Detroit Pistons fans have been talking about trading for Lauri Markkanen for years, but now that talk is echoed in the national media and momentum towards such a deal is starting to build.
That certainly doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, as we seen plenty of consistent speculation that didn’t culminate in a trade, but this one does seem to have legs given the context.
I wrote about the possibility recently and said it was the kind of move that violates the principles Trajan Langdon has established, which is avoiding injury-prone players and focusing on guys who can defend. Markkanen doesn’t fit either of those.
But I was responding to a suggestion that the Pistons should trade Tobias Harris, Ron Holland II, Marcus Sasser and two unprotected firsts. Given Holland’s age, talent, salary and years left of team control, flipping him for Markkanen would be a financial risk.
However, on a recent episode of the Game Theory Podcast, host Sam Vecenie suggested a trade that might be more palatable to the Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Trading Jaden Ivey for Lauri Markkanen
Most of the summer talk has revolved around Jaden Ivey, how he’s going to fit in, whether the Pistons should extend him, and if so, for how much.
He’s also been talked about as a possible trade asset, which makes more sense than Holland. This isn’t because I think Holland is a better player, but he’s still on a rookie deal and Ivey is about to get a big raise.
Depending on the number, it’s a raise the Pistons may not be comfortable giving him, which then makes him the obvious choice to be shipped out in any big trade.
Vecenie suggested the perfect trade for both teams would be Harris, Ivey, Marcus Sasser and a couple of first-round picks, which would allow the Pistons to land their second scorer without disrupting their defensive infrastructure by moving Holland or Isaiah Stewart.
The flip side of that is the Pistons would be giving up two starters and taking back one, so a bench player would have to step into the starting five, possibly Duncan Robinson, Caris LeVert or Ron Holland.
Markkanen would give JB Bickerstaff more weapons, but less depth, which would be a concern considering Markkanen has never played even 70 games in a season and would potentially not a have a backup.
This is a trade we are going to hear discussed until Markkanen is finally moved, which may never happen, as the Jazz have not made him available thus far and may want to keep him as a bridge to their next competitive roster.