The Detroit Pistons decided not to make any real moves at the trade deadline, a decision that they may ultimately regret.
Instead, Detroit flipped Jaden Ivey into Kevin Huerter and a pick swap in a move that netted them nothing in the present, and future benefits that are rapidly shrinking.
Huerter hasn’t played a meaningful minute for Detroit, and the pick swap is dropping as Minnesota continues to rise in the standings. We’ll have to wait and see how this pick turns out before our final judgement, but thus far, the trade has been a big nothing.
And the Pistons could have used more than nothing.
I have to start by saying that I didn’t want the Pistons to make a dramatic move and think Trajan Langdon was right not to. He doesn’t know enough about his young team to be giving away core players for minor short-term gains.
Some of the big names we discussed were never realistic options anyway, and the ones that were, weren’t guys who were going to significantly move the needle.
Trajan Langdon has been patient, and I do think that will pay off in the long run. But in the short term, they could have gotten a helpful player without sacrificing anything important and instead had to watch a rival do it instead.
The Charlotte Hornets are officially concerning for the Detroit Pistons
The Hornets have been on an absolute tear of late. They have the best record in 2026, top offensive rating, top net rating and they’ve won six straight games by at least 15 points after eviscerating the Celtics last night.
They are 16-3 in their last 19 games, and their starting lineup is leading the entire NBA in net efficiency.
The worst part of all of this is that the Pistons could end up playing them in the first round, but given the Hornets are only 2.5 games back of the 6th seed, I am not so sure they aren’t going to catch Philly and just make the playoffs outright.
They’ve gotten a boost for their bench from Coby White, a player they acquired at the deadline, who dropped 17 last night off the bench in their win.
White is a player the Pistons could have certainly had themselves, as the Bulls were trying to give him away to anyone that would take him, and it didn’t cost the Hornets anything but an expiring contract and two second-round picks.
Could they have just swapped Ivey straight up for White? They wouldn't have gotten a pick swap out of it, but right now the Pistons would move from the 29th pick to the 24th, hardly an earth-shattering acquisition.
Even the player the Hornets sent for White (Collin Sexton) would have been better than what the Pistons got for Jaden Ivey, which is currently a guy who is glued to the bench making $18 million, and moving up a few spots in the draft.
I don’t like to play the “what if” game too much when it comes to trades teams didn’t make, as I am not privy to all of the information and what went on behind the scenes.
But watching Caris LeVert every night, it’s pretty clear the Pistons could have used a fringe upgrade that might have made an impact off the bench. The big swing wasn't there, but moderate upgrades were available.
If the Pistons get bounced early in the playoffs, this inactivity may be something Trajan Langdon regrets, as he could have tinkered a bit without disrupting the core or jeopardizing the future.