The Detroit Pistons are once again being mentioned in trade rumors for Bojan Bogdanovic as the February trade deadline approaches.
The Pistons have repeatedly said that they would like to keep Bogdanovic, as he is a valuable veteran who may be worth more to the team than he is on the trade market.
But every team has a price, including Detroit, who may eventually decide that Bogdanovic’s value will never be higher and they can reap some future assets for a guy who is 33-years-old and not a good defender.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo News, the Pistons have set their price for Bogs:
"“Pistons are seeking at least one first-rounder and either a young player with upside or additional draft capital, sources said.”"
He then named four teams that have reportedly showed interest in Bogdanovic in Cleveland, Dallas, Phoenix and the Lakers, who are all fringe contenders (except LA) who could use more firepower to make a deep playoff run.
None of these teams really jump out as potential trade partners, but just for the sake of argument, I’ve come up with one deal from each.
Detroit Pistons: Trading Bojan Bogdanovic to the Cavaliers
First off, I can’t see the Pistons dealing with a division rival unless the deal is too good to pass up and it’s hard to find one with the Cavaliers that is.
If the Pistons are truly holding out for a player and a pick, then Cleveland is out, as they don’t have a first-round pick to trade unless they can find a third team to get involved.
If they did, a Caris LeVert/1st-round pick might be something the Pistons would consider, but LeVert is on an expiring deal and they don’t have a pick anyway.
It’s difficult to see a path for the Cavs to add an impact player without a draft pick, so it will take a bigger deal with multiple teams to get it done.