The Detroit Pistons aren't the only team eyeing major moves this offseason, and with the recent reports about the trade interest in Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, it's clear that this offseason could be trending towards a crazy shift.
According to NBA Insider Jake Fischer, the New Orleans Pelicans have shown heavy interest in acquiring All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown.
Fischer's report adds to the previously reported interest from the Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Atlanta Hawks.
And while the Pistons haven't been linked to Brown up to this point of the offseason, it's safe to say that if the Celtics do indeed move on from their former No. 3 overall pick, Detroit has a pretty good chance to come out on the winning side.
Unless the Celtics land Giannis, trading Jaylen makes them worse
Brad Stevens wasn't born yesterday, and based on his track record of rarely losing trades, it's fair to say that there's no evidence that a boneheaded decision could be on the horizon.
Nonetheless, if the C's really are considering moving on from Brown, unless that move leads to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston gets worse.
Rumors have swirled about the Celtics interest in Trey Murphy III, who the Pistons have also been linked to, but any move for the wing would have seemingly been in efforts to slot the Virginia product as the third-scoring option on Joe Mazzulla's squad behind Jayson Tatum and Brown.
All that to say, if the move that lands the C's Murphy III involves sending Brown out instead, Boston gets worse.
Similarly, any move with the Trail Blazers, Hawks, or Rockets would almost certainly land the Celtics a non-All-NBA talent, and that alone would lead to regression rather than improvement.
Beyond the fact that moving on from Brown without landing Giannis would knock a contender out of the Pistons' pathway, if the rumors are true and JB is traded, all indications suggest a Western Conference team is most likely, and that's yet another win for Detroit.
Jaylen Brown being moved to the West is a plus
The Eastern Conference isn't considered nearly as competitive as the West is, but there's still an abundance of talented players Detroit must go through in order to return to the NBA Finals.
Antetokounmpo is insistent on remaining in the East, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are prepared to run it back, the Magic aren't going anywhere, and the New York Knicks are just getting started.
Beyond that, the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets are starting to creep into the rear-view mirror as teams to worry about.
If the reports are true about the known interest in Brown, the abundance of Western Conference teams interested suggests the odds of where Boston would send the star forward heavily lie in favor of a Western Conference team.
That alone gives the Pistons one less All-NBA talent to worry about when the postseason comes, and given their struggles to dominate either series they were in during the playoffs this season, that's great news.
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