Late Wednesday night, it was revealed that the Detroit Pistons were sending Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers for a 2025 first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks.
It was a big move by Detroit, even though it wasn’t entirely surprising.
Rumors saying that Grant was going to be packing his bags have been swirling for months now.
But the impact of the deal is even bigger when you look at what it does for the Pistons’ bottom line.
With Jerami Grant off the books, and no salary returning, I now project the Detroit Pistons to have just over $56M in cap space in July.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 22, 2022
Keith Smith did some calculations and he estimated that with Grant going to Portland, the Pistons now have over $56 million in cap space.
That is an awful lot of money for the struggling team and they’re surely not going to just sit on it.
So, what’s next for the Pistons?
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The Pistons have been out of playoff contention for years now.
Over the last few years, the team has undergone some major changes, both with the coaching staff and the players on the floor.
They lucked out last year and were able to land the number one draft pick, Cade Cunningham.
He had a few bumps in the road early in the season but he got it together and ended up being one of the best rookies in the league.
Now that Grant is moving to the Pacific Northwest, the Pistons are entirely Cunningham’s team…for now.
With all that money off their books, the Pistons are sure to take a run at a rather big name in the league, adding more power to the team and giving Cunningham someone substantial to play off of.
It’s not known who they will be targeting but some have speculated the Pistons could attempt to woo Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns, Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets, or Collin Sexton of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
NEXT: NBA Analyst Shares An Ideal Pistons Situation