Pistons: Evaluating a proposed trade of Killian Hayes for Fred VanVleet

Jerami Grant #9 of the Detroit Pistons handles the ball against Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Jerami Grant #9 of the Detroit Pistons handles the ball against Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
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Detroit Pistons, Killian Hayes
Killian Hayes #7 of the Detroit Pistons (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

GM Troy Weaver of the Detroit Pistons has shown that he is not afraid to make moves.

Weaver cleaned house in his first season as Detoit’s GM, getting rid of dead weight like Luke Kennard and starting with a clean slate of his own guys.

In fact, the only player still remaining from the previous regime is Sekou Doumbouya, who could find himself on the way out the door too if he doesn’t improve.

Weaver was aggressive in free agency with guys like Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee and wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger on trades, like he did shipping Svi Mykhailiuk out for Hamidou Diallo.

The Pistons have four solid rookies in Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Saben Lee, so it makes sense to build around this foundation and hopefully another high lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

But the Pistons could possibly speed up this rebuild by dealing some of their young talent and draft assets for a young veteran.

Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed a trade that he thinks would help both the Pistons and the Toronto Raptors, but would the Pistons be willing to do it?

Detroit Pistons: Trading Killian Hayes for Fred VanVleet

Here is the trade he proposed:

In this trade, the Pistons would send out young point guard Killian Hayes and journeyman center Mason Plumlee in exchange for 26-year-old point guard Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors.

On paper it seems like a trade that might make some sense for both teams, but would either of them actually do it?

Let’s break it down.