Jalen Brunson has been impressive for the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs. He is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Detroit Pistons tried once to get him, why not go after him again?
We know one thing is for certain, Cory Joseph is not the long-term solution to being the backcourt mate to Cade Cunningham in the starting lineup. The veteran guard provides leadership, ballhandling and had a career-best outside shooting year. Not knocking him at all.
But Joseph will be 31 before the start of the next season, and, for most of his career, has been seen as a sparkplug off the bench. In 728 career games, Joseph only has started 173, and that includes 50 this past season.
Now, in the Perfect Pistons World, Killian Hayes would step in and be a starting guard alongside Cunningham. Hayes is just 20 years old and is probably the team’s best passer and defensive guard. He was also the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, players taken that high are usually starters by their third season.
However, Hayes basically can’t shoot, at least not well enough to start. His career shooting percentage of 37.4% (don’t even ask what he shoots from 3, yikes) basically would invite teams to double-team Cunningham or Jerami Grant with impunity.
Also, Hayes has been really good coming off the bench and running the second team. Why mess with what’s working, so expect coach Dwane Casey to keep Hayes as a substitute.
Since the Detroit Pistons have no current internal candidates, general manager Troy Weaver has to look outside for help in the backcourt.
How do Detroit Pistons find a starting guard?
There are three ways the Pistons can land a quality starting guard to pair with Cade Cunninham:
- Free agency: Simply pay someone a lot of money to come over. Detroit has lots of cap space.
- Draft: Jaden Ivey of Purdue and Cade Cunningham playing together? Hmm, that sounds interesting (even if Purdue did lose to St. Peter’s in the NCAAs). But the consensus top three prospects are all big men, getting Ivey means Detroit slid out of one of the top spots. Not good.
- Trade: The Pistons have some valuable veterans who other teams may want (Jerami Grant, Kelly Olynyk). With their cap space, Weaver has room to swing some interesting trades.
Trading or drafting involve more risk. Who knows how a promising 20-year-old will pan out and, as for trades, the axiom is true, if the player is so good, why is the team trading him (See Nets: James Harden)? Buyer beware.
Free agency? All a team loses if the player is a bust is money. That may not sit well with owner Tom Gores, it is his money, but to the general fan, a lot easier to take if the Pistons front office takes a swing and a miss without giving up any assets.
Top free agent target: Jalen Brunson
With the probable re-signing of Marvin Bailey III, center is not as critical a need for the Pistons. Of course, if they get Chet Holmgren in the draft, they really do not need go after the likes of the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson.
Guard is the position that should get prime attention. It is not a strong free agent class but one guard stands out (assuming Zach Levine is not coming here): Jalen Brunson.
Brunson is just 6-foot-1 but he played at Villanova under Jay Wright. Like college teammate Saddiq Bey, he might not be the most athletic but he understands the fundamentals of playing defense.
Brunson was the leader of the VIllanova squad that (avert eyes GoBlue fans) crushed Michigan in the 2018 NCAA finals. He is a winner.
Brunson has played with Luka Doncic is Dallas, so he knows how to work with a ballcentric, all-everything guard.
He scored a career-high 16.3 points a game this season and has upped that to an eye-popping 23.6 points in the playoffs, as Doncic has missed a few games with injuries.
Brunson is comfortable as a secondary ballhandler who can run the point for a spell. He also finds a way to score, despite his size. No defense is ignoring him, which gives Cunningham and Grant room to operate.
Want your voice heard? Join the PistonPowered team!
The Pistons made a run at Brunson at the trade deadline, but Dallas was not interested, really not interested. So disinterested they said they would entertain trade talks only involving Cade Cunningham, just to get Weaver to stop calling.
Either Dallas is very confident they will be able to retain Brunson when his contract runs out, or, they knew the team would fall apart if he left, which would not make Doncic very happy. They certainly would not be in the Western semifinals if Brunson was in Detroit.
With the Pistons being one of the very few NBA teams with cap space, and Jalen Brunson being one of the very few free agents who would fit in with Detroit, it is deal that could happen in the off-season.