If you took a poll of the most hated players in the NBA, Grayson Allen would be somewhere near the top of the list, but that doesn’t mean the Detroit Pistons shouldn’t go after him.
Allen is one of the league’s best shooters, hitting 42.6 percent of his 3-point shots this season after leading the league at 46.1 percent the year before.
He’s also got a reputation of a “dirty” player, some of which is probably earned, and he went to Duke, so he’s an easy villain for NBA fans, unless of course the guy is on your team.
Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press recently suggested the Pistons could pursue Allen, as the Suns will be looking to cut payroll this summer after underperforming with the league’s most expensive team.
Allen had a reduced role this season, down to just 24 minutes per game and still has three years left on his deal, so is a trade candidate if the Suns want to get off some long-term money.
Here is the suggested trade:
In this trade, the Pistons get a big shooting upgrade and only have to give up Fontecchio, who is on an expiring deal, Sasser, who doesn’t have a clear path to regular minutes and the 37th pick in the 2025 Draft.
My first argument is that the Pistons shouldn’t be tacking draft picks onto this deal even though they are getting the best player, as the Suns are desperate and this would be taking a substantial sum of money off their future books.
This should be more akin to the Tim Hardaway Jr. deal in which the Pistons did send out some talent for the salary dump but were rewarded with three second-round picks.
I probably wouldn’t do this deal as is but take away the pick and it’s easier to get behind.
But what would it mean for the rest of the Pistons’ offseason?
The Pistons would be losing $5.6 million in cap space in this deal, so as tempting as Allen’s shooting looks, it could cost them other players, including Malik Beasley.
There is some crossover between the two, though Allen is a more versatile offensive player who can make plays and will rebound a little. He’s a better defender and I do like his hustle and hard play, which would fit in well with Detroit.
There would still be paths to retaining Beasley, but there are questions about how the two would fit together off the bench. The Pistons could bring in Allen to replace Ivey (or vice versa) and the mix and match him with the Ivey and Beasley in the rotation, ensuring the Pistons nearly always had an elite shooter on the floor at the same time.
But the Pistons already need size and depth at the four, so adding yet another guard at the expense of a forward could be tricky depending on who else the added to the roster.
There’s also questions about whether you want to pay Allen $16-19 million per season over the next three years.
But if you look at how the Pacers have built their roster, contracts in that range for guys who produce are a necessary ingredient, they are also very tradable in future deals and can add some heft if you need to match a bigger salary.
This would be an upgrade for the Pistons, but Allen is not a seamless fit and you do have to question if the long-term cost is worth that particular upgrade.