The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards made what could be one of the most inconsequential trades in the history of the NBA yesterday.
The Pistons sent Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers along with two second-round picks, to the Wizards for the corpses of Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala.
The Pistons and Wizards are finalizing a deal to trade Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers, and two second-round picks for forwards Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 14, 2024
This was like re-shuffling the deckchairs on two sinking ships, as these are the two worst teams in the Eastern Conference and these players aren't going to change that.
If we get down to it, the Pistons essentially paid two second-round picks to get rid of Marvin Bagley III, as he is the only player involved who has a contract past this season.
But I'm going to break the trade into three parts and give each a grade even though it was ultimately meaningless in the landscape of an NBA that has left these two teams behind.
Grading Detroit Pistons trade with Washington Wizards: The Players
Danilo Gallinari must have been excited when he learned he was being traded from one of the worst teams in the league up until he found out that he was headed to the Pistons, the only team in the East worse than the Wizards.
But he likely won't be there long, as he is a buyout candidate, so for those thinking the Pistons got a stretch four, you can probably think again. Even if Gallinari does play for Detroit, he has been horrible this season, shooting a career-low 31 percent from 3-point range.
Muscala has been even worse, so even though these two players are better fits on paper, they are both washed and likely to be bought out, so it doesn't matter.
The only bonus to the Pistons, player-wise is that they get rid of Isaiah Livers, who was arguably their worst player this season, as well as Marvin Bagley III, who wasn't even in the rotation anyway and can't defend or shoot outside of five feet.
There's nothing to be excited about here, but at least the Pistons got players who are theoretically better fits even if neither of them ever plays in Detroit.