The Detroit Pistons trade the 5th and 53rd picks along with Marcus Sasser to the Memphis Grizzlies for the 9th pick and GG Jackson
If the Pistons are going to trade back, they need to hold the other team’s feet to the fire and make sure the return is worth it.
That could be with a win-now player like Zach LaVine or a prospect to put into their pipeline of young talent.
In this trade, the Pistons take on 19-year-old GG Jackson and the 9th pick in exchange for Sasser, the 5th and 53rd picks.
Jackson exploded on the scene last season as the youngest player in the NBA, getting unexpected run after the Grizzlies were decimated with injuries.
He had some huge games for a bad team, including a 35-point outburst against the Warriors and 44 points against the Nuggets.
The question is whether the Grizzlies would even consider moving him for the chance to draft Clingan and the answer is probably no.
But this is the price I’m asking them to pay if I’m the Pistons, who have all of the leverage here.
The Grizzlies get their center of the future, a perfect fit with Jaren Jackson Jr., who prefers to play power forward. GG Jackson and the Grizzlies aren’t on the same timeline and Clingan can help them win now.
They’d be sacrificing future talent for the present, while still getting a high-upside player in Clingan. They’d also get some guard depth with Marcus Sasser, an older prospect who is ready to fill a role right now behind Ja Morant.
But what about the Pistons? Would this deal be too much to give up?