The expiration of Dennis Schroder’s Traded Player Exception is another reminder that the Pistons let a useful asset sit there until it vanished.
Detroit got the $8.7 million exception last summer after Schroder left to sign a bigger deal with the Kings, but it never turned into much. It officially expired on July 7 with little to show for it, and that’s the part that stings: the Pistons had a tool that could have helped, and they barely used it.
Part of the problem is obvious. Traded Player Exceptions are limited, and Detroit could only have brought in someone making $8.7 million or less.
That trims the board fast. Still, the return the Pistons did get was underwhelming.
They used the exception to land a pick swap that moved them from No. 28 to No. 21 in this year’s draft by taking on Dario Saric’s contract.
Even that value gets watered down when you stack it against what happened next. Detroit gave up three second-round picks - or, depending on how you look at it, Isaiah Stewart - to move up just four spots to No.
- So whatever gain came from moving up seven spots with the exception was offset by the later move up the board.
And there were players available who fit the exception and could have mattered. Quentin Grimes, Ayo Dosunmu and Jose Alvarado are the names that stand out. Each could have given Cade Cunningham more ball-handling and shot creation in the backcourt, the kind of help that can swing a playoff series.
That’s the larger issue with Detroit right now. Around the league, the Pistons still aren’t being viewed as true contenders, and this conservative approach is a big reason why. Even after a historic 60-win season, they keep leaning toward small, safe moves instead of pushing real chips in for upgrades.
The argument for caution is easy enough to understand. TPEs are hard to maximize, and if Detroit wanted one of those players, it probably would have needed to attach more assets.
But if the Pistons were operating with the kind of pace they showed by the trade deadline last season, that should have been the moment to spend a little more. A future second-round pick or two is a fair price if it raises the playoff ceiling during a run that could go deep.
If Detroit wants to chase a championship seriously, it has to act like it. That means using every asset it has, and being willing to overpay when the moment calls for it.
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