NBA trade season is in full swing and the Detroit Pistons are a team that will likely be involved at some point.
Yesterday, the Phoenix Suns traded their 2031 pick for three picks from the Jazz, with Utah clearly hoping that pick will pay off down the road if Phoenix is terrible by then, which is a possibility given the age of their roster.
The deal gives Phoenix more ammo to use in a trade for a star, though all three picks are likely to fall at the back end of the first round, as they will all be the least favorable picks from Cleveland and Minnesota in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The 2025 pick would currently be 30th, so we are not talking about great assets here, but they are first-round picks and now they have more than one of them to trade.
This trade could end up helping the Detroit Pistons in a number of ways.
Utah Jazz: Sellers at the deadline?
With the Jazz making a move for the long-term future, you have to wonder if they’ll look to deal players for more picks at the deadline.
Both Collin Sexton and John Collins could help the Pistons, and Utah has now made it clear they are willing to take picks that won’t convey in the near future, which is good news for Pistons, since they may not have any.
It’s not clear if Utah is interested in blowing up their roster, which is currently last in the Western Conference, but this trade could be a first step.
The Suns have picks for a Jimmy Butler trade
The Suns now have extra ammo to grease a potential trade for Jimmy Butler, and given they are the only team with cap space, the Pistons could be involved as a third or fourth team.
It may take eating a bad salary but the Pistons are now in a much better position to get at least one, maybe two first-round picks if teams want to use their cap space to make a deal.
Trajan Langdon can play hard ball here and the Suns now have more to offer.
A salary dump from the Phoenix Suns?
The idea of the Pistons taking on Bradley Beal has been discussed and for me that’s a hard pass, and I think Langdon will agree, as availability and durability are traits he has targeted so far and Beal has a long injury history and the worst contract in the NBA.
Another name to consider would be Jusuf Nurkic, who has fallen out of the Suns’ rotation and still has another year after this one left on his deal at $19.3 million.
Would the Pistons consider eating this deal for a first-round pick? Nurkic would at least give them a 7-footer who has shown signs he can shoot a little, hitting 32 percent of his 3-point attempts this season on 2.4 attempts per game.
Nurkic hasn’t played since January 7th but was averaging just over eight points and nine rebounds before losing his spot in the rotation.
If the Suns need to move his money to make a deal for Butler, the Pistons can hold out for as much as possible and may be able to get a nice reward for taking him on.
The best part is that the Pistons have all of the leverage, as they don’t have to make any moves to help other teams unless they are well compensated.