2 Trades the Pistons and the NBA are waiting for

As usual, the NBA offseason comes in like a lion in July and goes out like a lamb in August. The Detroit Pistons made a flurry of moves around the draft and early free agency, but things have since come to a standstill around the league. 

This happens every offseason, as teams try to juggle their needs vs. the cost to address them, the last remaining free agents try to find new homes and desperation starts to kick in for teams that didn’t make an impact or players who still don’t have a job. 

This is usually the time when the league is waiting on a trade or two to get the dominos toppling. In the past, it has been guys like Kevin Durant or James Harden and this year is no exception, as there are two trades that the league is waiting on according to insider Marc Stein (subscription). 

The Detroit Pistons are not likely to trade for either of these players, but given they still have some cap space to spare, might get involved as a third team, or by taking on a troublesome contract in exchange for assets. 

Brandon Ingram 

Being that Trajan Langdon is Ingram’s former GM, we know the two are well acquainted. 

Some fans were clamoring for Detroit to trade for Ingram, but given his injury history and salary demands, he’s probably a star they should avoid.  

Langdon is very familiar with his game, as was the GM who initially didn’t offer him an extension, so it’s unlikely he’d try to trade for him now, but that doesn’t mean Detroit won’t be involved or that it won’t affect them. 

It’s going to be difficult for any of the teams that might want him to trade for Ingram straight up, and as one of the only teams with cap space left, the Pistons might be in a position to benefit if Ingram is moved. 

Lauri Markkanen 

Markkanen seems the least likely of these two to be traded, as Utah’s Danny Ainge has set a ridiculously high price for the forward that no team is going to meet. Ainge is acting like he’s sitting on a superstar instead of a very good player who gets hurt all the time and has never made the playoffs. 

The Jazz have invested a lot of time in Markkanen this offseason and were probably just testing the waters a bit by taking calls in trades. Golden State is the only team really attached to him at this point and they are unwilling to part with some of their young players to complete the deal. 

This is another one in which Detroit could get involved for compensation by taking on an onerous contract (Andrew Wiggins) for draft compensation, but as of right now, no deals seem imminent. 

The Pistons still have a roster spot and cap space, so will likely wait until these trades are completed or completely dead before filling out their roster, saving some dry powder to try and cash in on a big trade.