The Detroit Pistons 2022-23 season went down the drain pretty early on when it was announced their young star guard Cade Cunningham would be undergoing season-ending surgery on a shin injury. Detroit wasn't going to contend this season, but that pretty much pushed their rebuild timeline back by a year before they could truly see what they have on their roster this season.
With a 12-35 record, the Pistons have the third worst record in the league, and will be one of the teams with the best odds of landing the top overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which is widely expected to be highly-touted prospect Victor Wembenyama. But until then, the Pistons will be playing out the string over the second half of the season, and likely won't have much of an incentive to win many games during that time period.
One important event the Pistons could be involved in, though, is the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline. Detroit is obviously going to be a seller, but it's important for them to identify some potential needs that could be addressed during the deadline. So with that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest area of need Detroit should be looking to fill as the trade deadline nears.
Pistons' biggest need: Acquiring more future assets/young players
Truth be told, there's no sense in the Pistons going out and acquiring a veteran player or two to fill a hole on their roster, because this team isn't contending right now. The Pistons have several holes on their roster, and chances are they could fill them at the trade deadline if they really wanted to. But that just doesn't make any sense for them at this time.
Rather than highlight a player who could fill a hole, it feels more appropriate to keep this a bit more vague and say the Pistons need to continue to build for the future at the trade deadline. They already have a decent core group of young players, and some draft picks that could be helpful down the line, but for a rebuilding team, you can't have enough young players with high ceilings and draft picks that could end up becoming lottery picks.
The Pistons are going to be sellers, so what will they be looking for in return for some of their veteran players who have no purpose playing for a rebuilding team? Future assets and young players who have potential to become everyday NBA players. There isn't a trade target for Detroit that will magically make them a playoff contender.
In that vein, looking at the players the Pistons could deal in an effort to accrue these future assets will be more beneficial here. Detroit is not a good basketball team, but that doesn't mean that they don't have good players. In fact, they have a couple of different players who could be highly sought after on the trade market, which means they could bring in quite a decent haul in return.
The biggest trade candidate the Pistons have on their hands is Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic has been fantastic for Detroit this season as the leader of their offense, and for teams looking for a knockdown shooter on the wing, Bogdanovic is their guy. Several different teams have expressed interest in Bogdanovic already, and it's not a stretch to expect him to bring back at least a first-round pick in return if he gets dealt.
Beyond Bogdanovic, the Pistons have a few other players who have popped up as trade candidates, and while they likely won't fetch as big of a return as Bogdanovic will, moving them if the price is right makes a lot of sense. Sometimes, it's the smaller returns that allow for bigger moves to be made in the future.
Among that group is Alec Burks, who is another knockdown three-point shooter on the wing, Saddiq Bey, who has shown potential to be an elite scorer, but hasn't found his fit with Detroit, and Nerlens Noel, who can be a solid center in a rotation when played in the right situation. Burks is playing really well this season, but Detroit could also get some valuable pieces in return for Bey and Noel if they do decide to trade them.
Right now, the Pistons aren't in a position to go out and swing deals to address the needs of their current roster, because this roster is not built to win. They will be better off dealing away some of their veterans and picking up some assets that will aid their rebuild. It's not the most exciting strategy, but the more work the Pistons do now, the better off they will be down the line.
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