NBA insider asks embarrassing question about the Detroit Pistons

This won't be a season the Detroit Pistons remember fondly.

They are likely to have the worst record in the NBA for the second season in a row after spending the summer convincing fans this time would be different (insert Lucy ripping the ball away from Charlie Brown gif).

It was different, but somehow worse, as the Pistons endured a 28-game losing streak that broke the NBA record for futility in a single season.

They went from being clowned on to pitied, to clowned on again as fans wondered what GM Troy Weaver was going to do to fix this mess, especially after owner Tom Gores said "Change is coming." So far that change has been minimal in the form of one trade that was the opposite of a blockbuster. But that can't be all, right?

Would the Pistons make a big splash at the trade deadline? Arrows pointed towards Zach LaVine, an oft-injured star who Detroit might be able to get at a discount, bypassing free agency where they've often had a big bag of money with nothing to spend it on.

That rumor died after the Bulls announced LaVine would have season-ending surgery, which ended the Pistons' pursuit, and led many fans, and one NBA insider, to ask the same question in jest....or is it?

Insider Marc Stein asks question about the Detroit Pistons and Zach LaVine

In a recent article in his Substack, insider Marc Stein (Subscription) broke down the latest NBA trade rumors, including how Zach LaVine's announcement affected the overall market.

But first, he asked a question that I saw asked on Twitter (X) about 10,000 times by sarcastic Pistons fans:

"Question of the Week: Did Zach LaVine opt for season-ending foot surgery in Chicago to ensure that the 6-43 Pistons would back away completely from the idea of trading for him?"

The sad thing is I think he's only being about half facetious here, as many fans were wondering whether LaVine went under the knife instead of joining the worst team in the league.

There is no evidence to support this of course, and I do think he was joking, but the fact that he might not be says pretty much everything you need to know about the current state of the Detroit Pistons.

In the end, both sides probably dodged a bullet here, as the Pistons didn't have to take a flyer on an expensive, injury-prone guard who can't defend and has never won anything, and LaVine can do this all again next season and hope he ends up on the Lakers or wherever it is he really wants to be.