The present state of the Detroit Pistons has been fairly depressing of late, so I prefer to keep my head in the clouds and think about the future.
There is no doubt that Detroit has some exciting young players in Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and even Killian Hayes is starting to look like he’ll at least be a competent backup.
But one area in which they are sorely lacking is wing defense. We’ve talked about this all season (even before the season started) and it has just gotten worse, as the Pistons’ two main forwards (Bojan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey) have the worst and third-worst defensive ratings among NBA forwards, respectively.
The Pistons are a crossroads of their rebuild, as they try to decide the correct amount of development vs. roster overhaul that is necessary to finally make this team competitive.
Another team with decisions to make is the Toronto Raptors, who are surprisingly just 11th in the Eastern Conference with an 18-23 record even though most people picked them to finish in the top-5.
They have won two in a row, but the season is in its second half, so there isn’t much time for them to turn things around and make a run at the playoffs. If the Raptors fail to make the playoffs, they may need to make some changes themselves.
Which leads to my wild hypothetical. Let’s play a game of what if.
Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors: What if…
What if the Raptors do end up out of the playoffs, would they blow things up or try to move one of their parts to do a soft rebuild? Both Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. could be free agents after this season and both are going to want raises, particularly VanVleet, who is holding out for a max deal.
What if the Raptors wanted to stay competitive but get a little younger (and cheaper) in the backcourt?
What if the Detroit Pistons land the number two pick in the 2023 NBA Draft? Scoot Henderson looks like a prospect who is too good to pass on, so would the Pistons then trade one of their young guards?
So in this hypothetical, the Raptors miss the playoffs, want to do a soft rebuild around the backcourt and the Detroit Pistons land Scoot Henderson in the draft. What if…
Hypothetical trade between the Raptors and Pistons
The Raptors aren’t going to blow up their team and they don’t need to, but it’s very possible they are going to trade Gary Trent Jr. at some point, or may have to let him walk in free agency if they want to keep Fred VanVleet.
So we are assuming in this hypothetical that Gary Trent Jr. is gone, along with his $17 million in salary. The Raptors would then need another guard, preferably someone who is young and cheap, but they also need to replace Trent’s 3-point shooting.
In this wild future, the Detroit Pistons now have too many guards, and since Scoot is probably the best prospect of any of them not named Cade Cunningham, they have to decide to trade either Killian Hayes or Jaden Ivey.
Ivey will have the most value on the market, so unfortunately, he would likely be the one to go. This is not a knock on Ivey, as I am very high on him, but if moving him in a deal like this would help the Pistons long term, they’d have to do it.
I can hear fans of both teams screaming NOOOO!, but remember, we are just spitballing here. Relax.
There are good reasons why both teams would do this.
Detroit Pistons: Trading for OG Anunoby
In this trade, the Raptors would not only be able to stay relevant in the present, but would have a promising future built around Ivey, Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet.
With Bogdanovic, they’d still be able to compete next season, but would also have two of the most promising young players in the game in Barnes and Ivey. They’d also be able to keep Fred VanVleet, though they may not be as interested after the season he’s had shooting the ball.
As for the Pistons, it’s hard to see this team progressing next season with their current wing defense, as Bogdanovic and Bey cannot be on the court at the same time. OG Anuoby is the perfect fit, and would give the Detroit Pistons a well-balanced starting five that had high defensive upside.
Who wouldn’t be excited about this to start next season?
- Scoot Henderson
- Cade Cunningham
- OG Anunoby
- Isaiah Stewart
- Jalen Duren
With the right additions on the bench, this team could compete for the play-in next season even with a rookie point guard. I think this is a trade the Pistons would probably make, though it admittedly makes less sense for the Raptors.
There are so many “what ifs” in this scenario that the chances of it happening are slim and none, but please permit some amount of a fantasy in one of the most depressing Pistons’ seasons in memory.