This upcoming offseason will be a pivotal one for the Detroit Pistons as they look to build off their momentum from last season and enter the upper stratosphere of the Eastern Conference. It will also be a pivotal offseason for the Boston Celtics, who are navigating Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury and a huge impending luxury tax bill.
The Celtics will likely look to cut some salary from their roster in a season where they don’t expect to compete for a championship without Tatum. While they would likely prefer to trade some huge contracts of aging players (35-year-old Jrue Holiday will make $32.4 million next season and oft-injured Kristaps Porzingis will make $30.7 million) they might have to settle for sending out some smaller contracts if they don’t want to attach additional draft compensation.
One player of interest is Sam Hauser, who has been rumored to be on the trading block due to his upcoming 4-yr/$45 million extension. The Celtics might be interested in shedding his contract for some cheaper ones, which the Pistons can offer with players such as Marcus Sasser or Simone Fontecchio.
Detroit Pistons trade rumors: Sam Hauser offers great value
Sending out cheaper contracts in exchange for Hauser could limit their ability to retain key veteran free agents from last season, including Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr and Dennis Schroeder.
However, I feel that the Pistons should whole-heartedly pursue this opportunity if it arises because Sam Hauser is exactly the type of sharpshooting wing that can fit into any NBA team. He has shot over 40% from 3-point range in every season of his career even on very impressive volume in the last two seasons (over 5.5 attempts per game in just 22 minutes).
And, unlike some other sharpshooters, he doesn’t give up too much on the defensive end. In fact, his defensive rating for the last two seasons has been better than the Celtics’ defensive rating as a whole and Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has often praised his effort on that end.
With both the Thunder and Pacers showing the importance of quality depth especially in the form of 3&D wings, a player like Hauser is likely to be a highly sought-after player for many teams. The Pistons should do a serious inquiry into what it would take to get him, including potential cap relief, expiring contracts, and maybe even marginal draft capital such as a second-round pick.