I‘ve been covering the Pistons for about six years now and fans have been talking about the possibility of Devin Booker coming to Detroit the entire time.
It does make some sense, as Booker is not only from Michigan, but is among the Pistons’ worse draft misses, so it’s a wrong fans would love to undo.
I’ve written many times about the idea of Booker coming “home,” and speculation kicks up every time he plays in Detroit and puts on a Tigers hat.
I’ve also written that chasing Booker would likely cost the Pistons a big chunk of their roster and all of their future draft picks, as it would take at least three salaries to match the $53 million owed to the Suns' star next season.
If Jaden Ivey can give you 68 percent of Booker’s scoring for a third of the cost, it might be better to just keep Ivey, especially if it also meant keeping another core player. I’ve mostly given up on the idea of Booker, as I don’t think sending Tobias Harris and two of the young core to Phoenix would make the Pistons a better team overall.
But a recent trade suggested by our friends at Valley of the Suns is one that the Pistons would have to consider.
Detroit Pistons trade: Devin Booker rumors just won’t die
If the Pistons could land Booker while only giving up one of their young core and keeping some of their future draft assets, then it is something they would have to consider.
That’s exactly what happens in this trade proposal:
In this trade, the Pistons are only sending Ivey and the expiring contracts of Harris and Fontecchio along with two protected firsts, two swaps and two second rounders.
Harris was productive this season but isn’t likely to be around long term. Fontecchio is a guy the Pistons should be looking to trade this summer anyway, so no big loss there although it would leave the Pistons with a gaping hole at power forward.
That leaves Ivey, who is still largely unproven and even in the best-case scenario, isn’t likely to ever be as good as Booker. The two firsts are protected and not going to be good anyway, as the Pistons are a likely playoff team with Booker, same with the swaps, as the Suns would be taking a step back here so would likely have better picks.
The Pistons have a ton of extra second-round picks, and those are less valuable anyway now that many prospects are staying in school longer to get the NIL money.
We are really talking about Jaden Ivey in terms of assets, and as I said, the biggest argument in favor of Ivey would be price, as he is likely to be on half or less the salary of Booker and will give you at least 17-18 of Booker’s 25 points per game.
Before Pistons fans get too excited, I don’t see any scenario in which the Suns would make this trade, as they have expressed loyalty to Booker, want to keep him and aren’t going to move him unless it is a slam-dunk deal, which this isn’t.
There are also things the Pistons should consider.
Is Devin Booker a good fit with Cade Cunningham?
There are obvious questions about Jaden Ivey’s fit with Cade that we have talked about endlessly over the last few seasons, but Booker has some questions as well.
Booker still averaged 25 a game this season but did it less efficiently and was not a good 3-point shooter, hitting just 33 percent on over seven attempts per game.
Ivey wasn’t shooting that kind of volume, but he was hitting over 41 percent when he got hurt and over 45 percent on catch-and-shoot 3’s.
Booker is obviously the more proven scorer and would give the Pistons one of the best backcourts in the NBA. He’s a guy who can get his own shot and take over games in the half court, which is something the Pistons needed in the playoffs.
Cunningham is versatile enough to play with any star, so even though there is some crossover, he could definitely make it work with Booker, but it's not a seamless fit.
What about the cost?
This is where is gets tricky, as Booker is set to make $53, 57 and 61 million over the next three seasons, which would give the Pistons two max players at the top of their payroll.
That’s fine, as it’s the Indiana model that could work in this scenario as long as the Pistons are able to lock up Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson on fairly team-friendly deals. Pay either of those two 25+ million a season and suddenly the Pistons have no financial flexibility and no roster depth, a challenge all teams face under the current CBA.
Cade, Booker, Ausar and Duren is a good foursome to build around, but it would leave some big holes in the roster and not much money to fill them, as this deal would also eat up more than half of their available cap space, leaving them with around $7-8 million to find a power forward. Not impossible, but not easy. You can also kiss most of the Pistons' own free agents goodbye.
In the end, Booker is not likely to come to Detroit, but if the offer was somewhere in this range, it’s one the Pistons would have to consider even though I still don’t view it as a no-brainer given Booker’s contract.