{"id":752233,"date":"2026-06-04T12:00:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/752233\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:00:28","slug":"pistons-were-wise-not-to-pay-for-a-free-agent-they-can-have-for-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/752233\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons were wise not to pay for a free agent they can have for free"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Detroit Pistons\u2019 lack of action at the trade deadline became a talking point that only got louder once they were eliminated from the playoffs, as some believe there were\u00a0players\u00a0available who could have helped, including Ayo Dosunmu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trajan Langdon was criticized in some corners for not getting more out of Jaden Ivey, but when you look at the way Ivey flamed out in Chicago<\/a>,\u00a0it now appears the Pistons\u00a0were lucky to get anything at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They did get Kevin Huerter, who made no impact, and\u00a0moved up\u00a0from the 28th\u00a0to the 21st\u00a0pick, so they\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0give Ivey away, but\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0hard not to be disappointed with that return given the expectations for Ivey coming into the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to beat reporter Hunter Patterson, the Pistons\u00a0actually did\u00a0inquire about Ayo Dosunmu<\/a>, but felt the price was too high. And given how things turned out, they were smart not to invest in a rental.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The price for Ayo Dosunmu was not worth paying\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Minnesota Timberwolves ended up giving the Bulls two players and four second-round picks for Dosunmu, which was clearly a price the Pistons were not willing to pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bulls were looking for young players and picks, so it\u00a0likely would\u00a0have cost the Pistons Ron Holland II, who is too talented to give away for a rental.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0be clear,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0what Dosunmu was, as he is entering unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career and is clearly going to test the market to see how much he can get.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Imagine if the Pistons had made such a deal, lost in the second round anyway, and then had to watch Holland blow up with the Bulls.\u00a0No\u00a0thanks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Would Dosunmu have been enough to push the Pistons past the Cavaliers?\u00a0Maybe, but\u00a0he\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0going to make them legit title contenders, so giving up prospects for the possibility of a slight improvement\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0worth it, especially when Langdon was keen to see what his core could do.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Pistons want Dosunmu, they can have him now and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0not a rental\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dosunmu was good in the playoffs and could be a free\u00a0agent\u00a0the Pistons target this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the Pistons want Dosunmu, they can just sign him as a free agent without giving up draft picks or prospects, so they were smart to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If they had traded for him, they\u2019d be in the same situation they are now, but without some of their young players and draft assets to use, so it was far better to wait and make a play for him in free agency, where they might be able to sign Ayo into their mid-level exception.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0splash out for a rental unless\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a guy who can push you over the top, and that\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0the case here, so the Pistons were wise to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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