The Detroit Pistons obviously need an injection of talent, preferably of the "proven" variety.
If you could build the perfect player for this current Pistons roster, it would probably be a power forward who could defend and stretch the floor. While Isaiah Stewart has shot better from 3-point range, he's hardly a big offensive threat or a guy who is going to draw intense interest from defenses.
So even if Beef Stew hits 38.9 percent of his 3-point shots (as he is now), he doesn't shoot enough of them for it to matter and would be much better suited to doing that damage as a small-ball five off of the bench.
If you look around the league, there aren't many possible trade partners with players who fit the description of what the Pistons need. There is one that immediately springs to mind, but does Detroit have any chance of getting him?
Could the Detroit Pistons trade for Lauri Markkanen?
The Utah Jazz are bad and have a guy in Lauri Markkanen who would be the perfect fit on the Detroit Pistons. He's a big four who can shoot, rebound and protect the rim a little as a seven-footer.
He does his best work away from the hoop, so wouldn't cause the spacing issues we're seeing now and would give Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey a legit threat in the pick-and-roll. He would also make p-n-r with Jalen Duren more effective, as the other team's bigs wouldn't be able to cheat into the lane as they do now.
The problem is twofold: Do the Jazz have any interest in trading him? This is an All-Star who has really come into his own and is on a team-friendly contract. It is only partially guaranteed after this season, so if Utah doesn't have plans to keep him, they might field trade offers.
That brings us to the second problem: Do the Pistons even have the assets to get him? The answer is probably not, as the best they can offer is Jaden Ivey, a big expiring contract and a first-round pick. Considering the Jazz already have Collin Sexton under contract, they may have no interest in Ivey, who is probably the Pistons' best trade chip.
It's hard to see Ivey, Burks and a 1st getting it done (could throw in Bogdanovic instead but would have to take back another player to match salaries) and the Jazz don't really have a terrible salary they are desperate to shed.
If the Pistons had several extra first-round picks to throw around, they could make this deal more attractive, and who knows, maybe they will by next offseason. So for right now, the perfect trade target exists but may not be available and the Pistons may not have what it takes to get him anyway.