It’s hard to know what to make of the latest rumors around the Detroit Pistons that have them targeting a number of stretch fives.
We’d already heard potential free agents Naz Reid and Myles Turner connected to the Pistons, two players who would satisfy their apparent desire to have a big who can shoot.
Jake Fischer (Subscription) also added Santi Aldama’s name to the list, though noted that there is strong belief that he will eventually return to the Grizzlies.
The same can be said of both Reid and Turner, who have both expressed a mutual desire with their respective team to have a reunion.
There’s also the fact that the Pistons don’t have the cap space to sign any of these players. Fischer acknowledged that Detroit can carve out around $17 million in space, but that won’t be nearly enough to pry any of these players from their current teams.
Turner’s next deal will likely start in the $30 million per season range, Reid somewhere just below that and it will probably take more than $17 million to poach restricted free agent Aldama from the Grizzlies.
So, are any of these trade rumors legit?
Detroit Pistons trade rumors: Suitor or “stalking horse”
The Pistons are one of two teams with any kind of cap space, which is one of the reasons we are seeing them mentioned along with Brooklyn in every rumor.
Fischer mentioned Detroit could be used as a “stalking horse” by agents and other teams, stoking up these rumors to hide their true intent or drive up the price for their clients.
Given the difficulties around landing Turner or Reid especially, this notion does make some sense, as the Pistons would have to make other moves to accommodate their salaries, likely shedding one of Tobias Harris, Jalen Duren or Isaiah Stewart in the process.
You could see Reid playing alongside Duren as a power forward but his fit with the other two is far more challenging.
In a vacuum, I do think the Pistons would love to add a stretch five, and it’s possible that they will, but when you look at the reality of these three players in particular, it’s hard to see how they get there.
This is the problematic part of “anonymous” sources that may have interests other than leaking the truth, namely driving up the prices for players by pretending they have loads of suitors ready to give them a bag.
This is why I use trade rumors as a jumping off point for conversations about players, their value and their fit rather than something that is on the cusp of happening in the real world.