The Detroit Pistons have gotten off to a 3-11 start, which is not completely surprising given their young roster and injury issues to start the season.
It’s likely to get far worse for the Pistons before it gets better, as they are now hitting the toughest part of their ridiculous schedule that has already included four back-to-backs in 14 games and now they will be without Cade Cunningham for several of them.
The Pistons haven’t just been bad, as they are getting into “worst team in franchise history” territory if they don’t turn things around soon.
The Los Angeles Lakers are also staring at a 3-11 record, which is more of a surprise, as this is a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a team that is expected to win now and not one full of 20 year olds that is tanking for Victor Wembanyama.
But the Lakers did little to improve after they fell apart late last season and may have waited too long to do something in this one, as they are already in a big hole. The worst part (for them, for the rest of us it’s hilarious) is that the Lakers don’t even own their own pick this year, so tanking isn’t really an option.
This should lead to them making some kind of move this season, as they have no reason to tank just to hand over their pick to New Orleans, and I am certain that LeBron James does not want to throw away his 20th season in the NBA.
Insider Jake Fischer mentioned the Lakers as a possible trade destination for Bojan Bogdanovic, who has been a bright spot for the Pistons since they traded for him. He is shooting lights out, and given his age, his value may never be higher, so would Detroit consider moving him to LA?
There are some big problems with this potential transaction, and it’s difficult to come up with a trade that actually works for the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Trading Bojan Bogdanovic to the Lakers
Bogdanovic would be perfect for the Lakers, which is why it was surprising that they didn’t make a strong move for him in the offseason, and instead watched Detroit get him for the cost of Kelly Olynyk.
They’d love to have him now, as Bogdanovic would boost their woeful shooting and be a nice complement to LeBron and AD.
But there are a couple of problems for this dream for the Lakers. The first is that the Detroit Pistons can’t trade Bogdanovic until after December 15th, as they just extended him, a move I thought was brilliant for Detroit.
The Lakers may be completely buried in another month, and it may be too late for any one trade to save them.
The second reason is that the Lakers have little to offer that would intrigue the Pistons. The Lakers don’t have any good young players that would interest Detroit and can’t trade a draft pick until 2027, though those future Lakers’ picks are looking increasingly valuable.
I can’t really see a deal here unless the Detroit Pistons went all-in on the tank and wanted to potentially hurt one of their rivals for the number one pick.
Detroit Pistons: Trading with the Lakers
I looked at some of the possibilities for Lakers’ trades in the offseason, but it’s really hard to come up with anything that works that doesn’t involve Russell Westbrook. Westbrook has taken the brunt of the criticism for the Lakers’ poor start, which seems a tad unfair given that he hasn’t been close to their worst player and actually has an effective field goal percentage just below LeBron’s.
But outside of trading Anthony Davis or LeBron James, the Lakers don’t have many other options, but would Detroit even consider taking on Westbrook? If so, they’d have to be compensated, as he is still owed a ton of money this season and isn’t exactly a clean fit with a young team.
Obviously, Detroit would love to get that 2029 pick as well, but it’s hard to see the Lakers giving up both for a move which might not even make them better.
For Detroit, this move makes some sense, as Burks and Noel probably aren’t part of the future plans and have yet to really even play. Bogdanovic would be the big get for the Lakers, but Burks and Noel could both help them, especially if the Lakers won a few games between now and December 15th and weren’t that far out of the playoff discussion.
This would be a tanking move for Detroit, and makes some sense if that is their goal, as Bogdanovic has been a tricky fit with Saddiq Bey and Detroit has a ton of money to spend next offseason in free agency. Adding another value first-round pick would give Detroit more firepower to make trades in the offseason and they may be able to come up with three better players between free agency and trades.
This move would also potentially make the Lakers better, taking away another competitor for the top pick, so I am sure the Pelicans would not be happy to see the Lakers make any move that might help them improve.
In the end, I can’t see this happening, though you could argue that the Pistons are going nowhere with these three players anyway, so they may as well cash in and get a first-round pick, one that could be valuable as the Lakers continue to collapse over the next few seasons.
For now the Lakers will have to keep dreaming, as Bogdanovic isn’t available anyway, so we’ll revisit this around the December 15th deadline and see where both teams are then.