The Detroit Pistons have been one of the NBA’s biggest surprises this season. They have gone from the NBA’s cellar all the way to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference which would put them in the NBA Play-In-Tournament if the season ended today. With such success for the team, and for Pistons star Cade Cunningham, has come national media attention, and rumors for the upcoming trade deadline on February 6th. The Pistons are one of only a few teams with current cap space that could make them a major player in the trade market. Rumors have already been swirling about the Pistons acquiring one of the league’s bigger names like Zach Lavine of the Chicago Bulls or Brandon Ingram of the New Orleans Pelicans. However, just because you can acquire a great player doesn’t mean you should. Many teams acquire top talent at the trade deadline and it backfires. It seems so far that Trajan Langdon, J.B Bickerstaff, and the new Pistons regime have a great plan in place so far, and I don’t think they will, or should, make a big move this early as they continue to evaluate the roster they currently have.

One of the biggest reasons the Pistons are even in these conversations is due to the rise of Cade Cunningham. I don’t believe that Cunningham’s rise has been an anomaly. Obviously, a lot of that credit goes to the work Cunningham has put in to make himself better, but also I think it is safe to assume that the roster that Pistons Head of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon has built around him has helped compliment Cade’s skills better than he ever had under any of Troy Weaver’s rosters. There are many moves that come to mind, but it should all start with the acquisitions of Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. 

This past offseason, Trajan Langdon was hard at work acquiring quality veterans to help compliment the Pistons very young roster. He added Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Tobias Harris as a result. In particular, the acquisitions of Beasley and Hardaway Jr. as straight up three point shooters has proven to be very valuable to a Pistons team that had trouble with three point shooting as well as floor spacing a year ago. In terms of the stats, Beasley has shot 40.4% from three, Hardaway Jr. has shot 37.7% from three, and even Tobias Harris has shot 34.5% from three (all stats acquired from Basketball-Reference). This added spacing and shooting has been an excellent compliment to Cade Cunningham’s game which has allowed him to have clear lanes to drive, while also giving him options to pass the ball when defenses have focused on Cade. 

So what does this all have to do with the trade deadline? The problem is, if the Pistons are looking to acquire a big piece, they will need to trade another contract in return to make sure the team doesn’t go over the salary cap limit. The most likely options in that case would be to trade at least one of the contracts of Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., or Isaiah Stewart, as well as draft capital. Even Stewart, who doesn’t provide a lot statistically averaging only 5.5 points per game, provides a lot defensively while also bringing the team an energy that they seem to often feed off of. I just don’t see how the Pistons would thrive from losing any of these players. Not only would acquiring a star cost the Pistons a valuable asset on their team, but it could also hurt the development of some of the younger players on the roster. One of the great things with how this current Pistons roster is built is that it allows Cade to get his stats, while also providing quality playing time for Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, and Jaden Ivey (when he was healthy), who the Pistons hope will be big pieces of future teams down the line. If the Pistons go out and acquire someone like Zach Lavine or Brandon Ingram, it would not only be another mouth to feed statistically, but it would also take time off the court from guys like Thompson and Holland who have not only been providing for the team, but are also continuing to get better. It should be a point of emphasis to make sure that this core stays intact, while also helping the roster to continue to improve. 

While a star may not be in the best interest of the Pistons to acquire, it shouldn’t hurt to acquire another depth piece if the Pistons choose to do so. Losing Jaden Ivey is certainly a blow to this Pistons team as he was really beginning to take off this season. Ivey was averaging a career high 17.6 points per game, while also averaging 4 assists, and also improving his three point shooting percentage to 40.9%. It doesn’t seem like Ivey will miss the rest of the season, but it may not hurt the Pistons to potentially look at an option to replace Ivey in the short term. He would not replicate Ivey’s production, but the Pistons have been connected to Lonzo Ball, who could be a fit for what the Pistons are looking for. Ball is currently in the last year of his contract with the Chicago Bulls and is a player that could definitely be moved by the trade deadline. Langdon was also working in the Pelicans organization while Ball was in New Orleans so there could be a fit if Langdon thinks acquiring Ball would benefit the organization. Even though Ball shouldn’t cost much given that he is a rental, and he has a poor injury history, his 21 million in cap space could be a problem in terms of actually acquiring him without giving up too much. I also wouldn’t be too surprised to see if the Pistons check in on the big man market. The Pistons are a bit thin down low with the main contributors being only Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren, and a bit of Paul Reed. If the Pistons can find a way to acquire another depth Center at a low cost, I could see the Pistons jumping on that as well.

It also isn’t completely out of the realm of possibilities that the Pistons sell. While it would be tough to see since the Pistons have looked a lot better as of late, if the Pistons get a haul too good to turn down for somebody like Beasley I could see the Pistons jumping on that. It just depends on how aggressive teams might be if they think they are on the cusp of winning a championship, while the Pistons are probably just shooting to see if they can make the playoffs this season. If they get the can’t refuse deal for Beasley, then it is what it is. But if they don’t, I have a hard time seeing them do that.

It seems as though the Pistons may finally have a direction after years of being lost. The organization is off to a great start with how they are building their roster, but time will tell to see how this roster will ultimately shape out.