Could the Detroit Pistons acquire Buddy Hield?

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Detroit Pistons Luke Kennard. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

A Tough Trade

Trading for Hield will not be easy. The Pistons lack many desirable assets that match up with Hield’s salary, so would likely have to include at least one unprotected first round pick or Luke Kennard in any deal for Hield. Obviously the Pistons would have to judge whether Hield was worth giving up one of their only young assets and gauge his interest in remaining a Piston long term.

Hield will only be a restricted free agent after the season which means Detroit would be able to match any offer sheet from another team, but that is still no guarantee that he would re-sign long term. Sacramento will have every opportunity to retain his services and the numbers work in their favor. This gives the Kings leverage, so acquiring Hield might take more than Detroit can stomach. Here are a few ways it could happen:

This trade would only work if the Kings still saw themselves as out of the conversation in the Western Conference. Langston Galloway is not going to excite the Kings, but two unprotected first round picks might, especially if they don’t think they have a realistic shot at the playoffs this season.

This would also free up cap space for the Kings to retain Fox, Bagley and Bogan Bogdanovic and give them a treasure trove of picks to use in a future move. Realistically, those picks won’t be great, and it would probably take more to get Hield. This would be a dream scenario for Detroit, as they could keep Kennard and start their own Splash Brothers Lite.

Do the Pistons think Kennard is part of their future? Do they think he’ll be as good or better than Hield moving forward? This is a trade a lot of Pistons’ fans wouldn’t make, as Kennard is younger and may end up being better than Hield in the long run.

Kennard is also still on his rookie deal, so he’d be cheaper and easier for the Pistons to control moving forward. This deal doesn’t make a lot of sense for Detroit unless they know something about Kennard that we don’t. It would probably be a lateral move and given their respective ages and trajectories, doesn’t really make sense. Detroit might look for Sacramento to sweeten the pot and throw in a draft pick in exchange for that extra year of low cost control.

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The truth is that Detroit does not match up well with Sacramento as a trade partner, so it would probably take a third team to get any type of deal done. In any scenario the Pistons would be giving up a few picks or Kennard.

Getting Hield while keeping Kennard would be the optimal result but the Pistons would undoubtedly have to give up a lot of picks, which they may decide isn’t worth it. There will be a lot of moving parts between now and the trade deadline, so Detroit should continue to monitor the Hield situation and pounce if they see an opportunity.