The NBA trade deadline is approaching its final countdown, and NBA general managers are going wild with trades. However, Pistons GM Troy Weaver has been quiet so far. In 2023, it is a seller’s market, with so many teams thinking they are still in the mix for postseason contention. This means now is the time for a Pistons' trade deadline deal involving Bojan Bogdanovic to the New York Knicks.

A Pistons' trade deadline for Bojan Bogdanovic needs to happen

With the NBA trade deadline months away, Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic was one of the hottest names on the trade market. At that point, no one knew Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and others would be available.

Well, now the 2023 NBA trade deadline is officially here, and while many names have moved area codes, Bogdanovic is still in the 313.

If 3 pm ET on February 9 passes and Bogdanovic is still a Piston, that will be a major miss for Troy Weaver and company. The forward is having a career year in Detroit, averaging 21.3 points, 2.6 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and shooting 41.6% from behind the arc.

The 33-year-old forward has an offensive skill set that would fit on nearly any team that fancies themselves on a contender, and if the Pistons don’t exploit this fact, they will hurt themselves in the long run.

Bogdanovic has two more years on his deal, with the final season not fully guaranteed. If the Pistons are thinking of keeping him for a Cade Cunningham and Victor Wembanyama-led playoff run in 2023-24, that’s a mistake.

Detroit needs to keep adding assets, and while Bogdanovic is an asset now, he won’t be for long. That’s why a Pistons' trade deadline deal with the Knicks makes sense.

In this NBA trade deadline scenario, the Knicks get Bogdanovic while the Pistons pick up Derrick Rose, Obi Toppin, and one of the future first-round picks the Knicks currently own. Maybe the Pistons can even get the rights back to their own protected pick that will convey to the Knicks in the next five years.

While not everyone sees the Knicks as serious contenders, the franchise is making moves in that direction at the NBA trade deadline. The team is in seventh now but should at least be able to surpass the Nets after their fire sale. Bojan Bogdanovic is an upgrade over Evan Fournier and would fit into the Knicks rotation nicely.

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As for the Pistons, they get out of the Bogdanovic deal and get a solid return for a player they signed knowing they may trade him soon after. They probably never thought he’d be able to fetch the price he will, so that’s an extra win for Detroit.

This Pistons trade brings in both draft capital and a promising young player in Obi Toppin. The 24-year-old forward had shown plenty of promise during his first two-plus years in the league, but with the Knicks depth and quality at the forward position, it’s just been difficult to get Toppin the time he needs to develop.

On the Pistons for the rest of the season, Toppin will get plenty of run to show who he truly is as an NBA player.

Getting a first-rounder for Bogdanovic is a nice bonus as well, and the possibility of getting its own pick back is intriguing for Detroit.

In 2020, the Pistons traded Christian Wood, a protected future first-round pick, and a 2021 second-round pick to the Houston Rockets for rights to the 2020 NBA Draft No. 16 selection Isaiah Stewart, Trevor Ariza, a future-second round pick, and cash considerations.

That pick then ended up with the Oklahoma City Thunder, eventually settling with the Knicks.

The pick is lottery protected this year, so the Pistons are in no danger of losing it in 2023. However, those protections drop as the years go on, ending as a top-eight protected pick in 2027. If the Pistons can get that back, they will no longer have any restrictions on trading their first-round picks.

That means if the team can hit big in the lottery this year with (currently) the second-best odds and get Wembanyama to go with Cunningham, the team can then trade whatever picks and players it needs to get a veteran star in when the time is right.

And that’s how the Pistons go from a seemingly interminable rebuild to automatic contenders in the next year or two.

To get that started, though, there must be a Pistons' trade deadline deal shipping Bojan Bogdanovic out of town before the 3 pm ET NBA trade deadline. And the Knicks are a perfect team to call.