It’s far too early to know what the Detroit Pistons will do at the trade deadline, but there are teams they’ll be monitoring.
Trajan Langdon has been patient thus far, but may find the trade deadline temptation too great, especially with a short window before his roster gets expensive.
There are at least seven teams that have a player or players the Pistons could target, so it’s worth keeping an eye on their box scores.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Murphy III
TMIII had a rough start to the season with only 11 points and four rebounds in the Pelicans’ loss. I do like TMIII, but this kind of stat line is why he’s not my favorite target, as he often does little else if his shot isn’t falling.
Obviously, the one game super tiny sample size disclaimer applies in all cases here, as I am sure Murphy will have some monster games for New Orleans, but I do question if he’s a big enough upgrade over Duncan Robinson to make it worth the cost.
Chicago Bulls: Norman Powell
I consider Powell to be at the low-end of what the Pistons might attempt, and they may have no interest, as they probably could have signed him in free agency had they wanted to.
The Bulls are going to stink, so I don’t recommend anyone actually watching them, but I’ll have an eye on Powell, who scored 15 points in the opener.
Brooklyn Nets: Michael Porter Jr.
MPJ will undoubtedly be one of the top names on the trade market at the deadline, as he’s on an expiring deal and has been great. He put up 26 points and seven boards in the first game, and given that the Nets didn’t extend him, it’s hard to see him lasting the season in Brooklyn.
Milwaukee Bucks: Tyler Herro
Herro is another guy on an expiring deal who will be all over the rumor mill and likely connected to the Pistons.
He’d fill the need as secondary creator who can also put up scoring numbers, though he’s a traffic cone on defense. He put up 24 points and nine assists in his first game for the Bucks, showing exactly what the Pistons would need from him.
Sacramento Kings: Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine
I’m not a huge fan of either of these guys, as they both have huge flaws as players and have the stink of the Kings on them, which is difficult to wash off.
But they both showed in the first game while their names will be mentioned in trades, as Sabonis put up 14 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, looking like his old All-Star self, and LaVine dropped 28 points and added four assists.
The Kings lost of course, so take these numbers for what they are worth, which isn’t much. If LaVine were to be bought out, he’d be an interesting option for Detroit, but both of these guys have monster salaries that would be tough to match in a trade.
Dallas Mavericks: Kyrie Irving
Shout out to Marcus Sasser, who actually outplayed Irving in his first game as his backup, but it will be Irving that draws the attention at the trade deadline if he is healthy.
I see him as one of the best fits for the Pistons in terms of skillset and contract, though the Mavs could end up being sneaky good this year, so it’s no given they are going to trade him.
Portland Trail Blazers: Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson
These two come off the bench for the Blazers, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see one of them traded.
Holiday is on the downside of his career, but can still create, take care of the ball and play strong point-of-attack defense. Scoot Henderson is going to be a “second draft” guy for someone if he can’t displace Ja Morant in the starting lineup by the trade deadline.
He started strong with 15 points in 19 minutes for Portland.
All of these teams are worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses, and as it does, there will be others added to the list.
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