Pistons’ trade drought troubling. Again.
By Dan Feldman
"The Detroit Pistons have gone 415 days since their last trade."
"Their last deal: Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov for Brandon Jennings on July 31, 2013.It’s the NBA’s second-longest active trade drought, behind only the Portland Trail Blazers’ 436 days.Most of the league — 24 of 30 teams — has traded since draft night 85 days ago. Yet here are the Pistons, who’ve gone nearly five times as long without a deal.Detroit’s lack of trading is understandable, but it’s still an organizational failure.Former team president Joe Dumars was professionally neutered around the time owner Tom Gores stepped in to fire coach Maurice Cheeks in February. That made a deal before last season’s trade deadline somewhere between unlikely and impossible. Dumars clearly was running out the clock on his tenure, lacking the freedom to shape the team.Now Stan Van Gundy steps in to lead the front office, a position he never has held. It’s reasonable that he’s not ready to jump into the fire and make a trade, though having general manager Jeff Bower around should ease that concern. Unlike Van Gundy, who might still be developing contacts within the league’s executive ranks, Bower is known and respected across the NBA."
"Of the six teams that last traded before draft night, five share a trait: They were good last season. The Trail Blazers (54-28), Suns (48-34), Warriors (51-31), Wizards (44-38) and Pacers (56-26) could afford to stick with their rosters. Their rosters have succeeded.The Pistons, on the other hand, went 29-53 last season. They haven’t made the playoffs in five years.Look, I don’t want a trade for the sake of a trade. Trades are not inherently good.But they’re a way to upgrade a team, and it’s troubling that the Pistons have so long ignored this avenue for improvement. Maybe only bad offers have been on the table, and Detroit’s lack of trading actually has served the franchise best. But after this long, I’m wary that the organization is just not doing enough to identify and execute helpful trades.This 415-day trade drought might be getting more attention if the Pistons didn’t just go through a dramatically longer one. Before dealing Ben Gordon and a first-round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for Corey Maggette on June 26, 2012, the Pistons’ previous trade came July 13, 2009, when they sent Arron Afflalo, Walter Sharpe and cash to the Denver Nuggets for a second-round pick.To be fair, that 1,079-day drought(!) — the 10th longest of all time — partially came during the NBA lockout. But there’s always an excuse, rarely a helpful trade for the Pistons.Opportunities should exist to make a deal in the near future, though.The Pistons and Kings reportedly discussed a Josh Smith trade this summer. Greg Monroe accepting the qualifying offer makes him likely to leave as an unrestricted free agent next off-season, so Detroit should look to deal him now (though he can veto any trade). The Pistons also have 16 players — one more than the regular-season roster limit — with a guaranteed contract, so they should look to trade someone rather than just eating a salary at the end of the preseason."