Did the Detroit Pistons miss the boat with Trey Burke?

It was announced earlier that the Washington Wizards have sent a second round pick in the 2021 NBA draft to the Utah Jazz in exchange for former Michigan Wolverines Trey Burke. For such a low risk high reward scenario, is this a missed opportunity for Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons?

The Detroit Pistons are on the look out for depth. Especially at the point guard position. After trading Spencer Dinwiddie to the Chicago Bulls last month and deciding not to bring Steve Blake back to the second unit, the Pistons signed Ish Smith from the Philadelphia 76ers to back up Reggie Jackson next season.

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Next in line from there come two possible third string floor generals; Lorenzo Brown and Michael Gbinije. Brown, currently trying to earn his keep in yet another Summer League audition has little NBA experience after playing sparingly over the past few years, bouncing around the league on a series of ten-day contracts.

Gbinije, recently drafted out of Syracuse in the second round is still trying to find his feet at point guard, potentially being better suited to play off the ball. With no real third string point guard, this deal from Washington could have been just what Detroit needed.

Back in 2013 the Pistons had the opportunity to draft the home town hero, instead electing to take Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with the eighth pick. Burke was drafted next at ninthth by the Minnesota Timberwolves on behalf of the Utah Jazz.

Burke had a rough start to his career. He under-performed in his first Summer League, shooting an ugly 24 percent and 1-of-19 from outside, even being benched for a game. He then broke his right index finger before the season had even begun, keeping him on the sidelines for a several weeks.

Following his rocky start, Burke salvaged the season showing flashes of brilliance at times and ending up third on rookie of the year balloting. A notable game came against Detroit where Burke put up 20 points and a career high 12 assists. Shortly afterwards he was named in the Rising Stars Challenge at the NBA All-Star weekend.

Burke finished his rookie season with 12.8 points, 5.7 assists and 3 rebounds per game. He also shot 38 percent from the field, 33 percent from the arc and 90.3 percent from the charity stripe, respectable numbers from a rookie. The following season, the Utah Jazz elected to take Dante Exum in the NBA draft, another point guard. This was a recipe for disaster and soon enough Burke had lost his starting position and began coming off the bench.