Another player the Detroit Pistons should avoid

The Detroit Pistons obviously need to shake up a roster that has lost 21 games in a row and counting.

Fans are desperate for any kind of change, any positive, literally anything to be excited about, so it makes sense that the Pistons get mentioned every time a new player hits the trade market.

The latest is John Collins, who Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (SUBSCRIPTION) thinks may soon be available due to frustrations the team has with his play:

Utah only traded for Collins this past offseason when Atlanta practically gave him away for Rudy Gay and a second-round pick just to get his contract off their books.

Now Utah is reportedly ready to do the same, and of course, the Detroit Pistons are already getting mentioned.

Much like this proposed trade for Zach LaVine, John Collins is a player the Pistons should stay away from.

The Detroit Pistons should not trade for John Collins

John Collins appears to be just what the Pistons need, as he's a 6-foot-9 power forward who is shooting 38 percent from long range. He's athletic, can block shots and is the right age as a 26-year-old just hitting his prime.

Which begs the question: Why did his last two teams want to trade him?

Utah got him for nothing, so it was worth a shot for a rebuilding team and they probably figured they could flip him for a first-round pick if he played well.

So the Jazz may want more than an expiring contract and a second-round pick. It would be a very Pistons-like move to give up assets for a player they could have had for free last offseason when Atlanta was giving him away to anyone who would take him.

Even if they didn't, the idea of Collins has always been better than the actual thing. He's not a good defender and has a reputation for not putting in the effort on that end. This is from Larsen:

"The 26-year-old has the lowest on-court/off-court splits of any rotation player on the team, and the team has been frustrated with his slow uptake on learning the Jazz's system on both ends of the floor. Collins has been a solid shooter and rebounder this season but hasn't contributed as much elsewhere."

This sounds like the exact type of player the Pistons should avoid.

Even if you believe in Collins' counting stats (I don't), he'd be a marginal upgrade over Isaiah Stewart (at best) and the Pistons would then have $40 million per season invested in two fringe NBA starters, neither of which are great shooters.

Collins is shooting 38 percent (one percent better than Stewart) on the exact same number of attempts as Beef Stew, so he's hardly the floor spreader the Pistons need. His eFG% of .544 is barely higher than Stewart's .539, so Collins isn't an elite finisher, nor a high-volume 3-point shooter.

Yes, there is a possibility that Collins might figure it out in Detroit and that he'd help them.

But aren't we tired of this yet? I'm sick of taking chances on players other teams are giving away in the hopes that the great culture of the Detroit Pistons is going to be the thing that turns them around.

Investing $40 million per season in Stewart and Collins at power forward would be a disaster. 

Just because a player is available doesn't make him a good idea and you have to be wary of a guy other teams keep trying to give away.