Stan Van Gundy downplays Reggie Jackson trade rumors

Yesterday, ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves have discussed a potential trade built around a Reggie Jackson / Ricky Rubio swap. Today, Pistons coach and president Stan Van Gundy addressed those rumors.

Sometimes it can be tough deciphering the language NBA personnel and reporters use to discuss trades and free agency negotiations. There are “talks” and “discussions” that “progress” or “stall.” GMs are “confident” and “hopeful” and “listening.” Players are “shopped” or “untouchable.”

When it comes to trade rumors, it’s probably safe to assume that GMs are in constant conversation about myriad possibilities. Most of those will never be leaked to the public. According to Pistons coach/president Stan Van Gundy, the talk of a Reggie Jackson/Ricky Rubio trade is just that–talk.

Van Gundy said Pistons General Manager Jeff Bower was doing his due diligence by talking with other teams. He called the talks between Detroit and Minnesota “normal NBA personnel work.”

His full quotes are below, courtesy of Rod Beard of the Detroit News:

Stein originally reported that “no deal appeared imminent.” The teams “have engaged in dialogue this week on a potential multiplayer exchange that would be headline by Rubio and Jackson.” The Wolves have been openly shopping Rubio this season. Stein reported that they were also willing to include swingman Shabazz Muhammed in a deal.

Related Story: The truth behind the Pistons defensive issues

As Tim Cato wrote yesterday, this deal doesn’t make a ton of sense for either team. For starters, the Timberwolves believe they have their future point guard in Kris Dunn. Adding Reggie Jackson this season also wouldn’t do much to improve their 107.3 defensive rating. The Pistons might improve defensively with Ricky Rubio, but it’s doubtful whether they have enough shooting to maximize (and make up for) a pass-first point guard with, to put it nicely, limited scoring abilities.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Zach Lowe mentioned Jackson as a possible trade piece in a longer story about the New Orleans Pelicans:

"“[The Pelicans] could also get ahead of the problem and sniff out trades for veteran point guards under contract beyond this season. Two obvious names: Reggie Jackson and Goran Dragic. Let’s just say there is a disagreement between the Pistons and every team they’ve talked to about the level of Jackson’s availability.”"

Rough translation: Jackson has some trade value, but the Pistons are reluctant to deal him. They’ll talk to other teams about him, but they’re not likely to make a trade without a good haul in return. Few teams in the league are likely to offer such a haul, especially given Jackson’s defensive limitations.

This, of course, is fine. Van Gundy and Bower are still high on Jackson. They shouldn’t engage in serious talks unless they’re getting what they view as equivalent talent in return.

There are a few positives to take from this. First of all, Stan Van Gundy is a national treasure. It made sense for the team to downplay these rumors. But it’s always refreshing to hear SVG cut the BS and give his unfiltered takes.

Second, this shows some pretty good GM work by Bower. It makes sense to gauge interest in Jackson. IT makes sense to see what kind of value the Timberwolves might be looking for in exchange for a player like Rubio. It’s fine to take calls on players like Aron Baynes and Boban Marjanovic. Whether the Pistons will pull the trigger on a big trade this season is yet to be seen (and might depend on this next ten-game stretch). But if they do make a trade, it’s going to be one that makes sense for the team, both now and in the future.

Next: Pistons only willing to trade if it makes the team clearly better

To paraphrase SVG, this team’s not going to blow up the Pistons’ core just for the sake of making change.