Two of the NBA's worst teams are making a trade. The Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards are finalizing a deal that will send Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and two second-round picks to the Wizards, with Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala heading to the Pistons, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Woj says the second-round picks are in 2025 and 2026.
Detroit is 3-36 on the season and sitting on a seven-game losing streak after a win over the Toronto Raptors ended the historic 28-game losing streak. Washington is 7-31 after blowing out the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. Both teams are in rebuilding mode, though the Pistons have been rebuilding for a long time while the Wizards officially went into their rebuild this past offseason by trading away Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis.
What Pistons are getting in this trade
The Pistons are making this trade to clear cap space for next offseason after things didn't work out with Marvin Bagley III, who has seen sporadic playing time this season as Monty Williams continues to try to get James Wiseman on the court. Detroit re-signed Bagley to a three-year, $37.5 million contract in 2022 after trading Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles and two second-round picks to get him, so he still has one season left on his deal after this one at $12.5 million. By clearing Bagley's number off the books and bringing in Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala's expiring contracts, the Pistons are projected to have around $64 million in cap space in the offseason, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.
As for this season, Gallinari and Muscala bring a bit more shooting to a roster in dire need of it. Gallinari is nowhere near the player he once was, though, and it remains to be seen if he'll even stick around. The 35-year-old is averaging 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 43.5% overall and 31.3% from 3-point range in 14.8 minutes per game. He has appeared in 26 games and is making $6.8 million this season.
Muscala has been a good 3-point shooter in his career but is having a terrible 2023-24 season. The big man is averaging just 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 27.5% from 3-point land in 14.1 minutes per game. He has made 24 appearances this season and is making $3.5 million.
What Wizards are getting in trade
The Wizards are taking a chance on two young players in Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers. While both players have been disappointments, Washington is in a position to give guys like these opportunities to redeem themselves. They're also getting a pair of second-round picks in the deal to add to their asset base for their rebuild.
This season, Bagley is averaging 10.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game. Livers is at 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting a woeful 34.0% from the field and 28.6% on 3-pointers. Livers is in the final season of his rookie contract and will be looking to prove he belongs in the NBA.
What's next?
As the Pistons try to turn their fortunes around, they could be setting themselves up for more moves. Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill quoted a high-ranking Pistons official as saying this is just a “first step.”
Could embattled general manager Troy Weaver try to make a splashy move in an attempt to improve this season? The Pistons have been linked to both Pascal Siakam and Dejounte Murray of late, and Zach LaVine could be another option.
Meanwhile, the Wizards could look to trade Kyle Kuzma ahead of the trade deadline, though nothing is imminent.
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