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: OKC Thunder

To be honest, the OKC Thunder were the biggest loser in the NBA draft lottery. There are many universes where the Thunder come away with a top-four pick of their own, and the fifth pick as well. Instead, they got just the sixth pick and the Rockets kept their top-four protected pick.

The Thunder still have a historic war chest of draft assets, but without a pick in the top two or three of the draft, it’s hard to see them really make a viable push for the No. 1 pick. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may as well be untouchable, so unless the Thunder make a major push to consolidate picks to move up AND THEN flip that moved-up pick to the Pistons, they’re a less appealing trade partner than it seems on face value.

Teams who may make a deal with the Pistons for the No. 1 pick: Houston Rockets

Now we come to the true trade candidate. The Houston Rockets have what the Pistons may want without having to jump through convoluted hoops: the No. 2 pick.

Having staved off potential disaster and keeping their pick, the Rockets may be the key to the top couple of picks in the first round. Assuming the Pistons really do like Jalen Green over Cade Cunningham, a deal could be made here. The Rockets also have Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks picks for the foreseeable future, as well as a Pistons lottery-protected pick that rolls for the next several years that they might want back in a deal.

All of these possibilities are unlikely because Cade Cunningham is just most likely the best player in the draft and it’s smokescreen season anyway, but if the Pistons did decide to make a trade, the Houston Rockets would probably be the team they’d deal with.