The Detroit Pistons are in wait mode a week ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, which hits at 3 p.m. Thursday.
They are the only team in the league with cap space available — $14 million, to be specific — and are well-positioned to acquire assets by taking on contracts from other teams. The new collective bargaining agreement made the second tax apron more punishing, increasing the likelihood contending teams will look to offload salary to teams like the Pistons in order to pursue roster upgrades.
What if Pistons first-year president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon goes for a different path, though? The Pistons have been among the league’s better teams since Dec. 21 and have exceeded expectations. Just 47 games into this season, they’ve tied their highest win total since the 2018-19 season — 23, set in 82 games in 2021-22 — with 35 games remaining.
PRIORITIES:3 needs and 3 targets Pistons could pursue ahead of NBA trade deadline
Some fans already have shifted their expectations and want to see a playoff push — understandably, considering the Pistons haven’t won a playoff game since 2008. But they owe a first-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves, with protections through the 2027 season. It’s top-13 protected this year, meaning a playoff berth will finally convey the pick.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Because they’re at a first-round pick deficit, the Pistons will have a tougher time bidding for the league’s best players, and instead have more incentive to seek assets, rather than cashing them in to chase wins.
If Langdon does want to upgrade the roster and get newly named All-Star Cade Cunningham the help he needs, here are three trades laying out what it could cost from the Pistons’ end.
Pistons receive: Nikola Vucevic (2 years, $41.5 million)
Bulls receive: Jalen Duren, Simone Fontecchio, five future second-round picks
Chicago’s 34-year-old big man is having a career-best season, averaging 19.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 54.6% overall and 39.3% from 3. He instantly would be the Pistons’ most versatile offensive weapon as a three-level scorer and facilitator, and would form a formidable two-man game with Cunningham and become a valuable expiring contract (at $21.5 million) next season.
There’s strong incentive for the Bulls, who are eight games under .500, to make an in-season trade for the first time in three seasons and pick a direction for their expensive, underperforming roster. Duren is a logical addition, as the Bulls only have one young center prospect, 24-year-old journeyman Jalen Smith.
Chicago would have the rest of this season and all of next season to evaluate Duren’s fit as a potential building block, as the 21-year-old will enter restricted free agency in 2026 if he doesn’t sign an extension first.
Because the Pistons would include Duren in lieu of a first-round pick, they may need to include several second-round picks to get such a deal across the finish line. They have 11 future second-rounders available to trade.
Pistons receive: CJ McCollum (2 years, $63.9 million)
Pelicans receive: Jaden Ivey, Tim Hardaway Jr.
Even before Jaden Ivey’s potential season-ending fibula fracture, the Pistons needed a secondary ball-handler to help run the second unit and take pressure off of Cunningham. Since Ivey’s injury on Jan. 1, their need for additional ball-handling has become more pressing.
It’s tough to find a more viable solution than McCollum, a 33-year-old veteran averaging 22 points and 3.9 assists for a New Orleans team with the league’s third-worst record (12-36). The Pelicans are $1.4 million over the luxury tax and seem certain to make at least one trade, though it’s unclear if they’ll go for a full reset or simply shed salary before making bigger decisions this offseason.
To move McCollum this season rather than next, the Pelicans will need to be well-compensated. Ivey would give them a young playmaker in return — one who was in the midst of a career season before his injury. Like Duren, he would have a season to be evaluated before the Pelicans made a decision on his next contract in 2026.
Is giving up on Ivey too steep a price for the Pistons? To acquire a player of McCollum’s caliber, they’d likely have to give up either a coveted young player or first-round pick. Otherwise, the Pelicans can wait and see if the market improves this summer. But there is a connection here, with Langdon having worked as the Pelicans’ general manager from 2019-24.
ANALYSIS:Pistons midseason grades: Several A’s as team makes playoff push
Pistons receive: Jimmy Butler (2 years, $101.2 million)
Heat receive: Tobias Harris, Ausar Thompson, Wendell Moore Jr., 2030 1st (top-5 protected)
Let’s have some fun. Butler is the best player on the market likely to be traded ahead of the deadline. The numbers —- 17 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and just over a steal on 54% overall shooting — and defense are still strong for the now-35 year old wing. Because the Pistons have cap space, they could acquire him without getting another team involved.
However, this isn’t a trade you do unless you’re convinced Butler and Cunningham together would make the Pistons a genuine championship contender. They certainly would be among the East’s most-talented duos, and it’s a duo the Pistons would be fully committed to, due to the size of Butler’s contract and price they would pay to get him. Butler also has a player option worth $52.4 million for next season, meaning he can be a free agent this summer.
By giving up a 2030 first-round pick, they would owe two future firsts (they owe a top-13 protected first to Minnesota), and be further limited by the NBA’s Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from trading first-rounders from back-to-back drafts without having an extra.
Parting ways with both another first-round pick and Thompson, their 2023 lottery pick and top perimeter defender, would be a steep price. Again, this trade only makes sense if Butler turns them into a contender. He hs long been among the league’s top performers in the playoffs. But at a game under .500 overall, it feels premature for the Pistons to make a significant commitment to an aging star.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
Stay tuned for the best Pistons coverage all year long at freep.com/sports/pistons.
Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).
