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Like location in the real-estate world, timing is everything in NBA free agency.
A summer bristling with both difference-making free agents and gobs of cap space is basketball’s version of an oceanfront estate.
The 2022 offseason, though, is more like a rundown building in need of some serious TLC. The right buyer with the right vision can get a lot of mileage out of it, but good luck getting the market to erupt.
According to Spotrac, only five teams are projected to have cap space this summer, although more could create it with some financial gymnastics. Even if that happens, though, the number of shoppers with substantial cash to spend will be slim, which is probably just as well, since even the top free agents—Zach LaVine, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Bradley Beal—all come with question marks attached.
All of that said, players of significance will swap jerseys this summer, and a few are capable of shifting the basketball landscape. Let’s spotlight the potential (relatively) big buyers.
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It’s true the Pistons haven’t posted a winning season since 2015-16 and last won a playoff game in 2008, but they might be closer to breaking through than all of that suggests.
Cade Cunningham validated Detroit’s decision to make him last summer’s top overall pick, becoming one of 21 players—and one of six under the age of 25—to average at least 17 points, five assists and five rebounds. Fellow youngsters Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes all took a step forward, and Marvin Bagley III made a late push to get locked into this young nucleus.
Better days are ahead in the Motor City, and the front office has the flexibility to speed this process along. While the Pistons shouldn’t throw money at just any notable name on the market, those who fit with this core’s timeline—Deandre Ayton, Jalen Brunson, Miles Bridges and Mo Bamba all seem like potential (if optimistic) targets—would be worth a healthy investment.
“We don’t want to appear, we want to arrive,” general manager Troy Weaver told reporters recently. “We’ll take a little long in some people’s minds, but not in ours. We’re building the right way, and we have a chance this summer to be aggressive in some other areas where we haven’t been in the past.”
Cunningham’s climb toward stardom unlocks plenty of possibilities for the Pistons, but it also puts pressure on the front office to assemble the right supporting cast around him. Detroit has the funds to find him a co-star and could start seeing dividends from that expenditure as soon as next season.
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Trading two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis at the deadline was a pivot point for the Pacers, but it didn’t change their objective of fielding a competitive club. Remember, the only pick exchanged in that swap actually went from Indiana to the Sacramento Kings (2023 second-rounder), as the Pacers brought in ascending floor general Tyrese Haliburton and sharpshooter Buddy Hield.
Expect more of the same present-focused—or near-future-focused, at least—maneuvering this offseason.
“They’re not going to undergo what most people would consider a rebuild, meaning trading off their assets, getting super young and a lot of draft picks,” Fieldhouse Files’ Scott Agness on the HoopsHype Podcast. “OKC is the far end of one spectrum. They’re not even going to go close to that. They’re trying to reshape the roster.”
Between Haliburton and Chris Duarte, Indy’s backcourt is in good shape regardless of whether it moves Malcolm Brogdon. The Pacers are strong at center too, assuming the Sabonis swap finally moved Myles Turner off the trade block.
The wings could be upgraded, though, and Indy has the money to make it happen. Miles Bridges could be a godsend for the Circle City—imagine the viral wildfires he could set racing alongside Haliburton in the open floor—even if it could be awfully tough to pry him away from the Charlotte Hornets.
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Read More: Predicting Biggest Buyers in 2022 NBA Free Agency | Bleacher Report