Trade #3: The big Bojan Bogdanovic trade
As I said, getting a first-rounder for Bojan Bogdanovic would be great, but there are limited teams out there with the need and pick to give up. Would the Pistons take a couple of players instead?
Why the Pistons would do it
The Pistons get a better defender in Prince, who is on an expiring deal. They get a project player who was a first-round pick last year and take a flyer on Russell as a bench scorer.
This would balance the Pistons' roster somewhat, and allow them to trim some of the fat from their roster, as they would have to clear two spots.
A former first-round pick and a rotation point guard may be the best the Pistons can hope to get for Bogdanovic.
Why the Lakers would do it
Gives LA another forward they can go to war with and who can take some of the offensive pressure off LeBron and AD. Bogdanovic also has a team-friendly contract that the Lakers can buy out at the end of the season and pick up around $18 million in cap space next offseason.
Lakers fans would like it just to get Prince out of the starting five and the Pistons would get a chance to develop a wing defender in JHS, have an actual power forward in their rotation and take a flyer on Russell.
None of these trades are going to save the Pistons or instantly turn the Lakers into a title favorite, but they would help both teams in various ways.