Pistons: What would a Godfather trade offer for the No. 1 pick look like?

Teams who may make a deal with the Pistons for the No. 1 pick: Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers can’t feel too badly about their own result in June’s NBA draft lottery. They were tied for the fourth-worst record in the NBA with the OKC Thunder but ended up getting the third pick in the draft.

Any deal with the Cavs would almost certainly have to include the third pick, as well as lightly protected future first-round picks, and probably a young player like Darius Garland or even Collin Sexton. The Pistons may see future draft capital as appealing, and it seems like they like Jalen Green quite a bit, so moving down from that top spot isn’t an impossibility.

However, the second pick would probably appeal more to them than the Cavs’ third pick, and there’s no reason to think that they’re big fans of either Garland or Sexton anyway.

Teams who may make a deal with the Pistons for the No. 1 pick: New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans have some ammo, but of the things they’re interested in moving, it’s unlikely that they have what it takes to make a deal. They came away from the Anthony Davis trade with a major haul of draft capital as well as Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and Brandon Ingram. However, Ingram is too good to include, but the draft picks they have aren’t nearly good enough.

New Orleans may sniff around, but the 10th pick in this draft along with future Los Angeles Lakers or Milwaukee Bucks (via the Jrue Holiday trade) picks and some young unproven player aren’t going to cut it. We can virtually ignore the Pelicans as a candidate to trade up.