Detroit Pistons: Brooklyn Nets may need desperation trade with Durant out

The Detroit Pistons will be getting calls from half the league as the trade deadline approaches, with most teams inquiring about the availably of Bojan Bogdanovic or Alec Burks.

Burks is an interesting case, as he has shot lights out this season and has a favorable contract with a team option for just over $10 million next season, which is why the Pistons have maintained that it will take a “tremendous return” to pry him away.

All teams could use a guy like Burks, including the Detroit Pistons, who want to be good some time this century and trading away one of their only good veterans won’t help that cause.

But Detroit is definitely open to hear offers, and if they include an unprotected first-round pick or a young talent with upside, it’s possible they would pull the trigger on a trade of Alec Burks.

One team that could definitely use him right now is the Brooklyn Nets, who are missing Kevin Durant for at least another month and have struggled mightily without him:

The Detroit Pistons certainly don’t have anyone who is going to replace Durant (no one does), but Burks is a guy who could help them stay afloat while they wait for their superstar and MVP candidate to return.

The question is whether the Nets have a deal that would entice the Detroit Pistons or if Burks has more value than anything Brooklyn could offer.

Detroit Pistons: A trade of Alec Burks to the Brooklyn Nets

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with Burks, as he has value for all of the reasons I mentioned before, and I am certain Detroit is loathe to take a step back after another losing season where fans are calculating lottery odds instead of playoff odds.

But Burks is 31-years-old and not necessarily part of the long-term rebuilding plans for the Detroit Pistons, so they might consider a deal that brings them back an unprotected first-round pick and a young player with some upside.

In this trade, the Nets get a scorer to help them withstand the loss of Durant, while giving up two players who have played little for them this season in veteran Patty Mills and 22-year-old combo forward Kessler Edwards, as well as a distant 1st-round pick.

The Nets may be leery about trading that pick, as Durant’s contract will be over by then, as will Ben Simmons, so they could be in full-fledged rebuild mode without a pick to help.

But Burks not only gives them a boost this season, but is under a team-friendly deal for next season as well and gives them the bench shooting they have not gotten enough of from Mills or Joe Harris. It would also allow them to get out of Mills’ contract, which runs through next season.

The Nets would have to be desperate to do this, but it would help them maximize their title window with Durant. But what about the Detroit Pistons?

Detroit Pistons: A trade of Alec Burks to the Brooklyn Nets

From the perspective of the Detroit Pistons, this move would almost certainly set them back, though Mills would at least provide some valuable veteran leadership for their young roster.

It’s possible Mills would have zero interest in this role and that the Pistons would just buy him out anyway. Edwards is a big, athletic forward who has done little in his two seasons in the NBA, but given more of a chance, may be able to show something for the Detroit Pistons.

It’s really the draft pick that would be enticing, as the Nets could be bad by then, so Detroit would be banking on getting a much bigger return down the road in the form of a high pick, though Brooklyn would almost certainly want some protections on it, perhaps keeping it if the pick falls inside of the lottery.

I don’t think the Pistons should be too eager to trade Burks, but this is the type of deal that at least offers more potential than just swapping him for a bad contract and late first-round pick, as Edwards is worth a flyer and that pick could end up being nice.

The Nets should be looking around the league for ways to tweak their roster before they fall too far in the standings, but there are reasons why both teams would walk away from this deal.