The Detroit Pistons have already made one deal ahead of the 2024 NBA trade deadline, sending Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers and a pair of second-round picks to the Washington Wizards for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. The Athletic's James Edwards III says the Pistons are expected to make at least one more trade before the deadline and has some new intel on their plans.
While Detroit is a league-worst 5-39, the front office has identified four “blue-chip pieces” who are essentially untouchable. Those four would be Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, per Edwards.
At the same time, the Pistons have been linked to several star-level players on the trade market, including Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine. The rub is the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls want one of those top prospects in order to come to a deal, complicating the possibility of a trade coming to fruition.
Dejounte Murray
The Pistons were previously reported as a Dejounte Murray trade suitor, and Edwards reports “a few weeks back” the Hawks initiated discussions on the guard. However, Atlanta wanted Thompson/Ivey “and other stuff of good value.” Detroit had zero interest in a deal.
It's unclear if the two sides have talked much since. There's a lot of smoke around Murray going to the Los Angeles Lakers, but nothing has happened yet with two weeks before the deadline. Maybe the Pistons can get back in these talks and work something out with draft capital as the key assets going to the Hawks instead of one of the youngsters.
Zach LaVine
The Zach LaVine trade market has been rather barren for a while because of his injury concerns and sizable contract (making over $40 million this season and increases through 2026-27 player option), plus he just hasn't played all that well this season after letting it be known to the Bulls' front office he would be open to a new home. The Pistons have been bandied about as a possible suitor given their need for more proven talent, especially when it comes to shooting.
Edwards says Chicago and Detroit have had conversations about LaVine, and the Bulls are “locked in” on a package featuring Bojan Bogdanovic and one of those blue-chippers. Again, this seems to be a non-starter for the Pistons. If LaVine can be had without including one of those four players, a deal could be a possibility. But Chicago hasn't signaled a willingness for something like that yet.
Should Pistons consider moving off their stance?
One would think that if you're 5-39, anything should be on the table. But the Pistons don't want to do anything too desperate for a move that might not move the needle all that much. They have a core of nice young players and have looked a bit better lately, so it makes some sense to not want to move any of them for players who aren't truly superstar-caliber options.
Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine are both good players, but Detroit is right to be wary of including one of these prized youngsters for them. These two are All-Star-caliber players but not consistent All-Stars, so being patient is a reasonable course of action ahead of a big offseason in which the Pistons are set to have a lot of cap space.
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