Culture altering draft trade lands Pistons a star at a steep cost

The Detroit Pistons have failed to find Cade Cunningham a second star to play with but could swing for the fences this summer to land one. 

Bleacher Report got a little spicy in their latest mock draft and built a monster trade that revolved around OKC moving up to select Cameron Boozer. Here are the guts of the deal for each team: 

OKC gets: No. 3 pick, Jaylen Wells, Isaiah Stewart, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 2030 first-round pick (via DET) 

Memphis gets: Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II, No. 12 pick (via OKC), No. 21 pick (via DET), 2031 first-round pick swap (via DET) 

Detroit gets: Jalen Williams 

I have to say, this one is pretty out there and seems a bit far-fetched for both the Thunder and Pistons. Neither team has given any indication they are looking to shake things up this much, though OKC does have pending financial problems that could make something like this make sense for them. 

It would allow OKC to get out of Jalen Williams’ salary, replace him with a cheap alternative with huge upside who fits in their system, and they add some defensive depth in Stewart. 

The Grizzlies could try to become Pistons 2.0 with Ja Morant and a bunch of defenders, but it’s really the Pistons I care about in this deal. 

This would be a culture changing trade for the Pistons 

As I was reading the details of this proposal, my eyes got wide when I saw Jalen Williams’ name, but I braced myself for the catch, which is that he would come at the cost of Ausar Thompson. 

Look, you aren’t going to get an All-NBA talent for peanuts, but I would be hesitant to involve Thompson in any deal like this, especially one in which the Pistons are also giving up Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland II. 

If you are keeping count, those are the Pistons’ three best defenders, so this would be a deal that could dramatically alter their team chemistry and culture.  

The upside is that Jalen Williams is a true two-way wing player who satisfies the Pistons’ need for a second scoring and creating option. He’d replace some of the defense and is a guy we know can be the second fiddle on a title team. 

But there are also some red flags. 

Is Jalen Williams worth this kind of cost? 

Jalen Williams is a very good player, an All-NBA and All-Defensive wing who could be the elusive second star. 

But he’s fresh off an injury plagued season in which he only played 33 games and saw his numbers dip from his All-NBA campaign the year before. The Thunder won the Western Conference regular season without Williams, which is more a testament to their quality depth than a critique of Williams, but it still raises eyebrows. 

There is also the issue of his salary, which jumps to $41 million next season and goes up to 54 by the end of it, when Williams will be 30 years old. The Pistons would be getting most of his prime but would be paying a premium for it. 

It’s an interesting idea, though extremely unlikely to happen for several reasons, but it does make me wonder if the Pistons would consider moving off Thompson in a deal like this. My guess is no, but it is an intriguing idea. 

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow