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DETROIT PISTONS: trade grades

Trade Grades
Click here for link to Houston Rockets Trade Grades

​
Pistons get:
PF Donatas Motiejunas, SG Marcus Thornton
​Rockets get:
C Joel Anthony, protected 2016 first-round pick (top 8 protected this year, top 10 the following two years)

Very risky move here. After the Harris trade, it was evident that Detroit was looking to end their six-year playoff drought. Anthony has been useless with the Pistons (0.7 points, 1.2 rebounds in 4 minutes per game) and was used as a cap-filler in this deal; and after trading away Jennings, acquiring a backcourt gunner like Thornton (10 points, 1.6 threes per game) makes sense. So far, so good, right?

But where it gets tricky is the part where, oh yeah, the Pistons just gave up a first-rounder! Now, obviously they netted the solid power forward Motiejunas in return, who put up 12 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on 50.4% shooting last season. But the youngster has been plagued by back injuries this year, with averages of just 5.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game in the mere 14 games he has played. It should also be noted that Motiejunas will be entering restricted free agency this offseason, forcing Detroit to cough up considerable cash to keep him around, unlike the cheap rookie deal that could've been spent on the use of that draft pick. In sum, while Motiejunas is talented, the presence of forwards Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, and now Tobias Harris make coughing up a first-rounder a highly questionable move. Is Detroit's present so great that they can afford to damage their future?

Grade: C

Trade Grades

Click here for link to Orlando Magic Trade Grades

​
Pistons get: PF/SF Tobias Harris
Magic get: PG Brandon Jennings, PF/SF Ersan Ilyasova


Perfect. With PG Reggie Jackson absolutely dominating at point guard, the struggling Jennings was a spare part, and was used absolutely brilliantly here by Stan Van Gundy to give a much-needed bolstering to the teams' forward rotation.

Jennings has been dismal since returning from an ACL injury, averaging 6.8 points and 3 assists on 37.3% shooting in 18 minutes per game. Finding a team willing to take a chance on him makes a lot of sense.

Ilysasova is having a solid year, with averages of 11.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.5 threes per game. Both the stretch-four and Jenning are on expiring deals worth $8 million, and it was unknown whether Detroit even wanted to keep them this offseason, nor if they wanted to stay at all.

Harris is the complement to stars Jackson and C Andre Drummond that the team has been looking for... ever since Josh Smith (just kidding, relax). This is a down year for the 23-year-old as well, with averages of 13.7 points and 7 rebounds per game, regressing from 17 ppg last season. When a young player regresses or plateaus, it generally sounds off alarms in the front office, as young players are supposed to be consistently climbing uphill. But Harris has not exactly been put in the proper offensive role, and is still shooting efficiently, meaning it is more of the Magic's fault than his for his lack of scoring. Thus Harris was the perfect buy-low target for a Detroit team that badly needed a quality forward. With Tobias' 4 year/$64 million contract being the sum of Jennings and Ilyasova's anyways (in terms of dollars per year), this was an excellent trade to complete the star trio (Harris, Jackson, Drummond) of the future.

Grade: A-

Trade Grades

Click here for link to Phoenix Suns Trade Grades

Pistons get: PF/SF Marcus Morris, SF/SG Danny Granger, SF/SG Reggie Bullock
Suns get: 2020 second round pick from Detroit

This trade was a no brainer: Detroit received one starting-caliber player, and two role players, all for just a relatively worthless 2020 second round draft pick. Danny Granger was a 20 point scorer during his stint with Indiana, but. he only put up 6.3 points per game last season, splitting time with Miami and Phoenix. Still, there is a lot of hope in that he could even somewhat return to his old form, and little risk attached to his expiring $2.1 million deal. Reggie Bullock, on a cheap rookie deal, shot 38.5% from three pointers, while he was on the Clippers last year. Both will be key floor-spacers for the Pistons. But the real prize of this deal is of course Marcus Morris. The forward averaged 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season in Phoenix. Marcus is a good three-point shooter (36.3% for his career) and can space the floor out easier for the Pistons’ playmakers to operate. He, rookie SF/PF Stanley Johnson, and PF/SF Ersan Ilyasova will compete to fill the gaping hole left by PF/C Greg Monroe this summer. Morris’ team-friendly 4 year/$20 million deal doesn’t hurt, either. To be honest, I’m not sure how this trade could’ve been any better from Detroit’s perspective.

Grade: A+

Major thanks to Corbin Fields (@ctuck_fields) for his significant contribution to this article.

Trade Grades
Click here for link to Brooklyn Nets Trade Grades

Pistons get: PG/SG Steve Blake
Nets get: SF Quincy Miller (waived)

Talk about getting role players for nothing. Miller was the 38th pick in the 2012 draft, but has been relatively disappointing, only putting up 2.9 points per game this season. Yes, Blake may be 35 and yes, Detroit may already have Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings at point guard. But Blake is on an expiring $2.1 million deal, so the age isn’t an issue, and the depth behind Jackson and Jennings was a glaring hole, especially considering that Jennings could be spending some minutes at shooting guard next season. Blake is a perfect backup to the duo, as he averaged 4.3 points and 3.6 assists in just 18.9 minutes per game last season in Portland, and remains a solid option from beyond the arc. It’s impossible to criticize getting a good player for little to nothing.

Grade: A-

Trade Grades

Pistons get: PG Reggie Jackson
Jazz get: PF Grant Jerrett, C Kendrick Perkins, C Tibor Pleiss Oklahoma City’s 2017 first-rounder
Thunder get: PG D.J Augustin, C Enes Kanter, SF/SG Kyle Singler, PF Steve Novak

With PG Brandon Jennings out for the year with a torn Achilles, it was clear the Pistons needed a point guard if they had any chance of making the playoffs. With Jackson, they got a starting-caliber one while giving up next to nothing. Both Augustin and Singler were having nice seasons, but Jackson has serious upside as a future star in this league. When handed 38 minutes per game in November, the month where superstar teammates PG Russell Westbrook and SF/PF Kevin Durant were dealing with injuries, Jackson put up very impressive numbers: 19.5 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.5 rebounds, though turnovers and inefficient shooting plagued the 24 year old and continue to do so. This actually could help the Pistons, as these issues are common in younger guards, but could also help them in getting a nice deal with Jackson in restricted free agency this summer. All in all, not much lost for a kid with a very bright future.

Grade: A-

Trade Grades

Pistons get: SF Tayshaun Prince
Suns get: SG Marcus Thornton, Cleveland’s 2016 first-rounder via Boston (top 10 protected in 2016, 2017, 2018, unprotected in 2019)
Celtics get: PG Isaiah Thomas, PF Jonas Jerebko, SF Luigi Datome

In this trade, Detroit was one of those teams that kind of just wedges themselves into a trade totally unnecessarily, and it definitely worked out for them. I’m sure they got a few pointers from New Orleans, who in turn took a page out of Philadelphia’s book (read Norris Cole Trade Grades under New Orleans to understand this one). This deal was mainly about Thomas going to Boston, but the Pistons managed to snag a productive small forward in Prince in exchange for a couple of rarely-used forwards. It was actually pretty necessary to bring Prince back for his second stint with Detroit, as SF Kyle Singler was dealt to the Thunder in a separate trade today, and the Pistons needed a replacement. Prince is nothing special, he’s on an expiring deal and is 34, but he is averaging a solid 7.5 points and 3 rebounds a game, and can space the floor as well. Nice pickup for the Pistons while giving little to nothing in this trade.

Grade: A-
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