The Devin Booker problem that will crush Pistons fans dreams

With the Pistons’ season on the brink of disaster, talks have already turned to the offseason, and which star player Detroit could target. 

Devin Booker is an obvious name already being mentioned, and in many ways, it makes sense. The Pistons need a reliable second scorer and creator, and Booker averages 26 points and six assists, which would look pretty good right now as the Pistons struggle to score against Orlando. 

Michigan-native Booker may also relish the chance to win a title with his home team, and he’d have a more realistic shot at it with the Pistons than he would with the Suns. 

These are all the reasons we will hear Booker as a possibility, even though he’s given no indication he wants to be traded (just the opposite), and the Suns have never said they’d be willing to. 

All that aside, there are very real reasons why a trade for Booker would be challenging. Not impossible, but challenging. 

The Pistons may not have the trade package for Devin Booker 

Booker will be making $57 million next season, a number that ballons up to nearly $70 million through 2030, so the Pistons would be dedicating a large percentage of their cap sheet to a guy who will be 33 at the end of the deal. 

We’ll have to see how the cap space/exceptions shake out after the season, but trading for Booker will also take a substantial haul of players to make the money work, not to mention what Phoenix will want to trade away the longtime face of their franchise. 

You could make the money work (or close) with Robinson, LeVert, Holland, one other guy and a bunch of draft picks, but is that even going to tempt Phoenix? 

They’d at least want Stewart instead of Robinson or LeVert, and even then, that doesn’t seem like the best offer they’d get if they were truly interested in trading Booker. 

The Pistons would have one other option. 

Would the Pistons trade Jalen Duren? 

I would not have asked this question coming into the playoffs, but after how Duren has played, it’s one that is going to be asked. The Pistons would have to sign-and-trade Duren to move him, and he may be their best trade asset. 

Duren is going to take a ton of flak for this series (I’m trying to back off, the guy is a human), but he’s still a 22-year-old All Star, so let’s not act like he’s a bum. 

He’s certainly a much more tempting player than any of the others I just mentioned and would give the Pistons a sizeable contract to offset some of Booker’s without sending back four players. 

I don’t think this is going to happen, and regardless of what happens in this series, my guess is that Duren is back in Detroit. His shortcomings in this series may have shown he’s not a true number two option yet, but he’s still a very good player who has been a huge part of the Pistons’ success. 

Devin Booker is a nice dream, but the reality is that it would be challenging to pull off in the real world. 

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