5 Trades to relieve Detroit Pistons of big man logjam
By Tyler Watts
The Detroit Pistons want to end their rebuild and get back to contention. They have not made the playoffs since 2019 and have qualified just twice in the last 14 years. The Pistons need to hit on their top-five pick in this year’s draft and get Cade Cunningham healthy, but the future is bright in Detroit.
The Pistons have more big men than minutes for next season. The additions of Marvin Bagley and James Wiseman added depth for Detroit, but they now have four former first-round picks all competing for minutes at the four and the five. New head coach Monty Williams will be eager to develop the entire Pistons’ young core, but he needs to have minutes available for them to play.
Detroit should be active and aggressive in upgrading their roster this summer, but how? Can they find a way to give coach Williams some wing depth and floor spacing around their young pillars?
Trades to relieve the Detroit Pistons of their big man logjam
5. Pistons swap Bagley for DFS
The Nets will be looking to trade some of their excess wing depth this offseason to better fit their roster around Mikal Bridges, and the Pistons should be eager to try to pry away a veteran that can help their young core. The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer looked at some fan trade proposals (subscription required) and deemed this “possible but not probable”.
This would be a heist for Detroit as Finney-Smith is a 6’7 wing that can space the floor, defend multiple positions, and is a fantastic locker room presence. He helped the Mavericks reach the conference finals in 2022. Doe-Doe is a steady 3-and-D wing that does not command the ball and is excited to play his role.
Bagley has struggled to stay healthy and the former number two overall pick averages just 24.7 minutes per game for his career. He is a role player that scores and rebounds well. The Nets need a power forward to play next to Nicolas Claxton, and Bagley could offer them some size and lineup options.
Dorian Finney-Smith’s numbers do not jump off the screen, but he is the type of role player every contending team needs. The Pistons would likely have to send at least one second-round draft pick to Brooklyn to make this deal. Consider me much closer aligned to our Pistons Powered’s own Aaron Kellerstrass, but if they can get the Nets to agree to a straight swap, Detroit should make the trade immediately.
Things likely look a bit more like this if the two sides get something worked out.