Bill Simmons joined the chorus of voices who think the Detroit Pistons should trade for Michael Porter Jr.
Simmons said he thinks MPJ is the perfect target for the Pistons as a forward with size who can shoot. His assessment was that the Pistons either need a scorer or stopper as an upgrade to Tobias Harris and of the available options, MPJ is the best one.
Jake Fischer (subscription) added the Pistons to his list of teams that could pursue Porter Jr. but did say there hasn’t been any action there yet.
They do have a point, as Porter Jr. is the type of big stretch forward the Pistons lack and is one of the league’s true snipers as a guy who shoots over 40 percent on 9+ attempts per game. He would add a new element to the Pistons’ half-court offense that none of their current forwards do, and has one key advantage over some of the other reported options.
Michael Porter Jr. is a cheaper option with no long-term commitment for the Pistons
We’ve heard a lot of names attached to the Pistons as potential trade targets, but most of them would require a substantial reshuffling of the roster. They aren’t trading for Lauri Markkanen, Giannis or Trey Murphy III without sending back multiple rotation players and loads of picks, which may not be the case with MPJ.
Given he is owed $40 million next season, he’s not going to appeal to teams without the necessary cap space or contacts to absorb that, which lowers his value on the trade market.
Detroit could feasibly land him without sending any of their core young players and would likely only have to send a pick or two to get the deal done, which looks a lot better than gutting the roster for a splashier star.
MPJ is only under contract for one more season, so would also give the Pistons a massive expiring contract that they could use in a bigger deal next summer. If they seriously want to make a run at a guy like Giannis, a contract like this would be huge to have, as it would allow the Pistons to more easily match salaries.
Detroit’s roster is going to get more expensive next season with raises for Duren and possibly Ausar Thompson, but the Pistons can still easily absorb MPJ’s deal for one year past this one and would be in a better position to make a blockbuster trade.
With Tobias Harris on an expiring deal, there isn’t a lot of downside to this one, as MPJ would give the Pistons a more dynamic offense without hurting their long-term financial flexibility.