Detroit Pistons: Power forwards available in free agency or trade
Detroit Pistons: Power forwards available in free agency or trade
De’Andre Hunter
De’Andre Hunter of the Hawks is a name I’ve heard bandied about in Pistons’ circles, as Atlanta is currently in salary shedding mode and has several forwards that play the same position. Ideally they’d probably like to get rid of John Collins, but the Pistons luckily avoided that one once.
Hunter has been connected to Detroit in trade rumors, but what exactly would it take to get him and would the Pistons be interested?
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Hunter has another four guaranteed years left on his deal that range between $20 and 24 million per season, so his contract is reasonable by modern standards. The 25-year-old averaged 15 points and 4 rebounds per game last season (same as Cameron Johnson btw) but shot only 35 percent from long range.
He’s 6-foot-8 and versatile enough to defend both forward spots and would give Detroit another proven hand to take some of the scoring load off their young guys.
At the right price, Hunter might be worth pursuing, but considering that Detroit has already been in “significant” talks with Atlanta and nothing materialized, I’m guessing that the price was not right.
If Atlanta wanted to take on MBIII and another of the Pistons’ expiring contracts, there may be a deal, but if they are looking for real assets, Detroit should walk away, which is probably what happened.
Hunter isn’t ideal, but he’d help balance the roster in the right trade, so is a name to key an eye on.