Wild trade proposal to shake up the Pistons, Bulls and Warriors

Oct 28, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA;  Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) dribbles the ball as
Oct 28, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) dribbles the ball as / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next

Why the Pistons absolutely should not consider trading for Draymond Green

Let's just do bullet points for these:
-He's suspended indefinitely right now.
-His actions have been somewhat unhinged this season and would only get worse on the worst team in the league where he is the veteran leader.
-He's not as good as he used to be and is 33 years old.
-He has three more years left on his contract after this one.
-He would be a disaster as a mentor for the young players.

It's easy to come up with reasons not to trade for Draymond Green, but it's also pretty easy to see how it might work.

Why the Pistons should absolutely trade for Draymond Green

I'll just refute each point above:
-He won't be suspended forever and who cares?

-His actions would have barely registered as fouls in the Bad Boys' era. All of this talk of Draymond getting "counseling" is absurd. He's a good guy off the court, and just let his emotions get away from him a few times. Did Rick Mahorn need therapy? Dennis Rodman? Bill Laimbeer? Because he did worse than Draymond nearly every game of his career in Detroit. The NBA has wife beaters and accused statutory rapists playing right now, but Draymond is evil because he took a swipe at a 7-foot 260 lb. NBA player? Got it. This could be a case where being the veteran leader would help both him and the team.

-He's still better than any of the Pistons' bigs. Draymond's defense has declined, but he's having a good offensive season, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor overall and 43 percent from long range on 2.8 attempts per game. He's still going to get you over five assists and rebounds a game. He can act as a secondary creator and perhaps teach these young Pistons' bigs how to defend and communicate.

-The contract isn't that bad. He's owed $24, 25 and 27 million over the next three seasons. The Pistons have plenty of cap flexibility as we know and would be giving up next to nothing to get him.

-Would returning to his hometown to play in front of friendly fans help turn Draymond's attitude around? He knows he can't keep doing this crap and this could finally be the suspension that drives it home. He could have a rebirth in Detroit and take on the challenge of helping to change the culture of his hometown team.

I don't know if the Pistons are this desperate, but they should be, and absolutely all options should be on the table. Draymond Green is a controversial and puzzling figure but in some ways, he's exactly what Detroit needs, as he's also a winner, competitor and champion.

Would the antics be worth it? That was an easy yes at one point, but now I am not so sure. It would at least give Detroit fans something to cheer about and we've embraced controversial players in the past, so could this actually work? Or would it be an unmitigated disaster? There probably isn't an in-between when it comes to Draymond Green.

manual