The Detroit Pistons have been mentioned in just about every flavor of trade rumor with the NBA trade deadline less than two weeks away.
They’ve been put in fake trades for stars, salary dumps and everything in between, with the proposed payoff varying wildly depending on which Oz is behind the curtain.
The funny thing is that none of them are likely to happen, as Trajan Langdon has his own vision that doesn’t likely involve taking on problematic (but talented) players who come with plenty of red flags.
Why would he?
His team is currently the 6th seed and more importantly, has built real chemistry and culture that can be the foundation for sustained success. You don’t break that up for a big question mark, especially with the young players clearly benefitting from this experience.
That’s why I am officially crossing these players off the Pistons’ wish list and hope Langdon has done the same.
Brandon Ingram
Enough already. I’ve been down on this concept for a while now and it seems like the Pistons are too, as it was recently reported that they haven’t had any conversations with the Pelicans about BI.
Next.
Julius Randle
There has been some talk that the Pistons might be able to reap a first-round pick for taking on the rest of Randle’s deal, which seems unlikely given how badly the Timberwolves were already pantsed when they traded for him.
He does only have a year left on his contract after this one and is still putting up numbers. Randle was an All-Star just last season, so if there was an asset attached, he might be tempting.
But then you go back to culture and chemistry, two things Randle is not bringing with him to Detroit.
He has sulked on the bench since being yanked from clutch-time, takes a lot of bad shots and has an on and off motor, not the type of player you want flanking Cade Cunningham.
Randle doesn’t complement Cade at all, and that should be the primary concern about any addition moving forward, as Cunningham is emerging as an All-NBA talent, not a guy who should be deferring to Julius Randle bombing jumpers.
Hard pass.
Bradley Beal
What has become clear under the new CBA is that having a max player who isn’t a superstar or doesn’t play much is the fast track to destroying your team. Ask the 76ers. Ask the Suns, who are desperate for Jimmy Butler but need someone to take one of their onerous contracts to pull it off.
The Suns simply do not have enough assets to bribe the Pistons with to take on the worst contract in the NBA, especially for a player who is always hurt and doesn’t play a lick of defense.
Beal represents the exact type of player teams must avoid in the Tax Apron era and even if the Suns were to include all three first-round picks they just acquired, I would not take on Beal.
The good news is that Langdon seems to feel the same, but is playing his cards close to his chest. I do have a feeling he has something cooking, probably a lower-level deal or two, one to take a player who can help and one to garner some draft assets.
And if that’s all the Pistons do at the deadline, I’ll be fine with it, as I love what they are building and there is no need to mess with what is working for players who are big risks.