Remember when Troy Weaver turned down this trade for Bagley III?

Troy Weaver of the Detroit Pistons has had his eye on Marvin Bagley III for over a year, and his patience paid off.

Nearly a year ago, the Pistons were reportedly offered Bagley III in a trade according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

When you see this offer, you’ll know why he declined and be glad that he did, as Weaver probably knew that he could just wait it out and trade for Bagley III this season or wait until he became a free agent and give up nothing but cash.

I highly doubt Troy Weaver ever considered this trade, and he was obviously right to turn it down. Instead he played the waiting game and now has both players and only had to give up two veterans who were not part of the future and two second-round picks, which are always a crapshoot.

Bagley III is too, but he has already at least proven himself to be an NBA rotation player, which most second-round picks will never be.

It was a worthwhile gamble for the Detroit Pistons that is already paying off.

The Detroit Pistons have a strategy with Marvin Bagley III

It’s clear from their free-agent acquisition of Josh Jackson and their trade for Marvin Bagley III that the Pistons have a strategy.

They are taking small risks on potentially high reward players, which is a smart move for a team that has a hard time drawing top free agents. This is one way to get talent and since the Pistons didn’t give up much (certainly not Saddiq Bey) to get him, Bagley III is really a can’t-lose opportunity, especially if Detroit is able to re-sign him to a team-friendly deal.

The sample size is small, but Bagley III has already shown how he can help Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes by giving them a big who an run the floor, catch lobs and offer a threat when he rolls to the hoop.

He also provides an emergency outlet for when the ball gets stopped in the paint, and it is nice for the young guards to have a guy they can toss it up to when they get in trouble.

There was never any chance that the Kings were going to get their hands on Saddiq Bey, and it appears that Troy Weaver’s willingness to wait could pay off.