The Detroit Pistons have been mentioned in just about every trade rumor, but for them to land a star player, they are going to have to break up their core.
The “will they, won’t they” saga with the Pistons has mostly landed on the “no” side of things, as all reports indicate that Detroit is not looking to make a splashy move at the trade deadline.
That hasn’t slowed the speculation, with fans and media cranking out their best trades, some of which would be difficult decisions, while others are just unrealistic or easy passes.
Readers have been sending me their ideas, many of which are entirely lopsided for the Pistons and have them landing a star player without giving up one of their best young talents. The reality is that Detroit will have to give up something painful to land an impact player, because the rest of their trade package isn’t that interesting.
Which of the young core would the Detroit Pistons be most willing to trade?
If you take out talent and fit and just look at contracts, then Jaden Ivey is the obvious choice if the Pistons are going to dangle one of their young players in a trade.
The problem is that Ivey hasn’t really shown what he can do yet, as he’s playing limited minutes after coming back from injury. There have been promising flashes, but not enough to consider Ivey a hot trade target for other teams, especially considering he’ll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Unless the name “Giannis” is involved, it’s difficult to envision a scenario in which the Pistons would trade Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson, so you can rule those two out.
That leaves Ron Holland II, who is probably the most polarizing player on the Pistons when it comes to a potential trade. Given the importance of having multiple top-tier wings, he too may be a dealbreaker in most cases for Detroit. I’m not saying the Pistons wouldn’t move Holland in the right deal, but it would have to clearly be the right deal, and that may not exist.
And when you look at the Pistons’ draft picks, which aren’t all appealing given they are in first place with a young roster that figures to be good in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future, and you don’t have the makings of a star trade.
Trajan Langdon is far more likely to nibble around the fringes, as patience has paid off for him so far, and the Pistons don’t have a great trade package unless they include guys they don’t want to lose.
If Jaden Ivey plays well between now and February and raises his trade value, the trade talk will heat back up, but for now, fans who are eager for a big move will have to wait.