I was at the last game the Pistons won: a 104-95 victory over the equally hapless Golden State Warriors Dec. 12 at the Palace.

That W gave Detroit a 5-game win streak and put the Pistons at 11-12, good for seventh in the Eastern Conference at the time.

Since then, the team has lost 12 straight games by an average score of 100-87 to put the Pistons at 11-24. Detroit is now tied with Golden State for the fourth-worst record in the League and, if the NBA Draft were held today, the Pistons would most likely have a top-five pick in a fairly deep draft.

As bad as they've been, Detroit is only five games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East (currently held by the 15-18 Milwaukee Bucks. God, the East is awful). It's not completely out of the realm of possibility that the Pistons could make the playoffs and play sacrificial lamb to the Cleveland Cavaliers (again), but what would that accomplish?

A lot of people have talked about Detroit trading either Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince to get a big man. What (decent) big man would either of those guys, who make - combined - about $23 million, be able to get you? All of the solid big men have been locked up long term or will command big dollars on the free agent market, which would mean the possibility of the Pistons having to pay the luxury tax, which they've always been reluctant to do.

Others have suggested offering one or both Hamilton and Prince to a team with a big expiring deal as a way to free up cash this summer and go after a superstar, such as LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Who's the last "big name" free agent to come to Detroit?

Detroit has never been a place where free agents wanted to come. It is important to find a way to get one or both of those guys off the roster at some point this season, as Detroit already has about $51.4 million in salaries on the books for next season. With the cap set to drop to about $52 million, moves must be made if the Pistons are going to be a player in the free agent game this summer. I'm just not sure any team would want Hamilton or Prince.

Detroit should keep doing what it's doing: being a bad team.

In the NBA, it doesn't pay to be middle of the road. So you get to the playoffs and get bounced in the first round. You've got no shot at a lottery pick and the Draft is usually a crapshoot outside of the lottery. Lady Luck hasn't exactly been on team President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars' side when it comes to the Draft.

The Pistons are awful. I've heard of teams "tanking" the season, but it's not tanking when you already stink. I had Detroit pegged to finish 27-55 before the start of the season. I'm not sure they'll win that many games. Looking at their schedule, the Pistons have two games against Minnesota (8-30) and three against the Detroit Lions of the NBA: the New Jersey Nets (3-33), who would probably struggle with Hickory High at this point. Those are (probably) their only "gimmes" the rest of the way.

Detroit has to build through the Draft. When you're not a free agent destination, stockpiling young talent through the Draft is how you build a winner. At this point, it's safe to say the Pistons will have a top-five pick. And if the Lottery balls bounce their way, the Pistons could luck up and get Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall and pair him with Rodney Stuckey, allowing Stuckey to slide to his natural position: shooting guard.

A backcourt of Wall and Stuckey would be a nice start.

So while the losses keep adding up for Detroit (and they will), fans should think about the long-term effects.