The biggest hole in the Detroit Pistons' roster is the backup power forward spot. They don’t have anyone who truly fits that position and even their starter at the spot, Tobias Harris, is a 33-year-old on an expiring contract. Sooner or later, the Detroit Pistons will need to secure their power forward of the future and one brilliant trade proposal may have found the perfect player in Michael Porter Jr.
Detroit Pistons' trade rumors: Michael Porter Jr. is a risky fit
Michael Porter Jr. was traded to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason and, while the team’s intentions with him have not been confirmed yet, it is hard to imagine they won’t be looking to trade him at some point. The 27-year-old forward does not fit into the timeline of a team that just drafted five rookies in the first round, and he still has two years making at least $38 million per year left on his contract. The Nets would prefer to have an expiring contract instead, especially if they can also add some young talent as a result.
Cue the trade offer, originally proposed by Sports Illustrated’s Hawks writers: the Pistons trade Tobias Harris, Marcus Sasser, Bobi Klintman and their 2027 first-round pick (with protections) for Porter Jr. They made it a three-team trade to include the Hawks, but we’ll just focus on the exchange between the Pistons and Nets here. Whether or not Bobi also needs to be added can be debated, but the general framework of Harris, Sasser and a first for Porter Jr seems fair for both sides.
This offer is enticing to the Nets because Harris is an expiring contract and Sasser has real potential as a lead scorer. His per-minute numbers have been very good in both years of his career, but he hasn’t been able to secure minutes consistently amidst the Pistons’ guard rotation. As a natural scorer rather than playmaker, his small stature has been a negative on the Pistons but he would fit perfectly on the Nets, who just drafted a plethora of jumbo playmakers.
For the Pistons, Porter Jr could be the power forward of the near future and fits their team perfectly. He’s a daring shooter whose willingness to pull the trigger draws defenses’ attention even more than his 40 percent shooting on 6-7 threes per game normally would. This would fit perfectly next to non-shooters Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren in the Pistons’ starting lineup. Social media clowns Porter Jr for always looking to shoot when he gets the ball rather than passing, but Malik Beasley found great success with a similar playstyle last season.
Porter’s defense was a question mark earlier in his career but he’s held up enough on that end to have deep playoff runs and even win a championship with the Nuggets, who certainly have a worse defensive infrastructure than the Pistons. If he can be good enough on defense with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, he can definitely be good enough on the Pistons.