The Detroit Pistons’ roster was wonky and unbalanced before they suffered multiple preseason injuries.
With Isaiah Livers, Bojan Bogdanovic and Monte Morris out to start the season, the Pistons’ thin depth at forward is being even more exposed. We’ve talked about it all offseason: They have too many guards and centers and not enough forwards and that problem has gotten worse.
The forward position will need to be addressed at some point, and the Pistons do have an open roster spot to try to swing a deal. The question is whether they have the assets to do it.
It would likely take trading Jaden Ivey or one of the other young talents to land an impact player at the position, but for now, let’s look at some potential targets from all tiers of cost and talent.
The injured/unproven tier of power forward targets for the Pistons
Jonathan Kuminga
I do see the Warriors as a possible midseason trade partner for the Pistons, as they are in title or bust mode this season and Kuminga is their best trade asset. He’s a big, athletic forward who can defend a couple of spots. He’s still somehow only 21-years-old and improved his 3-point shooting considerably last season.
If the Warriors decide they need more firepower and Kuminga is not getting big minutes anyway, they could move him for someone like Bojan Bogdanovic, securing the Pistons their power forward of the future in the process.
John Hollinger had Kuminga ranked as the 46th-best power forward last season, but he was only playing 20 minutes a game.
Brandon Clarke
Brandon Clarke blew out his Achilles in March and there is no timetable for his return, so trading for him would be a big risk. But Memphis does need a center, which may make Clarke expendable. Even though he is hurt, Clarke is on a team-friendly contract that pays him $12.5 million per season over the next four years, so if he returns to form as a very good defensive power forward, he’d be a bargain.
It would be great to get a 3-and-D type player for this position, which is why I was gutted that Jaden McDaniels got a last-minute extension, but if they have to choose, give me a player who can protect the rim. It might be possible to get Clarke for practically nothing, so while he may not contribute right away, he’s worth monitoring.
The long shots
Lauri Markkanen
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Jazz trade away Markkanen, as he is currently their best player and worth building around as a 26-year-old seven-footer who can shoot the lights out and just made the All-Star team.
Markkanen would be an ideal fit next to Jalen Duren, so he’d be near the top of my list of targets, but he’s a long shot at best.
The factors working in the Pistons’ favor are that the Jazz have a lot of power forward types and did just use a draft pick on Taylor Hendricks and traded for John Collins, which was a weird move, and that Markkanen only has a partially guaranteed year on his deal after this one, so if for some reason the Jazz feel they don’t want to give him the massive raise he has coming, who knows, they could try to move him for assets.
He would take at least one of the Pistons’ core players (Jaden Ivey?) plus some, so I am not even sure the Pistons have the assets to get him, but we can dream.
Pascal Siakam
The Raptors could decide to do a soft rebuild this season if things aren’t working out and soon-to-be free agent Pascal Siakam would be the likely player to be traded. He’s a risky one for any team, as he’s already expressed his desire to test free agency and get one last maximum deal while he is still on the right side of 30.
This limits his value, which is a good thing, but also makes him a huge risk unless there was some guarantee he’d re-sign. And then you have the risk of giving a 30-year-old a max deal.
There are probably too many red flags with Siakam when it comes to money.
The super risky wildcard
Karl Anthony-Towns
The Timberwolves surprised a lot of people when they offered Jaden McDaniels a $136 million extension, as they already have a ton of money tied up in Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
They are one of the only teams with three max guys, which is going to make it very difficult for them to fill out their roster past this season and is going to be very expensive as they surpass the second tax apron.
And are we even sure this team is good? If Minnesota doesn’t want to pay through the nose for an 8th seed, they may decide to move one of their guys and KAT is the likely one.
On one hand, you have a 27-year-old three-time All-Star who averages over 23 points and 11 rebounds for his career, shooting over 52 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line. He’s a top-25 player and still in his prime and those types of guys aren’t easy to get.
On the other hand, he’ll be making $36, 49, 53, 57 and 61 million over the next five seasons and hasn’t been very effective playing with another big who happens to be one of the best defenders in the league.
Given his contract, there won’t be a ton of suitors for KAT, so the Pistons could probably land him, but it would be a huge roll of the dice, as his contract makes him part of your future and there likely isn’t any way out of it if things don’t work out.
A core of Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Karl-Anthony Towns has a higher ceiling than what they have now, but what is that ceiling? An 8th seed? Higher? I’m not sure.
This is a player to watch, as he could be made available and the Pistons are one of the few teams that might pursue him. At least Detroit would finally have a big who can shoot, but he’s expensive, hasn’t won squat and may not get them where they ultimately want to be.