Jordan Poole and one or two of Wiseman/Moody/Kuminga and their pick for #5 and Jerami Grant 
1 Like
Iām sorry, but what the actual FUKC? This better be the first part in a 3 way deal or have Kevin Durant ready to sign otherwise it makes zero sense whatsoever. The Bucksā 2025 first round pick? I mean, what fukcing buffoonery is this? Does the Pistons FO expect Giannis to break his legs by the time heās 30, is a pick 3 years from now all Jerami Grant, a 28 y/o with borderline all star numbers, is worth?
Man, Iād better see some sparks fly tomorrow because if they play it safe and pick Keegan, with no more moves, I will start looking at Weaver with a completely different lens.
1 Like
I wouldnāt know but that seems like not crazy to me? Iām not super into Grant and have no idea what his market should be.
Seems Like this was the best deal actually available. I donāt love it, but it beats losing grant for nothing, frees up space (Ayton? Or other assets), and May allow the pistons to have one more lottery year before going for it.
Iād have liked more, but maybe this was the market. Grant is a third option(on good teams), a top ten pick may have not been in the cards.
Maybe the bucks have a bad year in 24-25ā¦ guess we know who to root against then.
Draft Day!
This was the UMHOOPS PISTONS DRAFT BOARD:
- Jabari Smith
- Chet Holmgren
- Paolo Banchero
- Jaden Ivey
- Keegan Murray
And my draft board:
- Paolo Banchero
- Chet Holmgren
- Jaden Ivey
- Jabari Smith
- Keegan Murray
3 Likes
2 Likes
I like your board!
So, from what I can tell, the gap between Wojās reporting of the Pistons cap space and that Smith guyās is that the Pistons have 4 players with team options - Wojās is the # if theyāre all picked up, Smithās if theyāre all waived. Iād tend to think the truth is in the middle. Those team options:
Hamidou Diallo - $5.2 million
Frank Jackson - $3.1 million
Carsen Edwards - $1.8 million
Luka Garza - $1.5 million
Personally, Iād have no issue walking away form Edwards and Garza immediately. Of the players linked to the Pistons at #5 (Ivey, Mathurin, Sharpe, Murray), three of those sort of make Jackson redundant (donāt see the point in paying a 5th guard $3 mil), and I think Frank was clearly pushed last year in terms of what heās capable of.
Diallo is the one that would give me pause. Iād ask myself 2 questions: is Diallo a guy Iād like to retain as a re-building team? Would I like to may him $5 million?
Diallo definitely is a guy Iād like to retain in their shoes. Heās a weird player, and in some way emblematic of what they do well (defend) and poorly (shoot). But heās a pretty effective scorer outside of his three-point stroke (and free throw stroke), and a strong defender on the wing. I donāt know that heās a starter ever, but I think he could definitely be a useful player.
The $5 mil feels a little rich to me (though if, as rumored, some of this cap room is going to Marvin Bagley, I donāt see why that is preferential, at all, to Diallo), so I donāt know if can be reduced maybe (decline the option, offer him like $3 million).
There is also the discussion of stretching Kelly Olynyk - who is overpaid, but his presence was really the bellweather on whether the team played well or not. Iād hesitate to ditch him.
So that leaves you with, in order of compensation:
Olynyk
Cunningham
Hayes
Joseph
Stewart
Bey
Lee
Livers
This years picks
Bagley is an RFA, and all indications they are bringing him back. You also have the 4 aforementioned option guysā¦Iād really only consider 1 (Diallo).
that would leave them somewhere in the low 50ās to chase players.
They got a late first, two seconds, and moved up ten spots in second round and cleared tons of cap space on a player they had no interest in resigning. That doesnāt sound terrible
1 Like
Keith Smith was on The Pistons Pulse podcast with Bryce Simon and Omari Sankofa last week I think. It was an interesting 30-40 minutes discussion about the cap and different options. He said he expected Detroit to renounce all of the team options they had to free up cap space, so youāre right in your assumption.
