With almost all of their key players under the age of 24, the Detroit Pistons have a bright future.
Figuring out how to accommodate and complement the young core will be Trajan Langdon’s primary duty over the next few seasons and he needs to do it without losing the financial flexibility and quality depth that are so crucial in the tax apron era.
I recently wrote about the Pistons’ biggest long-term need and some ways to fill it. They will need a power forward, either as an upgrade or complement to Tobias Harris, who is only under contract for one more season.
Simone Fontecchio isn’t really a four, and his deal also runs for just one more year, so the Pistons realistically need a starting power forward and a backup at some point in the near future.
But fixing one problem often creates another when it comes to roster building, so the Pistons can’t make the wrong trade where they give up multiple productive players just to land a star name.
That’s what happens in a recent trade proposal from Bleacher Report that completely neglects the reality of the present and the culture the Pistons are trying to build.
Detroit Pistons rumors: Trading for Lauri Markkanen
Lauri Markkanen is a player Pistons fans have been fantasizing about for years, as a seven-foot power forward who can block shots and shoot 3-pointers is pretty much the ideal to put around Cade Cunningham.
Here is the trade they suggested:
This trade proposal reeks of someone who hasn’t paid much attention to these two teams.
There are so many things to talk about here. First off, the Pistons are a playoff team and the Jazz one game away from being the worst team in the NBA. The Pistons would be changing out a big part of their winning roster for two guys who have never won squat.
Secondly, the Pistons would then be stuck trying to fill two additional roster spots, with no money to do it, as Markkanen and Sexton are making a combined $66 million next season. Big money for players, who let’s remember, have never won squat.
Thirdly, this would destroy the Pistons’ culture, as they are building around defense and would be giving up an All-Defensive level player in Isaiah Stewart, as well as Ron Holland II, a 19-year-old playing impactful rotation minutes on a playoff team.
There is no way I’d give up two high-upside young players in Ivey and Holland (not to mention Stewart and Harris) for Lauri Markkanen and a guy on an expiring deal, neither of whom are very good defenders. This is a culture killer if ever there was one.
And are we even sure Lauri Markkanen is that good? He’s averaging about the same number of points as Jaden Ivey, about five more than Tobias Harris and doing it on rubbish shooting splits.
Markkanen has also missed 21 games already this season, something which is pretty much his norm, as he’s only played 60 or more games three times in his entire career.
The Jazz clearly overplayed their hand with Markkanen, who is still owed between $46-53 million over the next four seasons after this one and already looks like he might be in decline.
There is no way the Pistons are trading cost-controlled players who are a huge part of their core and identity for a guy who is always hurt and is owed a ton of money. That contract could look awful by the end of it, the exact type the Pistons need to avoid.
I’m not trying to diss Markkanen, as he’s a very good player, and on paper, just what the Pistons need, but not at this cost. Danny Ainge may have waited a season too long to trade him, as it’s hard to imagine any team giving up this type of package for Markkanen now.