4 thoughts regarding the Detroit Pistons and 2020 NBA trade deadline

4. Moving on from Drummond

With Covington and Capela off the board, two big dominoes have fallen. The Celtics missed out, the Hornets may see a window of opportunity with Atlanta — who is on a similar timeline — landing Capela, and the Clippers may feel pressured to upgrade at center given the size at the five in the Western Conference. The same could be said for the Mavericks.

As quickly as the market for Drummond cooled, it could heat up over the next day and a half. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Pistons end up getting a pick for Drummond. But matching salaries may be a cause for concern and require a third team get involved.

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Drummond has been an important part of the Pistons organization over the past seven-plus seasons. He’s the league’s best rebounder but, even with him, the Pistons are the fourth-worst team in the NBA in rebounding. Sure, the Pistons have a plethora of reasons for why they’re losing but Drummond’s production has dropped considerably from early in the year.

Trading Drummond this week would save the Pistons from him potentially opting in to a $28.8 million player option, which he’s said he’d decline. If he were to opt-in, it would cripple the Pistons financially and mean filling out the roster at a time where it’s tough to get value deals.

The flipside is the Pistons could create a sign-and-trade opportunity in the summer, but it seems like a good idea to see what he’s worth and sever ties, freeing up minutes to younger players, or whoever they bring in.

Buckle up, turn on the appropriate tweet notifications and enjoy the deadline.