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Detroit Pistons: Once again contemplating a Russell Westbrook trade

By Blake Stackpoole

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets in action against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 02, 2020 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Rockets 125-123. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets in action against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 02, 2020 in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Rockets 125-123. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons fans once again find themselves pondering a potential trade for Westbrook.

Roughly two months ago, I wrote about the Russell Westbrook to Detroit rumors and now I write again as the Rockets’ star has requested a trade with the Detroit Pistons being one of the teams involved and linked to the perennial All-Star guard.

Along with the Pistons, other bottom-feeding Eastern conference teams, the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, are potential destinations for Westbrook.

While I personally don’t think this trade will happen and I don’t recommend that Troy does this trade, even the biggest haters can’t deny that a Westbrook-Griffin team would be at least fun to watch as we go through this “re-tooling” that the front office has told us we are in.

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At first a lot of the trades that were rumored involved the Pistons dealing Blake Griffin to Houston, one of the more popular trades, one that I personally would be ok with, involves the Pistons sending Tony Snell and Derrick Rose to the Rockets in return for Westbrook and draft compensation.

While casual NBA fans and those not closely following the Rockets and Westbrook might be confused about why the Pistons are getting instead of sending picks, people in touch with the league realize how bad Westbrook fits in Houston and how mammoth his contract is.

Westbrook is two years into a 5-year $206 million contract, a contract that rivals Detroit Tigers’ star Miguel Cabrera’s contract in terms of overpaying a declining star.

Some of the signs that would point to the Pistons doing such a deal would be this morning’s trade with the Brooklyn Nets, where the Pistons sent Bruce Brown to Brooklyn for Dzanan Musa and a 2021-second rounder.

Brown, while traditionally a shooting guard, started to play a bit of point guard for the Pistons and had the ball in his hands a lot more once Reggie Jackson was bought out and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

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Derrick Rose has long been rumored to be on his way out via trade so if that happens either the Pistons are trading for Westbrook or they are drafting a point guard, hopefully the latter.

One of the other major signs will be what the Pistons decide to do on Wednesday night for the draft. If they decide to not select Killian Hayes at pick 7 as they are expected to do, then that could be a huge sign that they are looking to get Westbrook to fill the hole at the point guard position.

When compared to the Hornets and Knicks, excluding overpaying, the Pistons seem to have the best package as Snell and Rose are cheap one-year deals, both with great trade value and would save the Rockets nearly $20 million in cap space.

Also, with their aging roster, I believe the Rockets would much rather have veterans in Rose and Snell than players like Dennis Smith Jr. and Kevin Knox, or Terry Rozier III and Nicolas Batum.

At the time of writing this, James Harden also just requested a trade from the Rockets, I believe this increases the likelihood of Westbrook being traded as he’s one of the main reasons that Harden wants out.

In conclusion, I don’t think that the Pistons should trade for Westbrook if they believe it will make them competitive. If they want to trade for Russell due to the assets, they will receive for taking him off of the Rockets, then I’m intrigued.

Even the biggest haters of this trade would have to admit he would make the Pistons more relevant and more interesting. If the Pistons don’t trade any major assets or picks, then why not? We won’t contend while he’s on the books so why not make the deal and have a more watchable tanking team as we try to bring Emoni Bates home in 2022.

Next. Detroit Pistons: The final case for drafting Killian Hayes. dark

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