The Detroit Pistons were set to be among the teams with the most cap space coming into free agency, but with a young roster still trying to find itself, they chose to be patient and use that cap space to trade for veterans other teams were looking to unload.
Early in the night they acquired a pair of second round picks from the Nets to take on Joe Harris’ $19.9 million expiring contract, freeing the Nets up to re-sign Cam Johnson without as big of a tax penalty later in the evening. Later in the evening, they acquired some cash from the Clippers for draft rights to the 57th pick in the 2021 Draft (Balsa Koprivica), and then used more of their space to acquire Monte Morris from the Wizards, sending Washington a second round pick in return.
Wizards are trading guard Monte Morris to the Pistons, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2023
Pistons are trading a future second for Morris, per sources.
Gives Detroit a veteran guard and another expiring contract.
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) July 1, 2023
Compensation update: The Wizards are trading Monte Morris to the Pistons for a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Wizards will create a $9.8M Traded Player Exception.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023
All told, the Pistons ended the day with Joe Harris, Monte Morris, and a second round pick, which will give them a veteran point guard and another shooter around Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Ausar Thompson, while also keeping their books clean for next summer when they might have a bit more clarity about which members of their young roster they truly want to build around. Detroit has some frontcourt clutter to work through and would like to see their young backcourt get some real minutes together after Cunningham missed most of last season, and so this summer proved to be about acquiring some veterans without losing anything off the roster and not adding any long-term money to their books.
On Washington’s side, they move some money off of their books amid their rebuild after trading for Jordan Poole and re-signing Kyle Kuzma earlier in the night to a $102 million deal, as they continue to be the league’s most active team this offseason.