With less than three weeks until the Pistons are on the clock and the combine behind us, the draft is rapidly approaching. Speaking of the Pistons being on the clock, will they be picking first on draft night? ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has already reported that the Pistons are gauging trade interest from teams around the league. Cleveland, Houston, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City have reportedly engaged the Pistons on what it might take to move up to the No. 1 spot to presumably take Cade Cunningham.
Is this Pistons GM Troy Weaver simply doing his due diligence or is he really interested in moving down to collect more assets? If a trade of this magnitude materializes, we still may have a few weeks before it is agreed upon. When the Celtics and the 76ers agreed to swap the first and third picks in 2017, there was only about a week to go before draft night, so we could see this dance continue for the next few weeks.
Most likely, Detroit will want to stay in the top-3 with a perceived dip in players after Cunningham, Jalen Green, and Evan Mobley. This may give the Rockets and Cavs their opportunity to move up for the No. 1 player in the draft. The longer the Pistons continue to listen to offers, the more likely it seems that they will be willing to trade the pick.