Ja Morant trade could have perfect ripple effect for the Pistons

The Portland Trail Blazers made one of the surprise moves of the offseason so far by trading for polarizing guard Ja Morant, a move that could have ripple effects that touch the Detroit Pistons. 

The Grizzlies were keen to give Morant away to anyone that would take him, so the Blazers bought low hoping he can regain the magic from early in his career. 

It leaves Portland with a potential guard surplus, and there is already speculation that they will try to deal veteran Jrue Holiday, though given that many of their guards have injury concerns, it may be best for them to keep their depth intact. 

If the Trail Blazers do decide to move on from Holiday, he’s a player who could be a short-term answer to the Pistons' ball handling and scoring problems, while helping to improve their defense. 

Jrue Holiday would help Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson 

Holiday is 36 years old, so he’s in the golden hour of his career, but he can still play, as he averaged over 16 points and six assists last season with 45/38/83 shooting splits.

He’s a reliable ball handler and second creator who can play both on and off the ball, which fits the mold of what the Pistons are looking for to take some of the pressure off Cade Cunningham. 

Holiday is also a high-volume 3-point shooter who averaged over six attempts per game, so he checks a third box as the Pistons look to add shooting to a team that was in the bottom half of the league from long range last season. 

Holiday is also a good defender. He’s not first team All-Defense anymore, but he’s still very good and would give the Pistons another point of attack defender that would allow JB Bickerstaff to use Ausar Thompson more creatively. 

Ideally, the Pistons could allow Ausar to roam around more, hunt blocks and grab rebounds instead of always being the guy at the point of attack. Holiday would just give the Pistons more options defensively and potentially allow them to bring in a power forward who wasn’t a great defender. 

Holiday is under contract for two more seasons at $34 and 37 million, and it would cost far less to get him than some of the other targets the Pistons have been attached to. I also love a veteran with championship experience, one who is a truly nice guy and teammate who has been loved everywhere he’s been. 

It’s a long way of saying I don’t hate the idea, especially if the Pistons can do it without going too deep into their assets. 

Everything is in play right now, as the Jalen Duren situation has the Pistons roster suddenly looking vulnerable, but the Morant trade is one that could have ramifications Detroit can cash in on. 

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