The Detroit Pistons just might be the hottest team in the NBA.
Following a 124-113 win over the Chicago Bulls, the Pistons have now won eight in a row (league-high), and sit at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 2.5-game lead over the Miami Heat.
Last season, the Cade Cunningham-Pistons proved to be playoff contenders. Would a trade for multiple championship-winning veterans help them enter a different NBA tier? The Ringer recently suggested a handful of Anthony Davis-focused trades that could be considered “crazy enough to work.” One involved a swap between Detroit and Dallas.
What’s the (Hypothetical) Deal?
In this case, the Pistons would send four players packing for two in return. Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris, Ron Holland, and Isaiah Stewart head to Texas, with Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson returning.
“There’s a lot to like about a potential pairing between AD and Detroit,” The Ringer’s Matt Dollinger wrote.
“Most importantly, he’d be an ideal on-court fit next to Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren. He could also play the 4, his preferred position, and he wouldn’t be asked to carry the Pistons so much as fortify them—providing the team with an elite defender who also diversifies its half-court offense. Detroit also has the goods to get a deal done, with young players, expiring contracts, and draft picks at its disposal.”
The Pistons certainly wouldn’t be the first young and rising team to expedite their championship chances by selling off young and developing talent for “win-now” players. However, many comments from the Detroit front office and coaching staff over the past year have suggested that they want to avoid taking that route.
And as long as the Pistons continue to exceed expectations, why shake it up to this degree?
In that deal, the Pistons are parting ways with just one expiring veteran, who will hit the market unrestricted in Harris. Ivey’s deal is up after the 2025-2026 season, but the Pistons could match any of the offers he generates and keep him in town.
Dollinger adds there are “plenty of reasons to be skeptical,” and they could be applied to any trade scenario involving Davis. First, the veteran front-court star has a worrisome injury history, and those concerns have not gone away. Currently, Davis is sitting out for Dallas with a calf concern. His return is unclear.
As for Klay Thompson, good health hasn’t prevented him from regressing. Last year, he appeared in 72 games with the Mavericks. He averaged 14 points while shooting 39 percent from three. This season, he’s putting up 7.4 points per game and making just 26 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The Pistons have proved that they aren’t going to sell off young core players for championship experience. Since they have adhered to that plan for so long, it doesn’t seem logical to strike a deal that carries too much risk in the present and the future.
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