How do the Detroit Pistons shape up from a financial perspective this summer?
At the moment, the Detroit Pistons have a litany of options at their disposal after exiting the postseason in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Though that playoff run was not as long as many hoped for, it did illuminate the organization as to what is needed to compete in the later rounds of the postseason, namely three-point shooting and big man production.
The Pistons struggled with the former all season long, and the latter reared its ugly head against the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavs once April turned to May. So, Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon has all summer to adjust the squad’s roster, but his first opportunity will come in less than two weeks when the 2026 NBA Draft arrives.
One week after the draft, though, Langdon will have a chance to lure free agents to Motown with that period of the offseason opening up on June 30. With that date creeping ever closer, it’s important to understand just what kind of financial position the Pistons are in since the organization is expected to make a win-now move before the 2026-27 campaign kicks off.
Right now, the Pistons have 12 players signed to NBA contracts for the coming season with Cade Cunningham checking in as the highest earner at just over $50 million for the next three years according to Spotrac. Elsewhere in the backcourt, Caris LeVert, Marcus Sasser, Daniss Jenkins and Chaz Lanier are all under contract with deals ranging from $14.8 million (LeVert) down to $2 million (Lanier), so there should be at least four clear-cut guards receiving regular playing time in the Motor City pending further transactions.
On the wings, Duncan Robinson is the second-highest earner on the team at just under $16 million, though that title will certainly shift once Jalen Duren agrees to a significant raise with the Pistons. Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II can both safely be considered wings, and they’re sandwiched together making between $9-11.1 million per season (Holland on the low end, Thompson with the higher rate), but that takes care of Detroit’s wing depth.
In terms of big men, Duren will receive a major bump in pay this season, likely well north of $30 million given his All-NBA Third Team selection. Isaiah Stewart is slated to receive $15 million over the next two years, then Paul Reed, Tolu Smith and Isaac Jones round out the Pistons’ frontcourt as it currently stands.
Overall, the Pistons have a lot of players who are on team-friendly deals, notably Thompson and Reed. Detroit currently has $135.4 million in active cap with another $103.4 million in cap holds, and those two totals combine to push the Pistons $73.9 million over the cap maximum for the upcoming season. However, Detroit still has room to spend during the summer because the team still falls well short (to the tune of $72.5 million) of the first apron and even further below the second apron. Because of that reality, the Pistons are expected to remain active in both the free agency and trade markets this summer considering most of the NBA is in a worse financial position than Detroit.
Over the past two seasons, Langdon has staked out a reputation in being both patient and pragmatic, and the benefit of those qualities is that the Pistons have wiggle room monetarily in addition to the optionality that they’re trying to build on the court as well.
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