The Detroit Pistons have a real chance to improve their roster around Cade Cunningham this summer, and a trade for LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard could help them do so. However, there are two sides to a Leonard trade. On one side, a perfect partner for Cunningham in the short-term to help him compete right away. On the other, a mess of a deal that could ruin Cunningham’s future by trading a chunk of Detroit’s best draft capital.
So, if the Pistons do decide to step into the Leonard business, they just need to understand the risks. Leonard is an incredible player, especially in the postseason, which would definitely help Cunningham. But trading a ton of picks for a guy with an injury history at 34 years old is dangerous.
Detroit would just need to weigh its options. Leonard would definitely help Cunningham, but if it doesn't result in a championship, then the price Detroit pays would be all the more important.
Pistons would need to understand risks of Kawhi Leonard trade if they wanted to make a deal
Leonard just had a phenomenal season with the Clippers. In fact, it may be the best individual regular season of his career, which is impressive considering his age.
He finished the year with 65 games played and 32.1 minutes per game. Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals. He shot 50.5% from the floor and 38.7% from deep on a career-high 6.8 three-point attempts per contest.
That level of offensive production would be perfect next to Leonard, and the Pistons wouldn’t lose much on the defensive end. If anything, they’d improve on that side of the ball as well.
If the Clippers are looking to hit the reset button, and if other teams aren’t interested, perhaps the Pistons could get away with trading one or two firsts for him. That wouldn’t be too risky, depending on which firsts they gave up.
However, if LA starts asking for three firsts or more, and the picks are way out into the future, that’s where things get messy. Especially if they also wanted someone like Ron Holland back in the deal.
Everything would be made okay with a championship. And there’s a real possibility that adding Leonard to the mix next to Cunningham would give the Pistons a chance to win one.
But if Detroit doesn’t win, and Leonard gets hurt, the Aspiration investigation catches up to him, or he retires in a couple of years, then the danger zone emerges.
If that happens, and the Pistons had given up a ton of future assets to get Leonard, then the future becomes very murky. That’s the situation Detroit has to avoid.
Because if Leonard is gone, and the Pistons have already traded most of their picks in the deal that landed him, then building around Cunningham would get very, very difficult.
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