12 Pistons who are expendable 3 they can't afford to trade

3 Pistons they can't afford to trade

Cade Cunningham

I've seen plenty of fans turn on Cunningham of late even though he's been stacking numbers and shooting the ball well over the last 10 games, when he has averaged 21.0 points, 7.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds, shot the ball better from long range and cut down his turnovers to 3.4 per game.

We may have been premature calling Cade the next Luka, but he's been very good at times and will benefit when the Pistons have some professional veteran basketball players around him. Sorry, but if you want to trade Cade now while his value is low and we've never even seen him play on a coherent roster, you're nuts. Put some shooters around him and let's see what happens, as I have a feeling Cade would be putting up similar numbers to Tyrese Haliburton if the two changed teams.

Jalen Duren

Duren has looked like the best player on the court for stretches, including the last game against the Cavaliers, when he was dominant early on. He has the best chemistry with Cade, is 20 years old and already better than expected. The Pistons aren't moving Duren unless there is a star coming back and maybe not even then.

Ausar Thompson

Thompson is exactly what the Pistons have needed since the days of Tayshaun Prince, a dominant defensive wing who can guard anyone, rebound, cut to the rim and get buckets in transition. His shooting needs big-time work, but that's ok, as he does so many other things well it hasn't really mattered. Thompson is special even if you just go by the eye test, so again, he's untouchable unless a superstar trade is in the works.