The Detroit Pistons find themselves in a position that might have struck fear in fans’ hearts under previous regimes — the only team with significant salary cap space and an avenue to add talent to a mediocre roster.
Among myriad failures of the tenures of Joe Dumars, Stan Van Gundy, and Troy Weaver, having money to spend was perhaps their biggest downfall. They spent on the likes of Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and Josh Smith in free agency. They traded for the likes of Blake Griffin in desperate attempts to contend. Their idea of adding assets was trading for Joe Harris to get a mediocre second-round draft pick.