The Detroit Pistons ended up having a relatively quiet trade deadline, but they were attached to some splashy names, including Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies.
JJJ got traded to the Utah Jazz instead in a move that shocked a lot of people, as the Jazz were more expected to be sellers at the deadline, and some even believed they would move on from Lauri Markkanen.
Instead, they added JJJ, a bold move considering the money they already have invested in Markkanen, especially with Jackson Jr’s five-year extension only in its first year.
The Pistons were briefly connected to Jackson Jr. in rumors, though it doesn’t seem like there were ever any serious talks between the two teams. I was not a big fan of this kind of move for the Pistons, mostly because of the cost and the chance Detroit could end up stuck with an expensive roster that wasn’t good enough to win a title.
Although JJJ is a very good player, his contract and the trade cost placed him in the “overrated” category, at least from the perspective of Bleacher Report, who listed him as one of the league’s most overrated players, saying:
“While he's a talented scorer, Jackson is one of the worst rebounders at his position (5.7 per game this year, 5.6 per game for his career) and is owed $205 million over the next four years. That's roughly the same annual salary as players like Stephen Curry ($53 million), Luka Dončić ($53 million) and more than Anthony Edwards ($48.9 million).
Jackson is a good player who's become wildly overrated based off his latest contract and trade return.”
I tend to agree, and he would have been an expensive gamble for the Pistons that they were smart to avoid.
Jaren Jackson Jr.: Superstar cost for role player production
If the price was right, JJJ could have been a nice addition for the Pistons, but after seeing what Utah paid for him, the Pistons were wise to walk away.
Utah not only gave up three good first round picks, but also two young players who were recently chosen in the first round, including #8 pick Taylor Hendricks. That’s a huge haul for a guy who isn’t a go-to scorer, is a bad rebounder and a borderline star.
Don’t get me wrong, I like JJJ and he’s very good. Adding him would have bolstered the Pistons' defense even more but at that cost, they were smart to be patient, as that would have been a LOT of money tied up in their front court and if he didn’t work out, they’d be stuck with him. I for one don't see investing 90+ million in Jaren Jackson and Jalen Duren as a way to a title.
Also, Detroit didn’t have superfluous picks and young guys to give away as Utah did, and the Jazz now have nearly $100 million tied up in two players with lengthy injury histories. Good luck to them.
Given the guy has only played more than 65 games three times in his career, it would have been a risky investment, the type Trajan Langdon has avoided in his tenure as team president.
Sometimes the moves you don’t make end up being more important than the ones you do, and I am glad Langdon showed patience and didn’t leap at what was an expensive and risky investment.