Detroit Pistons trade tiers: Expect deal but how big? Killian Hayes experiment nearing end
The 2024 NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and the 6-42 overall Detroit Pistons are among the teams expected to be active.
The purpose of January’s trade with the Washington Wizards was to clear enough cap space — around $60 million this summer — to add two significant talents. One could have possibly been Chicago Bulls two-time All-Star wing Zach LaVine, who was being shopped to the Pistons, a team source told the Free Press.
But news broke Saturday evening LaVine is out for the season, electing to undergo right foot surgery that reportedly will sideline him 4-to-6 months.
Front office personnel had been split on the prospect of trading for LaVine, who turns 29 in March and has a history of knee and foot injuries. He is in Year 2 of a bulging five-year, $215.1 million contract. The Pistons were unlikely to include any significant assets in the deal, with talks now tabled.
It doesn't sound as though the Pistons are angling for a LaVine-level splash. It's more likely that they will wait until the offseason, when teams are generally more open to making big trades. The Pistons are still evaluating the market for veteran talent, and will likely make at least one more move this week. They’ve been an improved team since trading for Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari, and there’s a possibility they’ll need to add veterans to replace any that are traded.
Like any year, conversations are fluid and the team could shift its position ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline.
Here's a look at who is least and most likely to be traded this week, as Pistons general manager Troy Weaver and his front office work the phones.
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Tier 1: The core players
A team source said the front office is prioritizing protecting its young core. Cunningham, Duren, Thompson, Ivey and Stewart are the future of the franchise. It would also be surprising to see their 25th pick last summer, Marcus Sasser, dealt. Despite the team failing to meet internal expectations, no one in the building wants to hit the reset button on the rebuild yet.
The team’s unwillingness to part with their recent first-round players lowers the possibility of a big swing happening this week, as they only have their 2029 or 2030 first-round pick available to deal due to the NBA’s Stepien Rule (they still owe a future first-rounder to the New York Knicks as part of 2020’s draft night trade for Stewart).
Stewart will start the first year of his four-year, $64 million extension next season, and his mid-teens yearly average salary makes his contract easier to include in a trade compared to his rookie-salary teammates. With that said, it’s difficult to see the Pistons moving Stewart — a defensive stalwart and locker room leader who has started 34 of his 35 games this season.
Tier 2: Recent arrivals
Kevin Knox II, Mike Muscala, Danilo Gallinari
All three of Detroit’s in-season roster additions have become key cogs. Knox has added size and shooting to a wing rotation lacking both, and Muscala and Gallinari have been strong fits as experienced floor-spacing bigs.
All three are on expiring deals: Gallinari is making $6.8 million, Muscala $3.5 million and Knox’s cap figure is $1.8 million. There’s more incentive for the Pistons to keep the trio than trade them, given they fill needed roles.
Tier 3: Friendly contract for salary matching
Joe Harris
Harris is a career 43.6% 3-point shooter who has struggled this season, knocking down 34.5% of his 3s in just 15 appearances. He’s in the final year of his contract for $19.9 million, making him an option to be included in any trades with teams looking to dump salary.
Tier 4a: Coveted veterans on expirings
Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Monte Morris
The Pistons, thus far, have prioritized keeping the sharpshooting duo of Bogdanovic and Burks, who have battled injuries but otherwise have scored the ball with varying efficiency. Bogdanovic is averaging 20.3 points on 46.8/41.4/76.5 splits. Burks, who dealt with an early season slump, is shooting just 39.4% overall but a healthy 40% from 3.
Burks, 32, is on an expiring contract, and only $2 million of Bogdanovic’s $19 million owed next season is guaranteed. Bogdanovic, 35 in April, is one of the Pistons' most coveted players by other teams, and it’s hard to envision them pulling off a "swing" trade that doesn’t include him.
Coach Monty Williams has spoken highly of Burks’ leadership and recently called him one of the best veterans he has been around. Burks is a pending unrestricted free agent and target for contending teams, but the Pistons aren’t eager to part with him, per sources. It would take a strong offer.
Teams have inquired about Morris, a 28-year-old point guard and Flint native who has played five games since returning from a quad injury that delayed his season debut. On paper, his history as a strong outside shooter (39%) and passer makes him a great fit on a turnover-prone roster that has lacked spacing. It also makes him a great fit on contending rosters, and the Pistons haven’t ruled out dealing him.
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Tier 4b. Just hasn’t worked out
Killian Hayes, James Wiseman
Hayes’ camp, per a source, would prefer the fourth-year point guard land with a new team. The Pistons seem to agree. Hayes, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 draft and Weaver's first pick to lead the rebuild, has been a healthy scratch the past two games with the backcourt at full strength.
It has become more clear the franchise is ready to move on from the 22-year-old, who has excelled at taking care of the ball but otherwise has continued being an inefficient, low-volume scorer and poor fit on a roster deep in young talent at his position.
The question is if the team can find a trade partner, and, if not, is it willing to pursue other means to give Hayes an opportunity elsewhere? He becomes a restricted free agent this summer.
Wiseman has fallen out of the rotation since Muscala and Gallinari made their debuts. The Pistons traded for the 2020 second-overall pick a year ago and gambled on his upside, but he hasn’t separated himself from their other young bigs. If Detroit knows it won’t offer Wiseman a new deal this offseason, both sides are better off parting ways now.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons’ NBA trade deadline: Expect a deal but involving whom?
