It seems like the 2022-23 season just started, but already the Detroit Pistons are the centerpiece of myriad trade rumors around the league.
Most of them have involved Bojan Bogdanovic, who is shooting lights out this season and putting up some of the best numbers of his career for the struggling Pistons.
It would be tempting to cash-in on Bogdanovic while the price is high, as this team is going nowhere and he’d be one of the hottest commodities on the trade market.
But even though the Pistons are one of the league’s worst teams, they do have some talent and Troy Weaver and company want to make this team competitive sooner rather than later. Detroit has a ton of money to spend in free agency, but when you look at the 2023 free agents, there aren’t a lot of appealing options.
Bojan Bogdanovic would have been one of those free agents had the Pistons not extended him, and a guy they probably would have pursued anyway, so why not just keep him? I think you can make a case either way, but if Detroit really wants to be competitive next season, selling off their veterans again and starting over with a super young roster is not the way to do it.
This seems to be how the Detroit Pistons are thinking according to a recent report that claims they will hold onto Bogdanovic.
Detroit Pistons: Team says they are keeping Bojan Bogdanovic
According to NBA insider Marc Stein (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED) the Detroit Pistons are getting calls on Bogdanovic, but are reluctant to move him.
"“The messaging from the Pistons to date is that they want to have a trusty vet like Bojan Bogdanovic on the roster next season to help a fully healed Cade Cunningham and the rest of Detroit’s young core mount a playoff push. The reality, though, is that with Bogdanovic playing so well, interested teams are sure to remain interested and likely to keep rising the Pistons’ phone and testing their resolve.”"
In other words, the Detroit Pistons aren’t going to trade Bogdanovic just to make a move, and won’t do so unless they hear an offer that is simply too good to pass up.
So far that offer hasn’t come, though there are plenty of teams around the league who might be able to meet the Pistons’ demands of a young starting caliber player and draft compensation.
Detroit is just being coy here, as it makes sense to give lip service to the idea of keeping Bogdanovic to try and drive up the price.
The truth is we won’t know until the trade deadline has come and gone and there is still a chance that Detroit will cash-out their veteran chips.