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Three possible trade scenarios for the Detroit Pistons

By Duncan Smith

Feb 6, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) dribbles the ball as Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers won 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 6, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) dribbles the ball as Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) defends at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers won 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young (30) wipes away sweat during a break in the action against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Nets 112-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young (30) wipes away sweat during a break in the action against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Nets 112-100. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Trade scenario no. 1: Brooklyn Nets send forward Thaddeus Young and point guard Shane Larkin to the Pistons in exchange for point guards Brandon Jennings and Spencer Dinwiddie, and power forward Anthony Tolliver.

The trade works according to ESPN’s trade machine, but it works without Dinwiddie as well. I’m not sure that Brooklyn would really care if they get him in this package or not, but the Pistons probably wouldn’t mind shaving his $845,000 off the books next year. That said, the cap is set to explode, and that’s a fairly trivial hit to the cap.

As for the main players in this deal, it gets a bit more interesting. Thaddeus Young is under contract until the end of the 2018-19 season, and he’s been one of the few Brooklyn Nets who is actually an NBA player this season. He’s averaging 16.7 points and a career-high 10 rebounds per game this season, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor. He has been a decent three-point shooter in limited volume at points in his career, setting a career-high last season hitting 38 percent of his threes, but this season he’s cratered from behind the line with a 21.7 percent mark.

Shane Larkin is the other Net coming back. Larkin is averaging 20 minutes per game, scoring 6.7 points per game and adding 3.9 assists, but he’s no Brandon Jennings. That said, I will absolutely detest any trade that the Pistons make with Jennings that doesn’t involve a point guard coming back. We’ve seen the Steve Blake and Spencer Dinwiddie experiences this season, and in no way am I interested in revisiting it.

Tolliver has had an uptick from behind the line, quietly shooting above his career mark from long range, hitting 36.6 percent of his threes this season. The Pistons are already pretty bad from long range on a night-to-night basis, so trading one of their best three-point shooters without a good shooter coming back is questionable, but I like the idea of acquiring Young quite a bit.

I would make this deal.

Next: Will the Pistons reunite the Morris twins?