Why the Detroit Pistons’ Morris-Bradley deal is beneficial
The Detroit Pistons traded Marcus Morris to the Boston Celtics for Avery Bradley and a future second-rounder. As Marcus Morris grew to be a respected leader and a main contributor for the Detroit Pistons, the trade for Bradley benefits Detroit in a multitude of ways.
The Detroit Pistons made their first big splash of the offseason Friday morning in a trade with the Boston Celtics.
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The Pistons parted ways with forward Marcus Morris in exchange for shooting guard Avery Bradley and a future second round pick. When analyzing the move, the trade made sense for both sides.
The Boston Celtics signed Utah Jazz star and unrestricted free agent Gordon Hayward earlier in the week to a max deal. Unfortunately for the Celtics, nothing could be made official until additional cap space was freed for Hayward’s contract.
Hence, Boston searched for a trade partner to dump salary and found their partner with the Detroit Pistons. And fortunately for the Pistons, they benefit most from the deal.
As trading Marcus Morris isn’t the easiest thing for fans to cope with, ridding of him creates minutes for Tobias Harris and Stanley Johnson at small forward. Additionally, the moving of Harris to small forward opens up a starting role for Jon Leuer and, more importantly, a reserve role for Henry Ellenson.
Furthermore, securing Avery Bradley at shooting guard (until next year) eliminates Detroit’s greatest concern this off-season: resigning Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Stan Van Gundy and Tom Gores did indicate resigning KCP was a main priority, though sides never agreed to terms. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was looking for a near max deal while Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons couldn’t come close (offering five year, $80 Million).
Now with Bradley, Detroit lets Caldwell-Pope walk, save a lot of money, and are left with a similar yet better 3-and-D star.
Next: Are there more moves coming from the Detroit Pistons?
The Pistons sit pretty as it stands now with the assets they have possess. Thanks to the deal, Detroit avoids hitting the tax apron, allow the core of Jackson, Drummond, and Harris to play another year together, improve at shooting guard (for a year), and clear space for the young guys to prove themselves off the bench. It’s a win, win, win at the expense of letting two fan-favorites go.