The Detroit Pistons are heading into the offseason with a number of questions hanging over the team.
One of them is how they plan to use their abundance of bigs, as it seems unlikely that there are minutes and significant roles for Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III in one rotation.
The latter two have overlapping skills, and the Pistons may decide that moving one of them this offseason for a perimeter player is the best way to balance the roster.
There are a number of teams that could need a center, and if the Detroit Pistons can find the right player to take back, there could be a deal to be made.
Detroit Pistons: Possible trade with the Los Angeles Lakers
The LA Lakers might have even more questions surrounding them than the Detroit Pistons, as they are waiting in limbo to find out what Lebron James is going to do and have as many as seven free agents hitting the market.
They have little depth at center behind Anthony Davis, who gets hurt a lot, so adding some big-man depth makes sense, especially if they lose Rui Hachimura, who is a restricted free agent.
So there are a lot of moving parts on the LA side, and depending on what they do with their own free agents, a trade with the Detroit Pistons may not make much sense for them. This is a hypothetical trade with a lot of potential caveats.
Detroit Pistons: Possible trade with the Los Angeles Lakers
With all of the disclaimers out of the way, here is a trade that could end up benefiting both teams depending on their complementary moves.
The Lakers would first have to pick up Beasley’s $16 million team option for next season, and this assumes that they were unable or unwilling to retain Rui Hachimura in free agency, as he and Marvin Bagley III are fairly similar players, though MBIII is much more a center than a forward.
The Pistons take back Malik Beasley, who has just one year left on his contract, but at $4 million more than Bagley is making.
So would either team be interested?
Detroit Pistons: Possible trade with the Los Angeles Lakers
From the perspective of the Lakers, this move would make little sense if they had already splashed out on Hachimura.
MBIII is probably the better player overall, though Hachimura did have some big games in the playoffs for the Lakers and is a slightly better 3-point shooter. Hachimura’s next contact could end up paying him more than the $12.5 million MBIII is due next season and Bagley is another guy who can provide occasional big games offensively.
He’d be adequate insurance against an AD injury and give the Lakers some interior scoring punch off the bench. They would save $4 million in the deal immediately and potentially much more if it allows them to walk away from Hachimura.
As for the Detroit Pistons, Beasley would give them a versatile perimeter defender who can shoot the 3-ball. Just two seasons ago, Beasley was a guy who was scoring nearly 20 a game while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range on a whopping 8.7 attempts per game.
He’d give them some guard depth, a defensive upgrade and a guy who can space the floor, though his 3-point shooting dipped to 35 percent this season. Beasley does cost more than MBIII but he’s a better fit and the Pistons and Bagley has an extra year on his deal.
The Lakers get short-term salary relief and center depth while the Pistons get a more balanced roster with better perimeter defense and shooting.