The Detroit Pistons are 5-39 as the NBA trade deadline approaches, so anything and everything should be on the table.
It's laughable to talk about "untouchables" on a team that has won just 22 games in the last season and a half.
Even the term "Core Four" seems silly, as we discovered after Troy Weaver started using it to describe Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, and Saben Lee, two of whom are no longer on the team.
Core Four 2.0 currently consists of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, but there are legitimate questions about whether their talents complement each other, as all of them are below-average 3-point shooters in a league where long-range shooting is paramount.
Of course, they are all very young, and in the cases of Cade and Ivey, will almost undoubtedly improve from 3-point range. They've both shown signs of it already but have been predictably inconsistent.
In the right deal, any of these guys are tradable, though the Pistons have all but ruled it out according to recent reports.
But let's assume that's just posturing and that Detroit would move one of them if it benefitted the overall roster construction. Which of the Core Four would be the guy to go? This is not an endorsement of trading any of them, but it's worth a discussion.
Detroit Pistons "Core Four" ranked from least to most tradable
#5: Cade Cunningham
Cade has his flaws. He turns the ball over too much. He's not a great defender yet. But we've seen flashes of what he can be, as he averaged 23.6 points, 7.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds over his last 25 games before getting injured while shooting over 47 percent from the field and 36 percent from long range.
And this is with a roster that has little spacing or secondary scoring around him. Get Cade a few more shooters and his mid-range and paint game will be even deadlier. Those are borderline All-Star numbers on a good team.
It would also be difficult to get equal trade value for a former #1 pick who is still on a rookie deal. There are concerns about his injury issues, but Cade is a player you can build around, now the Pistons just need to do it properly.
#4: Jalen Duren
We overthink things sometimes with Duren, who is 20 years old and already a double-double machine.
He has to get better on defense, and he has every tool necessary to do it, and I repeat, he's only 20 years old. Big men take longer to develop and Duren has already shown he's at least a guy who is going to be a force around the rim, vacuum up rebounds, run the floor and catch lobs.
What's more exciting is his ceiling as he improves on both ends. He's already showing a little hook shot in the lane and is a better passer than he gets credit for, averaging 2.5 assists per game, which is tied for 12th among centers.
He may never be able to shoot, and as I said, he must improve defensively, but his floor is a guy who gets you 15/12 every night and his ceiling is being a top-5 center in the NBA.
He's also a good fit with Cade Cunningham as a legit threat when he rolls to the rim, which clears space in the mid-range.
#2: Ausar Thompson
I'm sure I'll get some disagreement here, especially when it comes to fit, as Thompson is arguably the worst 3-point shooter in the NBA right now.
But Thompson is already a great defender on the verge of being elite and those aren't easy to come by in the NBA. Shooting is generally the skill that young players improve the most, so I do not doubt that Thompson can get closer to the league average as he gets more comfortable.
He's already a disruptive defender at four spots, and lately, we're seeing what type of weapon he can be on offense, as he has more space to get to the rim and has in recent games.
This is a league dominated by wings and skilled bigs, so the Pistons need to be hoarding as many of both as they can get their hands on.
Thompson takes the pressure off Cade Cunningham to defend the other team's best perimeter player and will fill the stat sheet without constantly needing the ball in his hands.
The Pistons are not a good team yet, but all good teams need a guy like Thompson. Just look at the impact OG Anunoby is having with the Knicks. Thompson is not near Anunoby as a shooter yet, but elite defenders make a difference and are harder to come by than shooters who do not defend.
#1: Jaden Ivey
I like Ivey and think he's going to be a very good player in this league, but he's the most tradable of the Core Four.
This isn't so much a slight on Ivey, more about the position he plays and his fit with the other three, but specifically Cade Cunningham.
Ivey is not a good defender, though he has improved marginally this season, which isn't ideal when Cade isn't great either. Cade is at least more versatile and can defend bigger players while Ivey is more limited in who he can guard.
Ivey is not a good 3-point shooter at 31 percent, and while he will likely improve, he's always going to be more of a slasher and guy who uses his elite speed to get to the rim. That can certainly work with Cade, and we've seen it work at times, but can it work with only one real 3-point threat on the floor?
This is the dilemma of Core Four 2.0, as it's hard to envision how it works unless at least one of them becomes an above-average 3-point shooter. That could be Cade, could be Ivey, could be both, could be neither.
A longer, 3-and-D type (is vintage Klay Thompson available?) is a better fit and would potentially put two good shooters around Cade instead of one.
The Detroit Pistons are unlikely to trade any of these players at the trade deadline and they shouldn't, as we haven't seen enough of them together and all of them still too young to fully evaluate.
But the Pistons can't be too stubborn if evidence continues to mount that they are not a great fit, as the worst thing they can do is overvalue their own guys and build around a shaky foundation.