Are Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers talking trade?

Detroit Pistons: Trading Bojan Bogdanovic to the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Detroit Pistons don’t want to make a deal for Bogdanovic that makes them significantly worse next season just for the hope of a draft pick, so this trade somewhat satisfies that, as they’d be getting two players who we know can at least be rotation players on a good team, which they currently are.

LeVert is 28-years-old, so he pretty much is what he is at this point, a solid scorer who will give you double digits on fairly average shooting splits. He’s not a bad defender, but he’s certainly not elite either.

It’s 22-year-old Okoro that is the intriguing piece of this, as he was thought to be one of the best wing defenders in his draft class, a glue guy who is a solid passer, screen setter and connector on offense, but who doesn’t have a very polished offensive game otherwise.

He’s largely been a disappointment for the Cavaliers, who were looking for more from the 5th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Okoro is still very much a work-in-progress offensively, though he has shot 55 percent from long range over his last 10 games. It’s his defensive upside that would most interest the Pistons, as he was thought to be an impact defender coming out of the draft, and does have a 110 defensive rating, which would easily be the best on the Pistons.

Cavaliers coach J. B. Bickerstaff once called Okoro “one of the best on-ball defenders in the league,” and he has been a part of Cleveland’s defensive identity that has fueled their rise.

Fans are quick to call players “busts” after only a few seasons, but considering Okoro only played one year of college, he still has time to blossom and is under contract at a good rate for another season after this one.

It’s an interesting possibility for both teams, as the Cavaliers get the shooting that could put them over the top and the Pistons get two younger players for added depth and defense.