Pistons news: Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic and first-round picks

The biggest decision hanging over the Detroit Pistons this season is what to do with veteran Bojan Bogdanovic.

Troy Weaver is in a tough spot, as Bogdanovic is clearly a player who can help the Pistons turn a corner next season, but he’s also on a deal with just one fully guaranteed year left on it, is 34 years old and his trade value is never going to be higher than it is right now.

So far the Pistons have resisted offers from other teams, saying they are holding out for a first-round pick, which at this point might be more than they should hope for.

The Indiana Pacers are in a similar situation with sharpshooter Buddy Hield, who is on an expiring deal and was unable to come to an agreement on an extension.

Both players have similar strengths and weaknesses, as they are great shooters who can’t defend, though Hield is nearly four years younger.

If Indiana does end up trading Hield, the return will give the Detroit Pistons a good idea of what they can expect for Bogdanovic, and according to one insider, it’s not much.

Pistons news: Will either Bojan Bogdanovic or Buddy Hield fetch a first-round pick in a trade?

Like the Pistons, the Pacers are hoping to land a first-round pick in exchange for Buddy Hield but may not find any takers.

According to Marc Stein (SUBSCRIPTION), some executives have expressed to him that Indiana isn’t going to find many lucrative offers for Hield that include a first-round pick:

"“The handful of execs I spoke to post-show were unanimous in their view that Hield’s looming free agency, with only this coming season left on his current contract at $19.3 million, will complicate Indiana’s efforts to generate offers that feature more than multiple second-round picks attached to the contract(s) needed to match Hield’s salary.”"

The one advantage the Pistons have with Bogdanovic is that the team that trades for him will have some amount of team control for a second year. They can fully guarantee the $20 million owed to Bogdanovic and keep him or offer him a buyout at around $2 million to get him off the books.

That flexibility may give him some additional value on the trade market, but we are still talking about a guy who is four years older than Hield and hasn’t been as durable.

These two players will be interesting test cases, as they are both one-dimensional, but do one thing very well, which is shoot the 3-ball.

The Detroit Pistons aren’t under as much pressure to move Bogdanovic given his contract situation, but a Buddy Hield trade may set the market for what they can expect to get if and when they do.