We are only in November, and I am dead sick of hearing about Lauri Markkanen being traded to the Detroit Pistons.
The national media have been bringing this up for weeks, ignoring some key red flags in favor of the shiny new toy that is averaging over 30 per game. Markkanen has been amazing this season as the number one option on a bad team going nowhere, which could be a description of his entire career as a guy who has never made the playoffs.
Zach Lowe got back into the mix on a recent episode of the Zach Lowe Show, saying the Pistons would have to give up Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland, Tobias Harris, four picks and four swaps to even get into the Markkanen conversation, a price tag that had most Pistons fans saying “no thanks.”
Given that the Pistons are 13-2 and haven’t even had close to their full roster, they don’t need to make a drastic move and may be able to win the Eastern Conference with the roster they have. I’d let them cook for now, but if they do want to make a big trade, there are better options than Markkanen.
I’ve been through the list of reasons he’s not a good fit: He doesn’t play defense. He’s extremely injury prone. He’s never been in a playoff game, and his contract is massive.
But what if you could get most of Markkanen’s production at half the cost?
Detroit Pistons trade rumors: Trey Murphy III vs. Lauri. Markkanen
To repeat, I do not think the Pistons need to do anything right now, as they are close to getting Jaden Ivey and Tobias Harris back, and we need to see what this full roster looks like. They may not need a change.
But if they do go looking for a trade deadline addition, Trajan Langdon should be putting in a call to his old team and our old pals Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver.
There has been no indication so far that the Pelicans are willing to trade Trey Murphy III, as he’s on a team-friendly contract and is young enough to fit in with Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, who have both been very good.
The Pels don’t have a first-round pick in 2026, so they have no motivation to tank and will at least see what their team looks like with a healthy Zion Williamson. Good luck with that!
The other way to look at it is that the Pels could potentially recoup a first-round pick or two by trading TMIII if they do want to rebuild around their two rookies.
Murphy III isn’t the scorer that Markkanen is, but he’ll give you most of his points. He’s also a way better defender than Markkanen and has actually appeared in the playoffs.
But the best part is that TMIII’s contract is around half of what Markkanen makes, so the Pistons wouldn’t have to gut their roster to match salary and instead could build a deal around Ivey and picks.
This isn’t me saying the Pistons should trade for Trey Murphy III, only that he’s a better option than Markkanen when you factor in defense, age and contract.