Grade the trade: Pistons and Lakers both win in proposed deal

Grade the trade: Bojan Bogdanovic to the Lakers

The Pistons have paid lip service to "being competitive" and said that they have no plans to trade Bogdanovic. On a well-run team, I would think this was just posturing, as it's obvious that the worst team in the league doesn't need a guy like Bogdanovic, at least not right now.

But with the Pistons you never know, at this point, I wouldn't rule out Troy Weaver extending Bogdanovic into a max deal.

But if he does finally give in, this deal represents about as much as the Pistons could hope to get for a 34-year-old who doesn't defend.

D'Angelo Russell can slide into the starting five in place of or with Cade Cunningham or come off the bench and be the primary scoring option. Russell has his flaws, namely that he doesn't defend, but he's at least a proven player with an NBA skill.

He does have only a player option for next season, so if he wants to leave, the Pistons pick up another $18 million in cap space.

They also get a first-round pick in a year when LeBron James may have finally retired and the Lakers could be rebuilding themselves.

Jalen Hood-Schifino was the 17th pick in last year's draft, so the Pistons are also getting a project wing who can defend and make plays. The Lakers were high on him early in the season and the Pistons desperately need depth on the wing.

He's on a minimum deal and would basically replace Isaiah Livers next season and into the future.

Given where the Pistons are right now, it's time to pivot to the future, especially if Cade Cunningham is out, which means trading Bojan Bogdanovic, and they're unlikely to find a better deal than this.

Grade: B