We are entering trade season in the NBA and the Detroit Pistons are likely to be a part of it.
December 15th will get things going, as it’s the first day that newly signed free agents can be traded, including three on the Pistons.
Detroit isn’t good, but the Eastern Conference has been so mediocre that they are in the hunt for the play-in with a 10-15 record.
Some fans want the team to cash in some of its assets, get an upgrade and make a run at the playoffs, while others are content to see what happens, keep building around the core and hope to get lucky in the lottery, a strategy that hasn’t yielded much thus far.
With few healthy stars available for the Pistons to pursue, and all of them with major red flags, the Pistons could look for a bridge player to help them transition to the next level, someone with a few years on his deal who can help some of their flaws.
Bleacher Report suggested such a trade recently, bringing back the trade rumor that just won’t die:
We’ve seen some version of this trade a million times at this point, so I won’t belabor it, as we know the strengths and weaknesses LaVine brings. He’s a great offensive player, below average defender and he gets hurt a lot.
LaVine would certainly help the Pistons’ struggling offense, as he is scoring efficiently from all three levels both on and off the ball, which is exactly what they need.
The interesting thing is that the Bulls have one of the top offenses in the league and one of the worst defenses, while the Pistons are middle of the pack in defense with a below-average offense.
The Bulls score 10 more points per game than the Pistons, but they also allow 10 more points per game than Detroit.
The Pistons adding LaVine would boost their offense, but losing their best defender isn’t going to help the defense, so LaVine may not be a net positive.
I don’t think this is too much to give up for LaVine, who is underrated at this point because of his contract, and because he is a “narrative” player, in that every fan has made up their mind about him, repeating the same narratives over and over. He can’t stay healthy and LaVine is not a winner.
Contract + narrative have made us forget that he is pretty good. He’s averaging over 22 points per game on 50/43/80 shooting splits and would immediately give the Pistons a more formidable offense.
This trade is debatable from any angle, as there are obvious pros and cons. This proposal also brings up some big questions about the Pistons.
Are the Pistons happy with the Jalen Duren/Isaiah Stewart pairing?
This is a question we’ve been asking all season, as both centers have big flaws. They’ve been better protecting the rim this season, especially Stewart, but Duren is inconsistent in effort and results and Stewart doesn’t offer much on offense.
If the Pistons don’t see this duo as the one they want to move forward with, then moving one of them for an offensive wing wouldn’t be the worst idea.
Of course, this would leave the Pistons very thin at center, put even more pressure on Duren and thrust Paul Reed into a big role, all things that may offset whatever positives LaVine would bring.
I do believe the Pistons need an upgrade at center, but it would be Duren I’d look to move, as Stewart has already proven he is valuable in the role he’s playing.
Trading Stewart as part of a package for LaVine would necessitate further moves, which is why I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a bigger deal looming that also involved Vucevic.
Should the Pistons go for it this season or be patient?
This question has been lingering over the team since their improved start, as the Pistons are only 3.5 games away from the 6th seed and could speed up their timeline with a trip to the playoffs or at least the play-in tournament.
The counter argument is that they clearly aren’t ready and are just benefitting from a lousy Eastern Conference, so it would be better to let the core develop organically and make moves in the offseason with more information to go on.
I don’t have an answer for this question other than that I think playing meaningful games this season is important for a team that essentially wasted an entire season last year with Troy Weaver’s horrible roster and Monty Williams’ horrible coaching.
The Pistons should have been doing this last year.
So whatever route they take, I’d like to see Detroit in the play-in, but I probably wouldn’t chase pipe dreams of much else unless a deal came along that was too good to pass up and I am not sure that LaVine deal is.