With the trade deadline only a few weeks away, there will be plenty of discussion surrounding what the Detroit Pistons should do at the trade deadline. In past years, it has been about acquiring bad contracts with assets attached as the team looked to stock their cupboards with more draft picks.

This year is different.

The Pistons currently sit at #1 in the Eastern Conference at 28-10 with a 3.5 game lead over the #2 New York Knicks. They rank 10th in the league in offensive rating (116.4) and 2nd in the league in defensive rating (109.7). Their net rating of +6.8 ranks fifth. All this to say – this team is GOOD.

So, do the Pistons really need to take a swing at the deadline?

My answer to that question is “yes.”

This team desperately needs players who can shoot the long ball as Detroit is bottom-five in the league in three-point attempts. They have players that can shoot, but can’t defend, and players that can defend, but can’t shoot. It’ll be up to Trajan Langdon to determine how hard he’s going to swing once he steps up to the plate.

I did my best to get creative with these trades and to come up with proposals that aren’t common in the Pistons’ space. There is one common trade that I wanted to touch on, and one at the end that I’m sure will be controversial. All trades were done using the Spotrac trade machine.

Whether Trajan wants to bunt or wants to go for the fences, here are four deals I would do if I was running the Detroit Pistons:

Bunt-Single

In this first trade, Detroit takes advantage of their $14.1M trade exception from the Dennis Schroeder sign-and-trade this past summer. Detroit could absorb the contract of any player making less than $14.1 million without needing to send a player back. In this case, more roster moves would have to occur to open up a roster spot, along with an extra move if the team brings up Daniss Jenkins full-time.

Max Christie has 2.5 years left on his deal, though, it’s most likely 1.5 years given he has a player option of less than $9 million in his final year. Max is having a career-best year with 12.3 PPG while shooting 44.1% from deep on 5.4 attempts per game. Three second rounders seems like a fair deal for a cheap 3-and-D shooting guard.

Ground-Rule Double

Guess who’s back?

Maybe Trajan is still in “acquire assets” mode if he isn’t ready to make a big swing yet. Perhaps there’s a way that he can thread the needle of becoming a better team while also picking up extra assets.

Portland attaches a 2028 Milwaukee first-round pick to Jerami Grant as Detroit does them the favor of getting off Grant’s expensive deal with Tobias Harris’ expiring contract. Jerami has become the second-fiddle behind Deni Avdija for the Trail Blazers and his injury history is a legitimate concern. Jerami would be on the books for 2.5 more years as I don’t see him declining his $36 million player option in 2027-2028.

Despite coming off the bench at times for Portland, Grant can still play. In fact, he’s becoming quite the knockdown shooter. Jerami is averaging 20 PPG while shooting 38.9% from deep on 6.4 attempts per game, and that’s exactly the type of scorer this team could use at Power Forward.

With the possibility of Milwaukee going full-rebuild soon, is that first-round pick enough to entice Detroit to take on Jerami’s deal?

Stand-Up Triple

This is the common trade I had to touch on because this is as far as I would go in terms of what I would give up for Michael Porter Jr. If Brooklyn asks for anything more, I walk.

Let’s talk about MPJ on the court: he’s averaging a career-high in points, rebounds, and assists at 25.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 3.4 APG. He’s shooting 40.4% from deep on an insanely high 9.4 attempts per game. That efficiency at that volume would do absolute wonders for the spacing on this Detroit team. MPJ would instantly become the best three-point shooting forward the team has had in quite a while – maybe ever?

It’s the off-the-court stuff that Trajan will have to determine if MPJ could hamper the gritty culture that’s being built in Detroit. If he believes MPJ would buy in, go get him.

Grand Salami

I know, I know…I KNOW.

Ausar Thompson should make an All-Defensive team this year and he’s solidified himself as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. There’s no doubt that he’s playing a massive part in Detroit being ranked as the second best defensive team in the NBA. He’s a fan-favorite and rightly so.

Trajan Langdon drafted Trey Murphy III in 2021 when he was the GM of the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s having a career-best year from both a production and efficiency standpoint. He’s averaging 21.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 3.5 APG while shooting 50.2% from the field, 38.9% from deep on 7.8 attempts per game, and 90.8% from the free throw line.

An extra part that has to be included when discussing a TMIII trade is his contract. He’s in the first year of his 4-year $112 million deal and is only making $25 million this season. For comparison, Tobias Harris is making $26 million this year. There are no player options and Trey will make $31 million in 2028-2029. Any team that trades for TMIII instantly has their Small Forward of the future for the next 3.5 years.

Ausar Thompson will start his second contract in 2027-2028 when Trey is making $29 million. With that in mind, how would an Ausar extension compare to Trey’s? Is the expectation that Ausar will be worth more than $30 million per year at that point?

I’ve been vocal with my offensive concerns surrounding Ausar, but replacing him with Trey Murphy III in the starting lineup would transform the spacing on the team and present a playstyle we’ve yet to see in the Cade Era. If there’s a top target on Trajan Langdon’s list, it should be Trey Murphy III.

Well, DBB, what say you?

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