One of the biggest failures of Troy Weaver’s stint as GM of the Detroit Pistons has been his inability to stockpile draft assets.
In fact, the Detroit Pistons still owe the New York Knicks a first-round pick, though the protections on it may be enough to keep it from ever conveying the way things are going for Detroit.
That’s not something Weaver probably thought about when he was making the trade to nab Isaiah Stewart in the first round, as he likely thought the Pistons would be competitive by now and that the pick would have conveyed.
But that hasn’t happened, so the Pistons are stuck in limbo with their draft assets, as they can’t trade their 2024 pick until draft day and can only add one additional pick, something that has hampered them in possible trades.
This is despite Weaver taking on salary dumps for players who offered nothing to the Pistons, a strategy he could go back to this summer.
The Detroit Pistons: Please dump your trash here
Usually when teams take on salary dumps to help another team clear payroll, they are rewarded with assets that make it worth their while, but not the Pistons.
They took on DeAndre Jordan’s deal, helping the Nets in exchange for a bunch of second-round picks. Whoopee.
Last offseason, Weaver worked his magic again, taking on the corpse of Joe Harris and his $20 million in salary, again for two second-round picks. This one was particularly bad, as the Nets were desperate to shed payroll to be able to sign Cameron Johnson, a free agent who the Pistons had also expressed interest in. Weaver did the Nets a big favor, hurt his own team in the process and only got two lousy second-round picks for his troubles.
With over $60 million in cap space this summer and little to spend it on, the Pistons are once again primed to take on someone else’s salary dump, which is what happens in one proposed trade.
Detroit Pistons trade for Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks
Would Troy Weaver dare to go the salary dump route again? If he is still the GM after the new president of basketball operations is hired, he will be under pressure to put a winner around Cade Cunningham, so this seems like a move that would only be made as part of a larger scheme.
A desperate GM is a dangerous one, but Weaver may not see the options in free agency as much better than this trade proposed by Bleacher Report:
In this trade, the Pistons essentially take on Tim Hardaway Jr’s final year in exchange for a future second-round pick, finally putting all of those second rounders to good use!
The Mavericks will be desperate to cut payroll and Hardaway Jr. hasn’t been a big part of their playoff rotation, essentially losing his spot to Derrick Jones Jr, who is a much better defender and a guy the Pistons should explore as a free agent.
Hardaway Jr. has only played in two of the Mav’s four playoff games so far for a total of 22 minutes and six points.
While he is not a player who is going to move the needle on his own, he is a solid shooter who doesn’t miss a lot of games, something the Pistons could use, but is this the type of deal they should be looking for?
Grading proposed trade between Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks
It’s hard to give this a grade on its own, as we’d have to know what else the Pistons had planned, but if another salary dump is the centerpiece of their offseason, it’s safe to say fans will not be happy.
Especially considering the Pistons would be paying to take on this contract instead of collecting assets, essentially taking on another team’s unwanted player and paying to do it. The good news is that THJ only has one year left on his deal, so it wouldn’t cost Detroit any long-term flexibility.
This is not the big splash the Pistons need and it’s questionable whether they should be taking on any players who can’t get off the bench in the playoffs, which is my issue (among others) with Buddy Hield. The Pistons are far from a playoff team, but shouldn’t they set their sights a little higher?
I’d rather the Pistons pursue Derrick Jones Jr an athletic two-way wing who is not as good a shooter as THJ but is younger, more athletic and a far better defender.
Taking on Hardaway Jr for free wouldn’t be the worst move, but on its own, it is not exciting and won’t do much for the Pistons next season. If it were part of a flurry of moves that forced THJ to the bench as a 7th or 8th guy, then fine, but if you’re telling me he’s going to be a starter next season, there are better ways to spend $16 million.