Just a couple of days before the NBA trade deadline, the Detroit Pistons may have reached a crossroads with their core. Should they stand pat or make a move?
The Detroit Pistons are swirling in uncertainty as we near the final hours before the NBA trade deadline. Some of the earliest buzz as the trade market opened in January came when a deal for Reggie Jackson to go to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ricky Rubio was rumored to be in talks, and things have built to the point where everybody is on the table.
Per ESPN’s Marc Stein:
Hearing more and more teams say today they believe Detroit will NOT discourage trade inquiries for center Andre Drummond this week.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 21, 2017
If Andre Drummond is on the table and Reggie Jackson was being mentioned in rumors while he was playing well, that’s an indication that everybody is on the table. This is a pivotal time for the Pistons, as a move for either player could be a signal that a quick re-entry into a rebuilding mode is pending.
Reggie Jackson’s value has never been lower as he’s playing through knee tendinitis and he’s struggled mightily for over a month, but he played some of the best basketball of his career for a four-week stretch immediately preceding this. Do the Pistons sell low on Jackson simply to shed his contract and his ball dominant play style in the hopes that Ish Smith can steer the ship for the rest of the season? Can the Pistons get a point guard of any kind of reasonable value in return?
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These are questions that must be asked in the next two days. Needless to say, if the Pistons decide that Reggie Jackson is simply just the player he’s been since the middle of January and not the near-All Star he was last season, the organization won’t easily live it down if they trade him and he returns to 2015-16 form in which he averaged 18.8 points and 6.2 assists per game.
On the other hand, Andre Drummond has had a down year. Chalk it up to a lack of continuity due to the constant injuries and inconsistent play around him, call it a plateau or maybe he’s simply reached his ceiling, Drummond hasn’t taken the leap forward the Pistons hoped he would have signing him to a five-year $130 million contract this past summer.
It’s clear now that Andre Drummond isn’t a superstar cornerstone, the likes of which a team can build a championship contender around as its best player, but make no mistake that Drummond is one of the best bigs in the NBA. There are things he does not do well (shoot free throws, operate from the post), but the things he does well, he does at an elite level. He’s the best rebounder in the NBA and the Pistons lead the league in second-chance points allowed, and that’s entirely due to Drummond’s rebounding proficiency.
As things reach a fever pitch in the NBA, should the Pistons break up this fledgling core and restart things or ride it out and give Reggie Jackson’s knee time to heal?
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It’s too late in the season to tank effectively with 26 wins and the Pistons are more likely to finish in the top seven of the East than they are to miss the playoffs, and they’ve won six of their past nine games while showing improvement. Reggie Jackson has a below-market contract for a starting point guard and is a healthy knee away from being a solid and reliable scorer once again, and nothing more than rest might be required to get him there.
What say you? Should the Pistons move on from Reggie Jackson or Andre Drummond?