now, he’s gonna be 31 and he’s never been well above average. Yeah, it’s a good contract. That’s where most of the value is tho and that matters very little to the Pistons. And at what cost? 2 picks probably? Keep them or move them for somebody younger and better.
It’ll be interesting to see how Langdon deals with the young core, but they showed some value in different ways.
Ideally, Ron and Ausar becomes a competent shooters and be a true 3 and D wing players to complement Cade which would change the calculus of the team building but they’re two non-shooters who can defend. That’s an issue if they have higher aspirations than just making the playoff. As of now, the team is good enough to get into the playoff. I have far more confidence than Ron’s being able to be a competent shooter than Ausar. Ausar needs a full off-season to show what he can develop but his heart thing is a concern even though he’s cleared.
Duren is can go from plus starter to negative starter depending on his motor. I think he has instinct issues as a defender. He’s still a minus defender IMO. I wouldn’t be too sad if they move him elsewhere.
Beef has value as an enforcer but he’s switchable defender who can surprisingly protect the rim (last I read he’s #1 in FG% at the rim). He should be a backup 5 for any team so he’ll have value there.
Sasser is a combo guard who can shoot, but he’s small though.
Ivey does have value as a ball handler, shot creator and his burst/speed will put instant pressure on the defense.
Amen has been very good and like 99th percentile good once you adjust for age. The sky is the limit there. Ausar obviously is not literally the same guy–not least bc like you mention, the health thing was scary and I really dk enough about it to know really how scary–but I think he’s plausibly got the same kind of massive upside. If he hits that, you spend all your time thinking about how to max him out.
Like, it’s possible that he’s your best ball screen partner with Cade. Which means thinking very differently about what you want at the 5.
But in the very least if you’re just thinking about ceiling, you just have to accept that these guys may be different than anything we’ve really seen before.
Holland, I think you treat like a more typical prospect and think about his role like we understand roles.
Ausar and Amen are two completely different players, and Ausar’s ball handling is noticeably worse than Amen which makes sense because Amen was a PG growing up. It’ll be interesting to see how Langdon will handle the 5 because you might want to pair a stretch 5 with Ausar, but you can’t pair a non-shooting big with Ausar unless Ausar massively improve his shooting which is still a negative part of his game.
The Pistons needs more 3 and D wing players and a rim protecting big (and probably another ball handler outside of Cade/Ivey). Beef has been pretty good there but he’s undersized which is why he’s better off as a backup stretch big. Where Langdon decides to go after this season will be fascinating. It’s clear the team chemistry is great and he has to be careful not to damage it but still find upgrades at the margin. They’ll lose the FRP to the Wolves but they can trade for a FRP depending on the deal.
Pistons fantasy scenario is a trade for Devin Booker, but they probably don’t have the resources 
Phoenix is always going to prefer to get their own picks back
They need very good players way more than they need to care about role which is why I emphasized Ausar’s ceiling.
The right deal may not come this year. If that’s the case, Langdon needs to sign Ivey and Duren to team-friendly extensions.
I”m high on Ausar and (to a lesser extent) Holland. So I’m good with just getting a vet forward for a couple years to serve as a 1-2 year bridge. Preferably a good shooter to complement the youngins.
Players I’m confident are good:
Players I’m iffy on are:
Players I’m out on long-term
TBD
The only player who are untouchable is Cade.
The other option for Langdon is to just get some assets. Like getting picks for taking on Pat Conaughton so the Bucks can get under the second apron and make a big swing.
They’re our two best on-ball defenders and Fontecchio has shown very little of the promise he showed last year. He might regain his shot somewhere else but he’s currently a downgrade to any other wing option on the Pistons.
I don’t think we know the ceiling of either Ausar or Holland. We are talking about a 21 and 19 year old respectively. They are still learning the NBA game. Both are very athletic and bring energy just need to see where their games progress in two to three years. I like that neither is soft. Hollands offensive game is ahead of Ausar’s. Ausar is stronger right now (hopefully the medical issues are behind him, blood clots?). As much as I like Stewart he has the best trade value to me unless you are looking to move Ivey which before this year I would have been indifferent about but I saw real progress especially regarding his three point shoting.