The Detroit Pistons are 19-19 and winners of eight of their past 10 games. They have not just rebounded after a franchise-worst 14-win season, they are firmly in the mix for the play-in and playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The team also has $14 million in available cap space, and is the only NBA team that is officially under the cap with less than a month to go before the trade deadline. New president Trajan Langdon has talked openly about a strategy built around using cap space as leverage to obtain additional assets from teams looking to avoid various tax penalties and roster-building restrictions in the new apron era of the NBA.