Welcome to the opening day of NBA Free Agency, which officially begins at 6 p.m. ET, but will see rumors, news and speculation flood in hours before. We will post all the latest bits of news and rumors we see about the Detroit Pistons and any other major deals being reported that could alter the NBA landscape.
Already, the Detroit Pistons have done plenty. They didn’t wait for free agency to do a little shopping and grabbed two quality players on expiring deals (both have a team option after the season) from the New York Knicks in Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks.
Noel seems destined for either a starting or primary reserve role at center, while Burks could start alongside Cade Cunningham as a 3-point threat in the back court, or he could be the sixth man and provide that spacing off the bench.
The Pistons certainly won’t sit out this free agency period, though it is unclear if they will do you standard shopping for free agents, or if they will continue to explore trade avenues as other franchises look to dump salary to open up cap room on their books.
Detroit is likely in the market for one more shooter and could be angling for a starting small forward. Whether they can check both of those boxes with one player remains to be seen. We’ve covered plenty of Detroit’s options in free agency and on the trade market.
They still have roughly $23 million to spend either in free agency or trades, but that does not account for the impending deal, which seems inevitable for Marvin Bagley III. The former No. 2 overall pick’s free agency will be resolved in short order because they need to finalize the deal before being able to make their trades with the Knicks official or do any other dealing.
At this point, the Pistons are being linked to more minor free agents, including Victor Oladipo, Gary Payton II and Dennis Schroder. The deal for Burks might have crossed those names off the list, but NBA reporters continue to link the players to the franchise.
Elsewhere around the NBA, there is a sad, scary story connected to former Michigan State standout and one-time potential Pistons target Miles Bridges, who was reportedly arrested on felony domestic violence after an altercation with a woman on Tuesday.
On the eve of free agency, some trades made waves throughout the NBA. First and foremost was the deal to send Dejounte Murray from the Spurs to the Hawks in exchange for three first-round draft picks and a pick swap. Two of those picks are completely unprotected from Atlanta and don’t convey for years. A bold move, to say the least.
The Wizards and Nuggets also swung a trade sending former Pistons Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to Denver in exchange for Monte Morris and Will Barton.
We will post today’s news and rumors as they drop.