The Detroit Pistons have had a fantastic start to the season even after the recent slide, but if they are going to succeed in the playoffs, they will need more shooting.
Most of the fake trades we’ve seen bandied about of late have been for shooters like Michael Porter Jr., who many think is a guy the Pistons will eventually target as an upgrade over Tobias Harris.
Even though Detroit has signaled they won’t make a splashy trade that disrupts their chemistry too much, that doesn’t mean they can’t add impact players that would help solve their biggest problem, which is an almost complete lack of 3-point shooting outside of Duncan Robinson.
Bill Simmons came up with a three-team trade that could boost the Pistons’ offense without changing the rotation too much.
There are a few things holding this back, but on the surface, this looks like a trade that could help all three teams and potentially push the Detroit Pistons into the Finals.
Detroit Pistons trade: Two elite shooters would transform the offense
In this trade, Minnesota addresses their guard problem with Jaden Ivey, which is the thing that would probably stop this deal from happening, as I’m not sure they’d view Ivey as a viable option on a team that has title aspirations.
He’d certainly be an upgrade over Dillingham or anyone else they have at guard, but the Timberwolves may be looking for bigger fish than Ivey to fill that role. Their problem is that they are hampered financially, so this is the type of deal that is feasible for them. But Detroit may have to add a sweetener to get Minny to the table on this one.
The Nets get a former lottery pick who needs more reps, a big expiring contract in Harris, around $2 million in savings and two first-round picks. The Pistons’ picks are not likely to be great ones, but the Nets are rebuilding, and MPJ has been too good for them to completely tank.
This is an easy yes from Detroit, as they would get two high-volume shooters in MPJ and DiVincenzo who would solve a lot of their problems. DiVincenzo is hitting 38 percent of his eight 3-point attempts per game and MPJ is making 40 percent of his 9+ attempts per game, so the Pistons would be adding serious volume to a team that is currently 27th in the NBA in 3-point makes per game.
Both Harris and Ivey are on expiring deals, so may not be part of the long-term plans anyway, and they’d be getting two guys back who are immediate plug-and-play rotation players with skill sets the Pistons desperately need.
Detroit could finally put more than one shooter at a time around Cade Cunningham, who has been spectacular for most of the season but is having his efforts wasted of late by the lack of a consistent second scoring option.
This is the exact type of deal the Pistons should look to make, as it strengthens a weakness without disrupting the roster too much or wrecking their long-term flexibility.