He even said he expected them to renounce Bagley to clear the $28M cap hold or whatever it was. I donāt think thatās right though and I more expect them to come to an agreement so they can finalize it quickly and clear the hold that way. Especially with Grant gone now I just donāt see them letting Bagley walk.
I think paying Bagley more than like $7-$8 mil would be a mistake, and bidding against themselves.
Not saying thatās what theyāre doing, butā¦yeah, donāt like it.
I like Diallo. Iād like to see them attempt to hang onto him, but $5 mil seems a little rich. To be honest, Iām not sure why Bagley is more valuable, other than anchoring to his draft slot.
Itās terrible because the expectation Pistons fans have had for the last month or more was a lottery pick this year for Grant. Those were clearly unrealistic expectations though.
When you step back and look at it though, getting the 3 picks plus moving up 10 spots, plus the $20M in cap space for a guy you signed 2 years ago and didnāt give up any assets for is pretty good. The 36th pick this year is just outside the first round and there is potential they could package up a couple things to jump back into the first round.
If they use the cap space gained to take a bad contract like the Hayward deal while also getting another first rounder this year that would be something. It looks a lot different if you say Grant + 46 this year for Hayward + 15th this year + 2025 1st + 2 seconds + 36 this year. Hayward is broken, but they have the space and could potentially look to move his expiring $30M next year to a team looking to rebuild.
1 Like
Yeah, I think the main argument is the space. So - they need to do something sensible with the space in order for it to āworkā. Iām on the record as loathing maxing out Ayton (or maxing any fringe RFA), because in the grand scheme, shelling out for guys around the 30th or 40th best player in the league doesnāt fit what I think they should do.
I donāt hate the Hayward idea (or getting bad contracts for picks generally).
If they ended up with Murray (who Iāve decided I really like as a complimentary player), Iām on the record of liking the idea of taking a peek under Sextonās hood (which I donāt think would financially limit them from pursuing the Hayward idea).
1 Like
There are a few directions they could go so it will be interesting. I canāt believe the Grant deal gets done yesterday unless Weaver had a clear plan of what heās doing. You donāt give up an asset to get a ton of cap space and more picks without knowing who youāre going to target and having some sense you can get them. Youād have to be a terrible GM to get all this cap space, then try to sign Bridges or Ayton only to have their teams match and you end up with nothing. Maybe he realized Grant wasnāt worth a lottery pick this year, but his cap space was.
2 Likes
Oh, I think he has a plan. I donāt know if I like it! I do think there was a disconnect on Grantās value, and I tend to think, that part of that was on the Pistonsā part. For the life of me, Iām not clear why he was on the roster last year, and why they didnāt deal him the second that āsurprisingā season ended. This was basically their last chance to deal him, so they had to take what was there.
2 Likes
Exactly, why not deal him last season?
At the time, the reporting was they were demanding ātwo first rounders or one first rounder and a starting caliber young playerā.
In retrospect, that was reaallllly rich. Honestly, I think they just misjudged his market.
The āproblemā with Grant and his trading attractiveness is that heās best suited to be, like, a rich manās Crowder - a quality defender at the 4, capable of moving to small-ball 5, and strong enough offensively to keep you honest. Thatās like the 3.5th best player on a good team like Phoenix or what Portland aspires to?
But he WAS that in Denver (4th best player on a good team), and chose to rack up numbers on a loser instead. So if youāre a good team who trades for himā¦how long do you have him?
It still all comes back to, why not trade him last year if weāre salary dumping him now? So, yeah, we misjudged his value last year thinking weād get a haul and so we came back this year getting pennies on the dollar. The Christian Wood trade was similar as well. I have not been impressed with Weaverās trades.
I canāt imagine a Pistons fan truly happy about this development. Like, yes, we have cap spaceā¦so what? I thought we all came to the conclusion that the only way to build a contender in Detroit is via the draft.
I agree with you, but I think the sentiment of the board is much more split than you and I.