Pistons were wise to leave Giannis trade, but the dream is not dead yet

It appears the Detroit Pistons will not be a part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, though that doesn’t mean they won’t eventually get their guy. 

Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Giannis was going to be traded before the draft, which is not news (and he seems to say this every day) and that the deal would be with either Miami or Boston. 

But the important bit of information that he added was that the deal would be a “one-to-one" trade that wouldn’t involve a third or fourth team. 

The Pistons were rumored to be interested in Tyler Herro as a third team if Giannis went to Miami, and it appears that deal is all but dead unless Shams is wrong, which he very well could be, as this saga seems to change by the minute. 

If the Pistons did walk away from the table, they had their reasons and will have other options. 

Trajan Langdon must not have wanted to part with one of his assets 

I’d first like to say that this deal still could spiral into a multi-team affair at some point, just as the Luka trade did, so even if the deal is initially between two teams, there is still a high probability that more teams eventually get involved. 

Detroit was likely unwilling to part with one or all of Ron Holland, Isaiah Stewart and their 21st pick for Herro, and if that is the case, they were wise to walk away, as that is way too much to give up for a guy who played 33 games last season and only has one year left on his deal. 

Even including this year’s pick would be unwise, so if the Pistons have walked away, it was likely that the price got too expensive to get involved, and that is just fine, as they have other options. 

The Pistons could be eyeing a bigger swing 

If the Pistons are going to give up their first round pick this year, it has to be for a player who fills a long-term need, someone like Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans, who is under contract at a reasonable price for several more seasons. 

The Pistons’ 2026 pick is one of their best trade assets, and I never bought into the idea that they would trade it for a player of Herro’s profile or contract situation. 

I also didn’t believe that Herro would be the only move, as the Pistons were likely interested because they identified him as a possible buy low bargain, so this year's pick may have never been on the table.

You also can’t rule out Herro ending up in Detroit anyway, either as a later addition to the Giannis trade or by making a separate trade with Miami if they don’t end up with Giannis. 

One thing was certain: It would have been foolish for the Pistons to overpay for Tyler Herro, so if they are truly out on the deal, it was probably smart. 

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