How the Kevin Durant trade affects the Detroit Pistons

The NBA trade deadline is just hours away but we’ve already seen a trade that will affect the Detroit Pistons along with just about every team in the NBA.

Kevin Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns in a move that will have some ripple effects at the trade deadline and beyond.

The Detroit Pistons haven’t done anything yet, and they may not, though they have been mentioned in a few rumors as the deadline approaches.

Even if the Pistons end up doing nothing at the deadline, the Kevin Durant trade will affect them in myriad ways.

The Kevin Durant trade and the Detroit Pistons

The Eastern Conference is now worse….maybe

This doesn’t affect the Detroit Pistons right away, but getting Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out of the Eastern Conference should make things slightly easier in the future. The Nets still have some talent (it would be hilarious if they were somehow better), and could make moves to acquire more, but for now they look like less of a threat for the foreseeable future. The Pistons have said that they “want to be great next year” and that task just got slightly easier, though after watching the hideous loss last night, greatness is still a LONG way away.

Bojan Bogdanovic’s trade value at the deadline and offseason

The Pistons may or may not trade Bojan Bogdanovic at the deadline, but if they do, teams (especially in the Western Conference) may be more desperate to acquire him. Bogdanovic is nowhere near the Durant-tier as a player, but if 34-year-old KD can net four picks, a swap and a very good young player, Bogdanovic should be able to draw a portion of that. Teams that were unwilling to give up an unprotected first-round pick may be more inclined to do so now and the Detroit Pistons have all of the leverage.

Teams in the Eastern Conference see a path to the Finals

As I said, the Eastern Conference just got a little worse, which may prompt teams like the Bucks, Celtics and 76ers to make another move, as their path to the Finals just got a little easier. If I am the Bucks, I have to wonder if my team has enough to get through the Celtics, and even if they do, to then take on one of these teams in the West. Same with the 76ers and even the Celtics, who have to be looking at the West and wondering if they have the firepower to win a title.

Teams not hoarding picks for a Durant move this offseason

We may see teams be a little looser with their draft picks now that we know Kevin Durant is off the market (at least until his next trade demand). That could affect the Detroit Pistons at the deadline, but also in the offseason, as teams won’t have to wait around for the Durant saga to end, which they would have if he hadn’t been traded. This could make the trade market a lot more active around the NBA Draft.

When a superstar gets traded it affects the whole league, even the cellar-dwellers like the Pistons, so it will be interesting to see the ripples of this trade at the deadline and beyond.