Proposed trade with Mavericks rips off the Detroit Pistons

Even though the offseason has slowed down, the Detroit Pistons are still being mentioned in NBA trade rumors.

It makes sense, as they have a surplus at both center and guard, and a couple of veteran shooters in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks that contending teams would love to get their hands on.

The Dallas Mavericks are the team that has been most connected in trade rumors involving Bogdanovic, but so far nothing has materialized, as they have been unwilling to meet Detroit’s asking price.

The Pistons also seem intent on dealing Killian Hayes, and he was recently mentioned as a possibility in a multi-player deal with Dallas.

A recent trade proposal from our friends at The Smoking Cuban gives the Mavericks everything they want, but would be a foolish move for the Detroit Pistons.

Proposed trade with Mavericks rips off the Detroit Pistons

Here is the suggested deal:

In this trade, the Detroit Pistons are trading for two inferior players in Hardaway Jr. and McGee for the whopping prize of two lousy second-round picks. I’d not only hang up the phone on this deal but probably delete the Mavericks’ number.

Bogdanovic is not only a better player than Hardaway Jr. but he’s on a better contract, as his $19 million for the 2024-25 season is only partially guaranteed. The Pistons would also be swapping Killian Hayes, who is 22-years-old, for 35-year-old JaVale McGee. Hayes may not be a big prize on the trade market, but he’s certainly worth more than a guy who only played in mop-up duty last season.

That’s not to mention the fact that Detroit already has four centers on the roster and definitely doesn’t need yet another one that can’t shoot. Oh, and McGee has another two guaranteed years on his deal.

This is the hardest of hard passes on a trade that would make the Pistons worse in the short term, saddle them with more money past this season and only net them two second-round picks for helping the Mavericks solve their roster problems.

I’ve said before that the Pistons should not cave on their demands for Bogdanovic, as trading him for a package like this would be objectively stupid. If there is not a first-round pick on the table, then keeping Bogdanovic is a no brainer.