Should the Detroit Pistons re-sign Alec Burks?

Alec Burks dropped 34 points in the Detroit Pistons' 4th win of the season with red-hot shooting from long range.

When he's hot, Burks is as good a 3-point shooter as you will find in the NBA, which will likely make him a trade target for contending teams at this year's trade deadline.

The Pistons are certainly not contenders, so they may cash in Burks' expiring contract in a trade. But given the landscape of free agency, the Pistons may consider re-upping with Burks.

The case against Alec Burks on the Detroit Pistons

Ideally, Alec Burks would be the 8th or 9th guy on a good team, as he is a quality shooter who doesn't do much else. He's a bad defender and doesn't make plays, so he'd be great on a team with the talent to negate those flaws.

The Pistons aren't currently that team, so it makes little sense to keep a guy like Burks, who could leave for nothing at the end of the season.

But there are also reasons the Detroit Pistons should consider keeping him around.

Alec Burks is worth more than the trade will yield for the Detroit Pistons

It's not like Burks is going to net the Pistons a big haul, so the first reason they should consider keeping him is that he is worth more than a second-round pick or two.

For the last three seasons, we've complained about how the Pistons don't have enough veterans who can shoot. Burks is a veteran who can shoot, so giving him away just sets the team back. How is a second-round pick going to help this team? They've yet to even find one in the Troy Weaver era who is a functional NBA rotation player, so the chances of that happening in a weak draft are very low.

Also, when the Pistons go shopping for free agents this summer, what will they be looking for? They need two-way wings and a power forward more than anything, but after that, they'll be looking for low-cost veterans who can spread the floor, which pretty much describes Burks.

There aren't a ton of options in free agency and the Pistons are at least familiar with what Burks can do.

This really comes down to the roster around him, as it's not Alec Burks' fault that he's currently the Pistons' best bench player. If they can build up the roster so that Burks is playing a lesser role and minimizing his flaws, he'd be valuable to this team.

But if the Pistons are going to count on Burks to carry a heavy scoring load and play big minutes, they may as well trade him, as he is not cut out for that role and needs to be the veteran complementing the young players, not leading the team in scoring.