The Detroit Pistons are going to have plenty of options at the trade deadline.
As the only team in the league with cap space, the Pistons may control the outcome and be able to fill their pockets by helping to facilitate an otherwise impossible trade.
Trajan Langdon has made it clear that’s his goal, so fans should probably expect a salary dump rather than a star coming to the Motor City in February.
One recent trade suggested by our old friend James Edwards III (subscription) could net the Pistons a draft asset without disrupting their chances at the play-in too much.
Pistons trade with Knicks
Edwards threw Isaiah Stewart’s name out there as a good fit for the Knicks that they could possibly get with Mitchell Robinson and the expiring contract of Precious Achiuwa.
Given that the injured Mitchell still has another year on his deal, there would presumably be some kind of draft capital coming back to the Pistons to take on that additional season.
The question that would need to be answered is what type of draft compensation are we talking? It’s difficult to see a first-round pick being the cost in the scenario, so we are talking multiple 2nds at best, which doesn’t move me much.
But assuming the Pistons could get a draft asset or two that is to their liking, there are still pros and cons to moving Isaiah Stewart for Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa.
Pros
The Pistons would pick up around $4 million in cap space for next season after Achiuwa’s expiring contract is off the books.
They’d also have an extra pick or two to use in a trade, and while it might not seem like much, those two things could be the difference in the Pistons getting a star next offseason.
The extra cap space could be the difference between bringing back Malik Beasley or not, and after going 3-0 recently in Stewart's absence, it’s fair to ask which player is more important to the Pistons’ future.
Robinson is set to come back in late January, so this would be buying blind for Detroit, but we know he can play when healthy, providing rim protection and rebounding.
With two other centers already on the roster, the Pistons wouldn’t need Robinson to play big minutes, which increases the chances he stays healthy, if he ever gets healthy in the first place.
Precious Achiuwa can play both the four and five, giving the Pistons more depth and he’s really not much worse than Isaiah Stewart while providing many of the same things.
He’s not as good a rim protector, but Achiuwa is decent in space, grabs rebounds and provides toughness. Player-wise, the Pistons would arguably be ahead if both of those guys were healthy and in better position to make a run at the play-in while picking up future cap space and draft picks.
Cons
Mitchell Robinson is always hurt and has chronic foot problems that are never a good sign for a 7-footer.
His contract could very well end as a sunk cost, and he’s due $12 million next season, an amount that would be sizable for a guy who isn’t playing. We’ve been down this road before with Troy Weaver, who traded for and signed oft-injured players that turned into sunk costs in street clothes on the bench.
Also, why are we always helping the Knicks? Pardon my language, but screw the Knicks! We’ve taken salary dumps off them in the form of Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks. We gifted them Bogdanovic and Burks last season while taking on a bunch of garbage deals that turned into nothing.
I’m sick of helping the Knicks.
Beef Stew is also a big part of the budding chemistry this young Pistons team has and it would be a cynical move to trade him for a sunk cost, an expiring deal and a 2nd-round pick or two.
There’s a reason the Knicks want him.
I can see both sides of this debate, but to me, there would have to be more substantial draft compensation for the Pistons to disrupt their chemistry and take on a guy who is always hurt.