The NBA trade deadline will be here before we know it and still no one has any clue what the Detroit Pistons are going to do.
With they try to make a splash? Will they sell off a few parts for assets? Will they make moves around the fringe of the rotation? Will they do nothing at all?
All of these options are in play.
Recently, James Edwards III of The Athletic (Subscription) reported what he's heard around the Detroit Pistons, some of which sounded like good calls and some of which sounded like bad.
Before we get into what was said, a quick shoutout to James and the rest of the Pistons' beat writers. Despite what some lunatics on social media think, they have done a fantastic job navigating the daily grind of a terrible team, have asked tough questions, made criticisms and been fair, which is what you want. Cheers!
The Detroit Pistons aren't trading any of the Core Four: Good call
The term "core four" has become a bit of an inside joke since Troy Weaver once compared his original "core four" (Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee) to the Yankees dynasty of the 90's-2000's.
Core four 2.0 consists of four completely different players, Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren. This big difference is that these are much more talented players, ones the Pistons actually can build around.
A 5-39 team doesn't have many untouchables, but it's hard to envision a trade where the Pistons move one of them and get back equal value. If the right deal came along, sure, but for now Detroit should proceed as if these four are part of the future.
Trading Monte Morris: Bad call
The Pistons are still debating on whether to trade Morris at the deadline, as they want to see how he looks with the rest of the roster. Obviously, if some team comes along and offers them a first-round pick for Morris, the Pistons would have to consider it, but that's not going to happen.
If the Pistons trade Morris, they'll be right back where they were last offseason, looking for a veteran guard to flank their young backcourt. Morris is one of the better options in free agency to fill that role, he's from Michigan and wants to play in Detroit.
Unless he is absolutely terrible (in which case they won't be able to move him anyway) the Pistons should not only keep Morris but consider re-signing him to a team-friendly deal.
To be fair, I don't think the Detroit Pistons will trade Morris and do value his services, so this is a response to a hypothetical, not anything they've said directly.
Not trading for Dejounte Murray: Good call
According to Edwards, Atlanta was looking for one of Ivey or Thompson plus additional assets for Murray and the Pistons turned them down.
Murray is a very good player, a two-way guard who can fill a stat sheet, but the Pistons already have plenty of talent at guard, they need wings, forwards and better role players, not star guards.
Giving up their only real wing player (Thompson) wouldn't help this deficiency and there is a solid chance that Ivey will eventually be as good (or at least close) to Murray and he is much cheaper.
Ivey also has ties to Detroit and wants to be here. Murray may not share those sentiments, so this goes back to the first call: The Pistons can't move any of the Core Four unless they are getting back a proven wing/forward.
Trading Alec Burks for 2nd-round picks: Bad call
This is a tough one, as the Pistons are in a dilemma when it comes to their two most valuable veterans. Bogdanovic and Burks are likely worth more than the Pistons are going to get for them on the trade market, but Bogdanovic is nearly 35 and Burks will be a free agent after this season, so not trading them does carry risk.
If the Pistons made the right complementary moves around them, I'd love to bring both back as bench scorers, but if Bogdanovic is going to be heavily relied upon, and Burks is going to be their best bench player, they may as well trade them now, as that formula has not worked for two seasons.
If the Pistons can get a first-round pick for Burks, they almost have to take it given his contract status, but how are multiple second-round picks (even "good" ones) going to help this team? Troy Weaver has yet to find any talent in the second round and the picks aren't that valuable in potential trades. They could help the Pistons move up in the draft, I suppose, but is another late first-round pick going to help move this team forward?
Of course, if the Pistons sense Burks has no interest in coming back, then they may as well move him to the highest bidder and get something before he walks for nothing.
Not trading for Zach LaVine: Great call
Edwards reports that the Bulls wanted Bogey AND one of the Pistons' core four in exchange for LaVine, in which case that is the hardest of hard passes for Detroit.
Getting LaVine for nothing would still be risky, as he is hurt and still has a ton of money owed to him in the next three seasons after this one. It has Blake Griffin 2.0 potential written all over it.
Even if the Pistons could land LaVine without giving up significant assets, it may not be worth it, though you could at least make an argument for it, as he is an elite scorer when healthy, though he doesn't do much else.
Only trading Bogdanovic for a first-round pick and a good player: Good call
I am not against trading Bogdanovic if the right deal comes along, something along the lines of a first-round pick and a decent wing or forward, but trading him for second-round picks and expiring contracts is not worth it.
As we saw last night, Bogdanovic can still be a valuable part of a team. The chances of landing a player as good as him in the second round of the draft, or being able to use those assets to land a better player are very slim indeed.
As I wrote earlier, the Pistons can't move Bogdanovic unless they have a plan to use the assets they attain to upgrade. If they can do that, great! I'd love a quality two-way wing, and if trading Bogey helps that happen, do it, but if the assets aren't there or there is no plan (there isn't), then trading him makes little sense.
He'll have just as much value in the offseason or next trade deadline as he does now and the Pistons can't afford to give up their best veteran unless something better is coming back in return.