Disaster or home run? Grades for the Detroit Pistons' wild trade deadline

Dec 21, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA;  Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles defended by Simone Fontecchio
Dec 21, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles defended by Simone Fontecchio | Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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There is really only one word to describe the Detroit Pistons' trade deadline: Chaotic.

At one point, they had 19 players on their roster and it seemed like they were somehow involved in every move as the busiest team in the league on the trade deadline.

Tom Gores promised change was coming and he didn't lie, as the Pistons turned over more than half their roster in two days, shipping out veterans, starting with Monte Morris.

Two trades got things started and I liked both of them for the Pistons, but for this, I am just going to look at the whole picture.

Detroit Pistons roster: Who is in and who is out?

Just to recap, here are the players who left the Pistons over the last two days:

Killian Hayes
Joe Harris
Monte Morris
Bojan Bogdanovic
Alec Burks
Danilo Gallinari

Here are the players the Pistons brought in to replace them:

Simone Fontecchio
Quentin Grimes
Shake Milton
Troy Brown Jr.
Evan Fournier
Malachi Flynn

The roster still needs an influx of talent, but the Pistons got younger, more dynamic, better defensively and didn't give up any of their financial flexibility. In fact, they opened up max cap space for next offseason.

Second-round picks also came and went (who cares?) but this was the basis of what happened.

Depending on who you ask, this was either a disaster or a home run for the Detroit Pistons.


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