What if the Detroit Pistons traded Blake Griffin & Andre Drummond

In a worst case scenario if the Detroit Pistons’ season were to go further south than it already has, would they begin to consider trading their two stars?

It’s almost an unthinkable scenario, but as the 2019-2020 NBA season moves along it’s becoming clearer and clearer to certain fans that the Detroit Pistons must chose a direction. Either they truly commit to the “win now” ideology, or they commit to a rebuild. What if they choose the latter?

While it would be incredibly challenging for just about any NBA team to take on the salary exceeding $62 million of both Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, is it a realistic possibility?

In almost every instance, no. It’s not. Finding a suitor for both players while maintaining a fair return would be a meticulous and near impossible task. In almost any case, they’d have to be traded separately but the goal would be all the same – find young talent and stock up on draft capital.

However, here’s one scenario where both players are landed by another team.

ADDITIONAL: Portland sends their first round picks to Detroit from 2020, 2022, 2024, and a second round pick from 2025.

What’s important to note is that Portland likely wouldn’t seek to complete any trade of this magnitude until Zach Collins returns from injury, so that they have more flexibility at the center position. This trade also could not be completed until December 15th at the earliest.

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What may seem like a king’s ransom is actually more or less a small price to pay. With the addition of Griffin and Drummond, Portland would propel themselves into the driver seat of the Western Conference. A starting lineup consisting of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Blake Griffin, Jusuf Nurkic and Andre Drummond would seemingly be a lock for 55 wins. (Nurkic currently has no timetable for his return from injury.)

If the Los Angeles Clippers traded five future first round picks in order to land Paul George and become preliminary favorites to win the title, Portland could certainly do the same for just three. They’d also have to bloated contracts of Whiteside and Bazemore off the books.

What if they were traded individually?

If the Pistons were looking to find more flexible value when trading their stars, then dealing both Griffin and Drummond individually rather than as a pair may be more likely. What the decision would ultimately come down to is – what deal winds up being more valuable?

ADDITIONAL: Bostons sends to Detroit one of their 2020 first round picks, as well as a 2020 and 2021 second round pick.

The Pistons would have to wait until Hayward returns from injury, however this would set up Detroit’s future in a short term but reliable way. Carsen Edwards would be a remarkable addition to a Pistons roster that always needs more shooting. During the preseason, Edwards his 8 three-pointers in a single quarter, which is one shy of the NBA record. Detroit would get an infusion of youth with he and Brown, as well as a reliable veteran in Hayward.

Danny Ainge would be wise to finally utilize his overwhelming stock of draft picks.

One of the more significant things to note before any team attempts to trade for Drummond is this: Will he re-sign with them this summer? Unless there’s a team that only wants him as a rental, it would more than likely be a long term move. Atlanta could be a team that he’s interested in playing for given their explosion to start the season thanks to Trae Young.

Atlanta would receive one of the top rebounding centers of all time, and would create a lethal pick and roll option with Drummond and Young. Though they would still be a few pieces away from being in any legitimate conversations as contenders, it could be an avenue worth exploring.

If the Pistons went through with both of these trades, their starting lineup could possibly look like this: Reggie Jackson, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward, Markieff Morris and Christian Wood. They would have also stocked up a total of four players on rookie contracts (soon to be three with Brown’s extension kicking in next season.) and four total draft picks.

It’s important to note that before any trades are made, and before any decisions are made as to what the Pistons should do with their future, Detroit needs to get a healthy stretch of games out of their current roster in order to properly evaluate the situation.