The Detroit Pistons didn’t leave the weekend with Kevin Durant or Jalen Green on their roster and that’s a good thing.
The Pistons were mentioned as a possible home for Kevin Durant in speculation, but in the end, that’s all it was, as he was traded to the Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th pick in the 2025 draft and a pile of second rounders.
There are some who think the Pistons missed an opportunity to add a legend at a bargain price, but Durant wasn’t the right move for the Pistons for several reasons. Detroit has stayed out of this trade so far and managed to dodge a couple of bullets.
The Detroit Pistons didn’t trade for Kevin Durant
I love Kevin Durant.
He’s long been one of my favorite players to watch going back to his college days, so the idea of him on the Pistons with Cade Cunningham was certainly tempting.
The reality is that the Pistons are not a KD away from winning a title, so adding a 37-year-old Durant made little sense even though he is still very good.
But as good as he is, Durant’s last two stops (Brooklyn and Phoenix) didn’t end well and there is no guarantee the same thing wouldn’t have happened in Detroit.
KD is on an expiring contract, so there is risk involved when you are talking about giving up a piece of your core, an important veteran and draft assets for a guy who could leave in a year.
When it comes to KD, you can’t trust that the grass won’t look greener somewhere else after a season.
The Pistons had a similar package they could have offered in Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris and draft assets, but again, a lot to give up for a guy who made it clear where he wanted to play and it wasn’t Detroit.
I love the move for Houston, as they are a KD away from title contention and didn’t have to give up anything of value. Detroit doesn’t have an extra Jalen Green laying around (the Rockets didn’t want him anyway) and doesn’t have the extra first-round picks Houston does. The Rockets were able to upgrade without giving anything up and that would not have been the case for the Pistons.
The Pistons didn’t land Jalen Green
I don’t think this was ever a possibility but there were some rumblings that the Pistons might be interested in Green if the Suns choose to re-route him, which many believe they will.
This chatter was coming from NBA2K fans, not actual basketball people and certainly not the Pistons themselves, as Green is not a fit at all.
Green may be better than Ivey right now, but Ivey is way cheaper and has accepted a sidekick role with Cade Cunningham, something Green would not be keen to do.
If you are one of these fans clamoring for Green, it’s not happening.
If the Rockets decide to make other moves to accommodate Durant on their roster, the Pistons could get involved for a guy like Tari Eason or Jabari Smith Jr., so we’ll have to wait and see if Houston makes further moves, but for now the Pistons are biding their time and that’s a good thing.