Detroit Pistons stock exchange: Post-trade deadline trends

The Detroit Pistons were defeated by the Washington Wizards for their fourth straight loss and their 8th in ten games.

This stretch has been good for the tank, as the Pistons have “gained” games on every other bad team except the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are still stuck on 11 wins.

The Pistons are now three games “ahead” of Orlando and a game in front of Houston for the second-worst record in the NBA. They are only a 1.5 games behind the Timberwolves, so if Minnesota can just win a few the Pistons have a very good chance at the worst record overall.

This would be a good thing, as it would guarantee that they stay in the top-five, which is really the only advantage to having the worst record as the odds are the same for the bottom three teams otherwise.

This week saw Delon Wright traded for Cory Joseph and two second-round draft picks, so it has been a good week for Troy Weaver, the Pistons’ future salary cap situation as well as their draft assets.

It also saw the return of Blake Griffin and his subsequent heel turn into Pistons’ enemy #1 after he got Isaiah Stewart ejected with some timely flopping.

Let’s start the stock exchange with the “too early to tells.”

Detroit Pistons stock exchange: Too early to tell

Newcomer Cory Joseph didn’t have to wait long to get in on the action, playing big minutes in his first two games as a Piston and even getting his number called on the final play against the Brooklyn Nets.

He has played fine so far but the fact that he is playing so much tells me the Pistons aren’t really that interested in winning.

Frank Jackson had a couple of good games in a starting role but is now back to the bench, so we will see how his production and minutes are affected. Personally, I’d rather see more of Jackson than Joseph, as he has a much better chance of actually being a Piston next season.

Now let’s get to the movers, starting with the upward trends.