This Paul George trade would be a short road to doom for the Pistons

It seems many of the NBA pundits are desperate to send an old, oft-injured star to the Detroit Pistons this summer, and that list includes Paul George. 

Kyrie Irving has also been discussed as a possibility for the Pistons, though Detroit has given no indication that they are desperate enough to do something like this at this stage of their development. 

In some ways, these two make sense, as their age and injury status would potentially reduce the trade cost and make the risk worth it. On paper, this proposed deal from ESPN seems fair for the Pistons until you remember it’s 2026: 

The Pistons would be giving up three players to get one, which is one of the problems they are up against when trying to trade for a player on a star contract. And if that player were a star, it might be worth it, but that’s not the case with Paul George, who just turned 36 and is not the guy he once was. 

Paul George is not reliable and has one of the worst contracts in the league 

The only thing that even makes this intriguing is the first-round pick, though Philly doesn’t even have one to trade until 2030, so it would be a long way off. 

Otherwise, the Pistons can’t trade for a guy making over $50 million who has barely played over the last two seasons after back-to-back All-Star selections. If you add up George’s games over the last two years, it still doesn’t equal a full season. 

Even when he did play the last two seasons, he put up his worst scoring numbers since his third year in the league, averaging just over 16 points per game in that span. 

George is still an efficient scorer and solid defender, but you just cannot count on him to be on the floor. 

The Detroit Pistons are not this desperate 

This is the type of move you make with a veteran team that you feel may be one piece away from a title, not one for an up-and-coming young roster fresh off a 60-win season. 

Even if you got the absolutely best-case scenario out of the next two years of Paul George, his decreased production may not add up to three players, guys the Pistons would need to replace since they are in the rotation. 

If PG13 were on an expiring deal, something like this may be worth the risk, but he has next season plus a player option that he is going to accept since there is no way on Earth anyone would pay him $56 million on the open market. 

George is a risk even compared to Irving, as Kyrie is making significantly less money and is two years younger than PG13, so if the Pistons were going to take a flyer on an old, injured player, Irving is the safer bet. 

The fact that Philly might entertain attaching a first-round pick to George should say everything, as he has one of the worst contracts in the NBA (second maybe to his own teammate), which makes it difficult to fill out a deep roster with him on it. 

It would be a quick road to disaster for the Pistons, who would be stuck paying a premium price for a non-star who can’t stay on the floor. No thanks. 

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