Grading Dunc’d On’s mock trade involving Detroit Pistons’ Derrick Rose

Why they do it

Detroit Pistons

Rose is the biggest asset the Detroit Pistons are willing to move right now and will look to get as much value as they can. If no firsts are available, then two very high second-round picks is the best you can get.

Maybe it’s even better than getting a late first-round pick on most drafts. Early in the second round, you can often acquire players that you thought you would have to use a first-round pick to get. And those players come in favorable non-guaranteed contracts.

Just look at what’s happening with Bruce Brown and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. In them, the Pistons have two rotation players on minimum contracts. That’s very valuable to a rebuilding team as it grants flexibility while also providing high upside.

You could always stumble upon a gem if you shoot enough darts on the board and at the worst, you have an easily tradable contract. Or even better, a sweetener in another deal.

And don’t forget Smith. While he hasn’t been able to get minutes on a contending team, he’s a developmental project the Pistons would be excited to get their hands on. He’s still only 20 years old.

He’s an extremely athletic 6-foot-4 guard with a 6-9.75 wingspan. He doesn’t just jump high either. He’s a very fluid athlete that can get up against contact but also move very quickly laterally. He can guard the passing lanes and quickly recover to a shooter.

As slow as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist‘s shot is, he’s a very tall player and Smith does a great job of fully extending his long arms and block the shot. Great positioning taking away the pass to the corner as well.

He has great instincts for the ball and he projects to be a high-end defender over time. He has a high feel for the game and he moves well on both ends. His IQ also translates into passing ability but his ball-handling is not yet at a level where he can be a playmaker.

That’s also because his pull up-game also needs some development. However, the Pistons can wait for him to improve his playmaking and shooting. He can focus on defense and fill an off-ball role on offense while the coaching staff eases him into some ball-handling duties.

He’s always been able to be efficient with his off-ball movement and especially his screening and cutting ability. Spacing the floor is a question for him but it will come in time.

As long as he plays hard, runs the floor and moves off the ball he’ll be able to get minutes in the Pistons rotation. He’s a low-risk cheap contract with high upside. He could genuinely become a Zach LaVine type of player on offense even though that’s a low probability outcome. On defense, he has a high floor.

Maybe losing Thomas hurts a bit. Maybe the Pistons can unload O’Quinn instead. Or maybe they want to keep him as a cheap strong center to handle the matchups Christian Wood can’t. They can re-sign him for something close to the minimum in the summer.

Thomas has dealt with injuries this year and usually, teams are quick to part with second-rounders that haven’t seen the floor by their second year. Snagging a future draft pick for him, however low, could prove to be a nice way to cut loss.

The Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers have their frontcourt rotation figured out. They’re deep on bigs and they don’t have the assets to pursue highly-coveted wings. They need someone to handle the ball when Ben Simmons is on the bench and Rose can do that better than anyone out there.

And they don’t even have to give up any first round picks to do it. They have more seconds than they can use right now, so it makes sense for them to use some to get the best guard available at the deadline.

There could be some players out there that would do better to address their shooting woes but they would not quite be of Rose’s caliber. Plus, they still have some assets to flip for another shooter.

Rose is averaging 18.8 points and six assists per game on a career-high 56.1 true shooting percentage. He’s been outstanding this season and would be a great asset for the 76ers deep into the playoffs.

The 76ers have a set closing five and having a guy like Rose performing on a star level off the bench could make a huge difference for them in any particular playoff series.