At 6-18, nearly a third of the way through the 2022-23 NBA season, it’s officially time for a Detroit Pistons trade. As Detroit continues its rebuild around its young core of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, and the rest of the 24-and-under bunch, now is the time to get what they can for the team’s veteran players. That’s why the deal that needs to happen soon is a Pistons Bojan Bogdanovic trade.
Why the Pistons should trade Bojan Bogdanovic as soon as possible
Bojan Bogdanovic was brought to Detroit as the type of veteran who could perfectly complement Cade Cunningham and company if it turned out the Pistons’ rebuild was ahead of schedule, and the abundance of young talent on the roster was ready to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference this season.
They are not.
And that’s not a poor reflection on Bogdanovic at all. In fact, the sharpshooting Croatian has played exceedingly well this season. He is currently averaging a career-high in points (20.7) and assists (2.5) with 3.8 rebounds a game and a 41.7% 3-point rate.
The 6-foot-7 forward playing so well is exactly why a Pistons Bojan Bogdanovic trade needs to happen as soon as possible. At this point in the Piston’s evolution, they need to sell high on their 33-year-old star.
Bogdanovic is the type of long, wing floor-spacer whose game will fit well on almost any team in the NBA, especially a contender. Also, at $19.5 million for just this season, he offers teams help for this year and salary cap flexibility moving forward.
Plus, a Pistons trade involving Bogdanovic now might return the highest yield they can hope for, as most of the league is still at least on the fringe of the playoffs. The longer the Pistons wait to deal Bogdanovic, the less likely a bidding war featuring a team like the Los Angeles Lakers is.
And that Lakers piece is the biggest reason the Pistons should consider a Bojan Bogdanovic trade now. The best deal they can make is possibly with the Lakers for Westbrook and LA’s 2027 and 2029 first-round picks (along with Nerlens Noel) or for Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn and the 2027 selection.
The Pistons are uniquely set up to benefit greatly from the Lakers’ picks five and/or seven years from now. If they can get the 2027 pick, say with light or no protections, it will be an incredibly valuable chip moving forward. They could hang on to it and make the potential lottery pick when Cunningham is still only 26 or use it in the next few years to trade for a second or third star.
Beyond the Lakers scenario, there are several other intriguing Pistons trades involving Bogdanovic that Detroit could explore.
One of those is with the Dallas Mavericks. Luka Doncic desperately needs some more scoring help, and Bogdanovic would be an excellent running mate for the MVP candidate. The Pistons could take back Davis Bertans or maybe Reggie Bullock and Kemba Walker and also get back a 2025 first-rounder and a 2024 pick swap in return.
The possibilities don’t end there, though.
The New York Knicks could try a Bojan Bogdanovic trade to salvage their season. The Pistons would take back the three years left on Evan Fournier’s deal, as well as the Knicks and Mavericks’ 2023 picks that the Knicks can trade.
Don’t love that one? How about Bogdanovic to the Phoenix Suns for Jae Crowder, Dario Saric, and a pick or two? If that was the Pistons’ Bojan Bogdanovic trade it could turn into a three-team deal or Detroit could flip Crowder to a contender for even more assets closer to the deadline.
We could do this all day, but the point should be clear by now without belaboring it. Bogdanovic is a valuable asset right now, and there are a lot of NBA teams that would give up valuable pieces to get him. The longer the Pistons wait to execute this deal, the more chances there are of an injury, play slippage, or possible suitor bowing out.
By trading Bogdanovic soon, the Pistons will maximize the value of what they get back and further stock their war chest to continue their rebuild around Cade Cunningham and their young core.
If the Pistons do this right, they will get a lot back, and the offseason trade that sent Kelly Olynyk, Saben Lee, and cash to the Utah Jazz for the dead-eye forward won’t be in vain. The longer they hold on to Bogdanovic, the more can go wrong, and the less they may get back.
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