All-in trade proposal radically changes the Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons don’t need to go this big 

If the Pistons could pull off trades for both Brandon Ingram and Jerami Grant it would be a coup for Detroit, as they’d have a starting five featuring players who are all at least 6-foot-7, have a ton of defensive versatility, playmaking and shooting around Cade Cunningham, which should be the goal. 

There are a couple of problems with the scenario as laid out. The first is the inclusion of Evan Fournier. Even a tanking team will be loath to pay Fournier $19 million next season, so the Trail Blazers would have to REALLY want Jaden Ivey, which they may not considering they already have talented young guards. However, Portland's roster is expensive, so getting off Grant's contract while getting back an upside young player might be their best-case scenario.

The second is the inclusion of Jonas Valanciunas. JV is a solid veteran center who is going to give you a double double nearly every night and can shoot the 3-ball a little. But he is terrible on defense, almost as bad as Duren, so I think the Pistons might be able to do better there.

I’d almost rather start Stewart at center and sign a quality backup or try to throw that money at a different free agent (Hartenstein) who is a better defender. It wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me, as Jonas is a solid player and a great teammate who would be an upgrade. 

Some fans would balk at the cost of the Pistons’ three best trade assets to get this done, but you have to give up something to get something, which is a truth fans need to recognize. 

The whole point of tanking is to get one, maybe two stars via the draft and then use the rest of the assets to trade for complementary players. Please find me the team that tanked and then won with all of the guys they drafted. 

The closest has been the OKC Thunder, who lucked into Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook and did make it to the NBA Finals. But OKC eventually traded them all and their current situation is the result of all of the assets they received. The Pistons don't look to have any future MVPs, and didn't have an All-time great fall into their laps like OKC (Seattle) did with Durant.

The Pistons don’t have a KD, Harden or Westbrook to trade and fill their coffers with draft assets, so they need to dip into their player pool to get more complementary guys and they should. 

Some Pistons fans are so afraid a player they trade is going to end up being a star that they are scared to do anything, which is the strategy that got them to where they are today. Making “all in” moves like this may be anxiety inducing to the risk averse, but it would set the Pistons up to succeed with Cade Cunningham, a path they are not currently on. 

Keep losing, and the Pistons will eventually lose Cade without ever knowing what he looks like with a real team around him. The risk of that is far larger than the risk of Jaden Ivey going off and becoming a superstar for the Trail Blazers.