Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of this 3-way trade with Bucks and Suns

Detroit Pistons: Pros of this 3-way trade with Bucks and Suns

The only way the Detroit Pistons would move off Bogdanovic after signing him to a reasonable extension is if they thought they had enough evidence that he is not a good fit.

Given the defensive issues of having both him and Saddiq Bey on the floor together, that may be a reasonable assessment. There’s also the fact that Bogs’ trade value may never be higher when you factor in his red-hot shooting and a sneaky team-friendly contract that only has $2 million guaranteed in the second season of the extension.

Teams can trade for him without getting a rental, but also don’t have to commit long term, which should make him appealing to more teams and potentially start another bidding war like we saw last year with Jerami Grant. That trade eventually helped the Pistons land Jalen Duren, and they could be in a similar situation here.

Adding a first-round pick, even a late one, would give the Pistons the chance to add more young talent to their pipeline, but it would also give them ammunition if they wanted to make a bigger trade.

Currently the Pistons can’t trade their first-round pick, which will make it tougher to add a star via trade, so this would give them a pick they could move. It would also clear future cap space, as they would only be on the hook for one more year of Grayson Allen at $8.5 million.

He’s not just a throw-in here, as he shoots 42 percent from long range, can defend a little and would give Detroit some of what Bogdanovic provides. Given his cheap contract, he’s a valuable role player.

This would give Detroit even more money for 2023 free agency or to use to absorb a contract in a trade, so if they don’t think Bogdanovic is the right fit, this would give them the ammo to reset in the offseason by adding at least two impact players.

I guess the question is whether the Detroit Pistons think they could use their money and assets to land a better player or combination of players than Bojan Bogdanovic.

We are sure to hear his name bandied about in trade rumors until the deadline passes and these are the types of deals Detroit will have to consider.