Could Detroit Pistons benefit from Brooklyn Nets’ fallout?

The Brooklyn Nets have upended the NBA over the last few days, trading both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Detroit Pistons still haven’t made any moves at the deadline, but that doesn’t mean they won’t, as teams around the league scramble to adjust to the new landscape.

Both the Kyrie Irving trade and the Kevin Durant trade could have effects on the Detroit Pistons in terms of the trade deadline and beyond, especially if the Nets decide that they aren’t done dealing.

We came up with one wild idea to land a first-round pick from the Nets, and that was before they made the big Durant trade to Phoenix.

According to HoopsHype, the Nets might not be done dealing and are open to discussions on players like the recently-acquired Mikal Bridges, as well as shooters like Joe Harris, Seth Curry, and Patty Mills. The Nets are reportedly seeking cost-controlled young talent and draft assets.

The Detroit Pistons have some of the former but not much of the latter, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make a move at the deadline or perhaps after the season ends.

Detroit Pistons: Mikal Bridges would be a perfect fit

The player that the Detroit Pistons would have the most interest in is wing Mikal Bridges, who is the type of two-way defender that they desperately need.

He’s only 26-years-old, is already an elite defender and is locked into a reasonable contract that pays him between $21 and $24 million through the 2025-26 season.

He’s a tenacious defender who can guard multiple spots, and he’s a good 3-point shooter, so he’d be the perfect addition to the Detroit Pistons, who have plenty of power forwards but no true wings and are zeroing in on the worst defense in team history.

The question is what it would take to acquire him. The Pistons don’t have a first-round draft pick they can trade until the one they owe the Knicks conveys, but if they were to get one back at the deadline (by trading Bogdanovic, Burks or Bey) they could package it with one or more of their young players.

The Nets would likely want Jaden Ivey, which would probably be a dealbreaker for the Pistons, but if Detroit could get back their own pick from the Knicks (by trading them Saddiq Bey), they could then offer up multiple first rounders for Bridges, which might move the needle without Ivey being involved.

Obviously, a whole lot would have to happen for the Pistons to land Bridges at the deadline, but if it passes and the Nets don’t move him, he could be an offseason target, especially if Detroit were to fall out of the top-2 in the 2023 NBA Draft.