There’s not really a way to mince words. The Detroit Pistons, for the third straight season, are trying to tarnish the name of Dr. James Naismith. Based on their play during their nine-game losing streak, including an embarrassment at home to the Thunder, they are successful in their efforts. The Pistons are 29th in points per game, last in field goal percentage, 29th in offensive rating, 23rd in defensive rating, and 29th in net rating. The Detroit Pistons from 2019-2022 are having one of the worst stretches in NBA history.
The Detroit Pistons are rebuilding, but a less than satisfactory amount of discernible progress has been made. It might be time to blow the whole thing up. There’s a narrative around the league that some pieces are “untradable.” This might be true for Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, but the Pistons do not have anyone nearly close to the caliber of those guys. Cade Cunningham could very well become one of those players, and keeping him is worth the gamble, but at this point, Detroit fans should stop kidding themselves and realize that they are barely treading water in the NBA, and drastic change is overdue.
The last time the Detroit Pistons had a winning record was 2016. The Red Wings currently have a winning record but the last Detroit team to finish a season with a record over .500 was the 2016 Tigers. Detroit is one of 13 cities with four major sports teams, and they are far and away from the least successful in recent years.
We can sit around and talk about trading players like Josh Jackson for peanuts, but in the long run, how successful will trades like that make the team? I know, Pistons fans don’t want to shake the team up too much, but how else does a woeful franchise win? They can amass draft picks for several seasons, but the 76ers did that and are yet to make a Finals appearance, so maybe more immediate action should be taken.
Still, league-altering trades are hard to pull off and even harder to predict, but there could be merit in nabbing a franchise player away from a team that is fledging even with a star. The Pistons don’t have any star power and are instead touting out role players and expecting them to play like bonafide starters. Clearly, this has been a nightmare. Two players who either have been or could be All-Stars stand out as isolated on their current rosters, and for the right price the Pistons could nab them.
Detroit Pistons Could Take Advantage of Boston’s Woes
The Boston Celtics have been a confusing team this season. Loaded with star power including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, their core is complemented by Romeo Langford and Dennis Schroder, who has played well thus far. The Celtics are barely a playoff team but could be convinced to shake things up if they are in fact in win-now mode.
The clear-cut two best players in Boston are Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. The Celtics have been rumored to be after Jerami Grant for some time now, and while picks help in the long run, the Pistons should be after players to pair with Cade and allow some visible success or improvement to happen.
Based on their disappointing 13-11 record so far, the Celtics should be looking to move things around. There are two trades that make some degree of sense for both parties, perhaps more so Detroit, but if the Pistons could pull off either then the Motor City could quickly work its way back to basketball relevance.
The first trade sends Jaylen Brown to Detroit in exchange for Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey. In Boston, Bey would get to start in the absence of Brown, but alongside Schroder, Grant, Tatum, and Marcus Smart he would be the fifth option in the starting rotation and would act as a spot-up shooter and defender instead of a ball handler. He could thrive and provide some lethal scoring for Boston. Jerami Grant and Tatum would both play forward, and could even guard the paint with enough competence the Celtics could go without a center for an alarming amount of time. Grant could return to his role as a secondary option, where he carved out a nice career before coming to Detroit.
Jaylen Brown would pair nicely with Cade in the backcourt, and Killian Hayes would move to the bench. Both Brown and Cunningham are oversized and defensive-minded, so they would be quite the duo. Brown brings some shooting and scoring that the Pistons desperately need. Brown has three seasons left under contract before he can be moved elsewhere, so the Pistons would have time to convince him to stay.
The second trade with Boston is a bit outrageous for all parties involved, but at this point, the Pistons are dealing with any possibilities, so all the options are on the table. The Pistons would still part with Bey and Grant but add in Killian Hayes to receive All-Star Jayson Tatum.
Why might the Celtics part with their best player and first scoring option? Well, he’s not winning them many games. They would be handing the keys to the franchise to Jaylen Brown, but with the help of Grant as the second option and their retainment of the backcourt, Bey could come off the bench if needed and the Celtics would add depth that they desperately need. Tatum is a top 15 player in the league and would be the best player the Pistons have had since their Finals runs at the start of the century, so in the eyes of Detroit, this is a massive win even if the PER of players involved suggests they’d only win an extra game, and Boston would lose one.
Detroit Pistons get a center from the Pacers
The Pacers have been trying to pair Myles Turner (a good center) with Domantas Sabonis (a very good center). They are 10-16, so clearly they need to take another look at their formula. Myles Turner would fit in great with Isaiah Stewart, as Stewart could stay inside the arc, where he excels, and Turner could spread the floor a bit as a shooter. On defense, Turner currently leads the league in blocks, with 2.8 per game. Stewart is also gifted defensively, so the two of them would shut down the paint.
The Pistons would have to give up Jerami Grant, who would take on TJ Warren’s role as a secondary scorer behind Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon. Warren is injured, and out for at least another month, and is a free agent, so the Pacers could be looking for his replacement, and Grant would fit in very well, playing a similar role to his time in Denver.
Turner brings shooting and defense, which is an area Detroit has struggled with all season. A career 35% shooter from deep, in recent years he’s shown more confidence shooting the three-ball so Isaiah Stewart could still roam down low. Turner is also only 25, and improving every year, so he could play with Cade and form a high-tempo duo for many years in Detroit.
While a straight-up trade involving Grant and Turner seems too good to be true, the only obstacle standing in the way is that both teams play in the Central Divison and might be reluctant to help each other out. That being said, both teams are bad (which is putting it lightly for Detroit), so maybe some rivalry can be put aside for mutually assured success.