Whenever a team emerges all the way to contending status, they become a trendy pick to pull off a blockbuster trade to expedite their said contending timeline. This is exactly what the Detroit Pistons are experiencing at this very moment. With the 15-2 Pistons on a historic 13-game winning streak, some insiders and media members think that it might be best for them to trade for a star that could help push them over the top.
Noted podcaster and longtime NBA fan Bill Simmons was one of those who urged the Pistons to perhaps make a trade to improve their roster. He suggested that Detroit should strike a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, a team that's currently languishing in the bottom of the Western Conference.
Now, it's not quite clear if the Pelicans will be open for business. They should be desperate to turn things around especially when they owe their unprotected first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks. But with a 3-15 record, the Pelicans may have to accept that it will be borderline impossible for them to bounce back from this bad of a start, especially when they reside in the stacked West.
Can the Pistons take advantage of the Pelicans' mess? And if so, which player should their set their sights towards?
Who should the Pistons target in a trade with the Pelicans?
A team that's 3-15 in the West should have everybody available for trade, but this is unlikely to be the case for the Pelicans. They will be hanging on to Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears like their life depended on it. But the rest of the team should become viable trade targets for the Pistons — the question now is who they should set their sights on.
Just to put it out there, the Pistons should never target Zion Williamson. Williamson, when healthy, is a force to be reckoned with. He gets to the rim relentlessly, and with his combination of size, strength, speed, and agility, he's such an unstoppable force when gets near the basket.
But he's perhaps the most injury-prone star in the league, and the Pistons would not want to go anywhere near him — not when they already have a solid starting power forward in Ausar Thompson who's a better fit alongside Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren since he doesn't command the ball and his sole focus on the court is to make life for the opposing perimeter star a living hell.
Someone like Herb Jones could also be a reasonable trade target for the Pistons. Jones is the kind of player who can fit on any team; he's one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, he's a pest in the passing lanes, and he's no longer someone whom defenses can dare to shoot from beyond the arc.
Jones is currently shooting 36.2 percent from deep, which is more than respectable. And with the open shots he's sure to get alongside Cunningham, that efficiency could very well get better still.
But Jones is currently out with a calf strain, and those are always going to give teams pause moving forward considering how many stars of the game have ruptured their Achilles after rushing back. Defense also isn't a main priority for the Pistons, not when they already have the likes of Thompson, Ron Holland, and Javonte Green on the roster.
If anything, the Pistons must set their sights on Trey Murphy, one of the best shooters in the league who profiles as an excellent supporting cast member on a contending team. Murphy, at present, is a bit miscast as a go-to-guy on that struggling Pelicans team, and he'll find life to be a lot easier when he's playing with a legitimate playmaking star like Cunningham.
Murphy was the Pelicans player Simmons suggested for the Pistons to pursue, and this is as far as Detroit should go in any Murphy trade talks so as to not disrupt the team that much.
And it makes sense for the Pistons to try their best to convince the Pelicans to trade Murphy away. Murphy is making an average of just $28 million per year until the 2028-29 season — about $20 to $25 million less than what another hypothetical Pistons trade target in Lauri Markkanen will be making over the same period of time.
Pistons' best offer for Pelicans wing Trey Murphy
Pistons trade: Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland, 2027 and 2029 DET first-round picks
Pelicans trade: Trey Murphy
The Pistons, at the end of the day, may prefer the Oklahoma City Thunder way of building a contender. That Thunder front office did not rush anything. Instead, they waited until they cemented themselves as a legit contender before they diagnosed what the team was missing — paving the way for the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein last year.
Getting a player as talented as Murphy will require the Pistons to give up some promising young talents as well. The Thunder did that in the Caruso trade, giving up Josh Giddey in a straight swap, so it's not like Detroit is going to be jumping the gun if they do so as well.
This Pistons team is looking like the 2023-24 Thunder squad, a team on the rise but with glaring issues that will most likely come up during the playoffs. That Thunder team was so soft on the boards, while this Pistons team plays a few non-shooters that will be dared to shoot from beyond the arc by smart opposing defenses.
This is what makes the addition of Murphy that much more enticing for the Pistons to pull off. Murphy has been expanding his off-the-bounce game, but he's an off-ball sniper at heart, someone who will thrive with Cunningham's playmaking leading the way.
Nearly 75 percent of Murphy's baskets are unassisted, and that is on a team without a playmaker of Cunningham's caliber. That makes him a perfect fit for the Pistons roster.
But the Pistons will not want to overhaul their roster considering the good vibes they've been playing with all season long. Maintaining locker room harmony is a tricky thing in the NBA, which is why it's not quite recommended to mess with a team that's on a heater like Detroit is at the moment in the middle of the season.
Nonetheless, giving up Ivey is simply bare minimum in any Murphy trade. Ivey is the most tradeable young prospect the Pistons have, as he's becoming more of a superfluous piece to this squad. Cunningham needs the ball in his hands as often as possible, which means that Ivey could find himself playing a smaller role moving forward — similar to how Giddey became more marginalized as the Thunder became a better team.
Now, for salary-matching purposes, Holland also goes to the Big Easy in this trade scenario. The Pistons could add someone like Caris LeVert instead, but since they're losing Ivey, they may want to keep another guard who can create from the perimeter like LeVert can.
Holland is so raw as an offensive player, but he brings a brand of tenacity and grit on the defensive end that synergizes well with the energy that Isaiah Stewart, Thompson, and Javonte Green bring. But if Murphy is coming to the Motor City, there will be fewer minutes to go around on the wing anyway.
As far as playoff viability goes, Holland may be good for just a few spot minutes considering his unrefined offensive game. Thus, his on-court presence may not be missed as much as his value in the locker room is if this trade comes to fruition.
The Pistons are simply giving up two first-round picks in this scenario, as they are already parting ways with two valuable members of their young core.
