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Detroit Pistons trade Saddiq Bey, get James Wiseman in 4-team deal with Warriors, Hawks

Omari Sankofa II and Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read
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It was expected to be a quiet trade deadline for the Detroit Pistons, who set a high asking price for their core players. But one hour before the 3 p.m. deadline Thursday, a surprising deal came to fruition.

The Pistons are trading forward Saddiq Bey and acquiring center James Wiseman in a four-team deal involving the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers, league sources confirmed to the Free Press. They requested anonymity because they were unauthorized to speak publicly until the deal becomes official.

The Hawks are sending five second-round picks to the Warriors to acquire Bey. Kevin Knox was included in the deal to the Warriors, then was rerouted to Portland with five second-rounders for Gary Payton II to rejoin Golden State.

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This is Pistons general manager Troy Weaver's fifth in-season trade in his three seasons, including the third straight year making a deal on deadline day. It was the only move by the Pistons, who held onto coveted assets in forward Bojan Bogdanovic and guard Alec Burks.

Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe at Barclays Center, Dec. 21, 2022 in Brooklyn, New York.
Golden State Warriors center James Wiseman controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets forward Yuta Watanabe at Barclays Center, Dec. 21, 2022 in Brooklyn, New York.

Wiseman, who turns 22 on March 31, has standout pedigree, but has played very little basketball over the past 4 years. He was a consensus five-star recruit ranked No. 1 in the 2019 class by both 247Sports and ESPN. He played just three college games at Memphis before being ruled ineligible to play and suspended 12 games after head coach Penny Hardaway helped pay for his moving expenses, thus acting as a booster. He later declared for the draft.

Wiseman, 7 feet and 240 pounds and a Tennessee native, was then selected No. 2 overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Warriors. He was ranked at the top of Weaver's draft board that year — the Pistons had the seventh pick and took guard Killian Hayes. But Wiseman has played just 60 career games in 2½ seasons with Golden State, and missed all of last season with the eventual champions while recovering from a knee injury. He has played 21 games this season off the bench, averaging 6.9 points on 62.8% shooting and 3.5 rebounds over 12.5 minutes per game.

Wiseman is under contract for $9.6 million this season and $12.1 million next season, before becoming a restricted free agent.

The dumping of his contract reportedly will help the Warriors save millions on their tax bill going forward.

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Wiseman joins a Detroit frontcourt that already includes 2022 13th overall pick Jalen Duren, 2020 16th overall pick Isaiah Stewart and Marvin Bagley III, who was drafted second overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2018 and signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Pistons last summer. Wiseman has long been coveted by Weaver, but it's unclear how the Pistons will sort out their rotation barring additional moves. Stewart is extension eligible this offseason and can hit restricted free agency after next season. All four big men are under 25 years old.

Bey, 23, saw his role shift between the first and second units this season as the Pistons accommodated newcomer Bojan Bogdanovic. Bey averaged 14.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 52 games this season (30 starts), shooting 34.5% on 5.6 3-point attempts per game (1.9 makes) — league average, for reference, is 36% this season. He scored 51 points against Orlando in March last season, and splashed the winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to stun the Warriors in San Francisco on Jan. 4, but has struggled the past two seasons with inconsistent play.

Pistons' Saddiq Bey is defended by Warriors' James Wiseman at Little Caesars Arena, Dec. 29, 2020.
Pistons' Saddiq Bey is defended by Warriors' James Wiseman at Little Caesars Arena, Dec. 29, 2020.

Bey, 6-7 and 223 pounds, turns 24 in April. He played in 204 games (165 starts) with the Pistons, averaging 14.5 points and shooting 35.7% on 3s.

The Pistons originally acquired Bey on 2020 draft night with the 19th pick in a three-team deal in exchange for Bruce Brown, Luke Kennard and four second-round picks. That was Weaver's first draft. This trade marks the first time the Pistons have traded one of his first-round picks since he was hired during the 2020 offseason.

Pistons fans: We'll have a special live edition Thursday night of our podcast "The Pistons Pulse," after the trade deadline, starting at 8 p.m. on YouTube. You can interact during the broadcast and watch below. Podcast episodes drop every Tuesday morning. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you load up podcasts, or at freep.com/podcasts. Thank you for supporting the show.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons trade Saddiq Bey, get James Wiseman in 4-team deal