The Detroit Pistons' season from hell begrudgingly trudges onward. The hapless Pistons are in the midst of a demoralizing and grueling 27-game losing streak, which is the largest losing run in a single season in NBA history. Two more consecutive losses and the Pistons set the NBA record for the longest losing streak ever. The Pistons get the Boston Celtics up next, so it seems likely that they will tie the record. But a matchup with the Toronto Raptors a couple of days later with the Raptors being on the second end of a back-to-back could potentially and hopefully bring an end to the national nightmare taking place in Detroit.
Regardless of how long this losing goes, however, it is all but certain that the Pistons will not make their way to the postseason this season. And with many players who signed contracts in the offseason now becoming trade eligible and more to come once January 15th comes and goes, trade season has commenced with deals sure to come down the pipe soon.
The Pistons do have players that other teams would want. Which of those will wind up being dealt? Here are a couple of predictions as to what the Pistons will do come the NBA trade deadline.
The Detroit Pistons trade or waive Alec Burks
The Pistons have a ton of young guards that need reps. Ausar Thompson, Marcus Sasser, and even Jaden Ivey haven't gotten the consistent playing time they need in part because of how many games the Pistons have lost, but also because Alec Burks is taking some of those minutes.
Burks got off to a strong start to begin the season, but he has been ice cold when the calendar turned to November. Burks is shooting 29.58% *from the field* since November 12th after missing a few games at the start of November. That may be the cause of his struggles, but the Pistons need Burks to help steady their team. Shooting a paltry number from the field won't help with that.
Perhaps a change of scenery and a winning environment will invigorate Burks. He was a key bench piece for the New York Knicks when they made the playoffs in the 2020-21 season and averaged 19.7 points, seven rebounds, and 3.7 assists per-36 minutes in the playoffs for that team.
Burks is only making $10.5 million this season, which should make a trade not impossible to manage. If they can't work out a trade, perhaps a buyout may be on the horizon for Burks. He's a player to monitor because he can help a winning team.
The Pistons don't trade Bojan Bogdanovic
If the Pistons were only a normal bad team and not a catastrophically bad team, trading Bojan Bogdanovic would make a ton of sense. He has only one year left on his deal, and only $2 million of the $19 million he's owed is guaranteed. Any contender could use a wing who can shoot the way Bogdanovic can, especially if he's as affordable and available as Bogdanovic is.
But the Pistons have to start winning *some* games at some point. No team or franchise can stomach being *this* bad. The young players need at least one veteran they can rally behind and get organized by. Bogdanovic is the best veteran the Pistons have. No one should be surprised if they choose to trade him, but things are so bad there right now that the best move might be to keep him to stem this tsunami of a losing streak.
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