The Detroit Pistons like to get all of their business done while I sleep, so I woke to news of a “blockbuster” six-team trade.
After reading the complicated mess of a trade, seeing Taurean Prince and Gary Harris as the result wasn’t necessarily the ending I had in mind. it was loud but uninspiring. Sound. Fury. Meh, all that Shakespeare stuff.
Both guys are journeymen I would have loved to have on the Pistons 8-10 years ago, but as of now, they are not players who will move the needle for Detroit.
The trade does potentially set up bigger moves, but I’m starting to feel like Charlie Brown at this point, with Trajan Langdon pulling the ball away after swearing he won’t. He may be setting up a bigger move or just clearing more money to sign Jalen Duren.
It’s hard to imagine a spot for Gary Harris on the Pistons, though I thought the same about Daniss Jenkins last season, so you never know how injuries will change things.
But the Pistons will likely have a spot in the rotation for Prince, who gives them something they’ve not had in a very long time.
The Pistons have a backup power forward
Tobias Harris was the only real power forward on the Pistons roster last season, and he’s a mediocre 3-point shooter who likes to work in the mid-range, so he was not the spacer the Pistons needed.
Swapping him out for John Collins, who shoots over 40 percent from long range, should take advantage of some of those corner 3’s Cade Cunningham created all last season for guys who couldn’t hit them.
But it still left the Pistons with no real back up four, as Ron Holland II is a wing player and not suited to take on bigger forwards. He's also a great point of attack defender, so you don't want him off the perimeter.
Prince is far past his prime, isn’t a good defender and can’t dribble, but he does one thing extremely well, and that’s shoot the 3-ball.
He’s hit over 43 percent on high volume in the last two seasons, so even though he’s limited, it doesn’t really matter, as he’s a backup who is not going to be playing big minutes. He's deadly from the corner, hitting 45 percent and 48.6 percent from that spot in the last two seasons, respectively.
He’ll give the Pistons further lineup flexibility off the bench, and if we are just looking at the bench right now, it should be far better offensively than it was last season. Losing Beef Stew will obviously affect the defense, but having two legit shooters in Joe and Prince will give JB Bickerstaff more options and ways to keep at least two shooters on the floor at all times.
Whether Langdon is done dealing is anyone’s guess, and I am done trying to figure out what he’s up to, but this move does get them depth at the four and more shooting, while also ridding them of a redundant and bad player in Caris LeVert, so it’s a win for the Pistons.
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