With the trading deadline approaching, the Detroit Pistons will be one of the few sellers on what should be an active market. But who on the current roster is basically safe from being in trade discussions, and who would Detroit be more than happy to trade?
Is there anyone who is like, do not even ask, the answer is no?
Even the biggest names in the NBA can be traded. James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, Jimmy Butler have all been traded in the past few years. This is not a new phenomenon. Heck, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game, and he got traded twice, after that.
As one of the few teams not fighting for a spot in, at least, the Play-in tournament, the Detroit Pistons are expected to be active approaching the February 10 trade deadline. General Manager Troy Weaver has shown he is certainly not afraid to wheel and deal.
So, if you have not bought the jersey of your favorite Detroit player yet, you may want to wait a couple of more weeks. (I have no idea what I will do with my Bol Bol Pistons jersey).
When you have three times as many losses as wins, like the Pistons, there are very few assets you should be protecting. Whatever you have, it’s obviously not doing the job well enough.
There are plenty of young, promising players on the Pistons that other clubs would covet, either as pieces for the future or immediate help.
Detroit also has some solid veterans who could help a team looking to make a playoff push.
The question is, how willing is Weaver to part with these players? We will rank them into three tiers of availability:
- Fuhgeddaboudit
- The ‘Godfather’ offer
- Let’s talk
Besides ability, consideration also have to be given to age, position and salary.
For example, Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk and Cade Cunningham are the only players on the team who make over $10 million a year. If a trade involves bringing in someone who has a large salary (Ben Simmons?) one of those players would have to be included.
Here is a look at who can, and cannot, be part of a trade at the deadline: