Earth to Troy Weaver: 4 trade deadline deals that would aid Detroit Pistons tragic season

Editor's note: The Pistons on Sunday morning executed a four-player trade with the Washington Wizards. The deal included sending out Marvin Bagley III, who was included in our fourth trade proposal of this story. The first three trade ideas still stand.

The Detroit Pistons have made at least one in-season trade every season since Troy Weaver was hired four seasons ago as general manager. The looming Feb. 8 trade deadline will be the most consequential of his tenure.

The Pistons, 3-36, are on pace to finish with the worst winning percentage in NBA history. The blame for the disastrous season should be spread across the board, from the front office to the coaching staff to the players, as well as ownership. A lot of poor decisions have brought the team to this point, but the decision-makers are aligned in the belief the roster badly needs to be shaken up. (They should be: Their team is 5-59 since Feb. 10, 2023.)

Owner Tom Gores bluntly acknowledged in December he will be disappointed if the front office fails to make the changes necessary to guide the rebuild back on track. Weaver has been clear that roster moves are imminent.

What remains unclear is what an ideal roster move looks like for a team that has collapsed during a season expected to be a step forward.

The Pistons have some assets to work with — currently around $39 million in 2024 cap space that will allow them to absorb long-term salary, multiple veterans on expiring contracts in Joe Harris, Monte Morris, Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic (who only has $2 million of his contract owed next season), and a handful of recently highly drafted players.

But they lack draft capital, a significant constraint in negotiations. They still owe a future first-round pick to the New York Knicks that's protected through 2027. The Pistons currently can only offer a single first-round pick in either 2029 or 2030 in any trades.

Adding shooting and depth at the wing positions, as well as experience, are top priorities. But the Pistons are also not ruling out making asset-minded deals with an eye toward the future, rather than the present.

With four vets essentially on expiring contracts, they’re positioned to assist any teams looking to attach picks or young players in order to dump salary.

Here are four fake trades that would accomplish the Pistons' trade deadline goals.

Kings receive: Bojan Bogdanovic (2 yrs, $40M, partially guaranteed $2M in 2024-25), 2026 2nd-round pick (via MIN, POR, NYK or NOP)

Pistons receive: Kevin Huerter (3 years, $50.5M), Kessler Edwards (1 yr, $1.9M)

Sacramento (23-15) is fifth in the Western Conference playoff race, and probably isn’t desperate to make a move. Even with Huerter, a 6-foot-7 sharpshooter, enduring a tough season, the Kings are 14th in 3-point percentage this season at 36.8%, and third in attempts. Huerter, a career 38% 3-point shooter who is in Year 2 of a four-year, $65 million extension, is averaging career-lows in 3-point percentage (33%) and minutes (22.9). Since Dec. 8, he’s averaging just 18 minutes and shooting 23.4% from 3.

It’s unclear what’s causing Huerter’s slump, but it’s an area the Kings could benefit in upgrading. Bogdanovic, a career 39.5% 3-point shooter knocking down 40.7% of his attempts this year, would give the Kings a plug-and-play starter or bench piece and also some financial relief moving forward, which could be useful as they prepare to attempt to re-sign Malik Monk this offseason.

Perhaps a change of scenery will benefit Huerter, who is exactly what Detroit needs as a 25-year-old wing who can heat up from 3. The Pistons would also get a look at Edwards, a 2021 second-round pick. He is a 6-7 forward who hasn’t logged many minutes but knocked down 39.5% of his 3s during his three-year career at Pepperdine.

READ MORE: Pistons pushing Jalen Duren to expand his offensive game

Warriors receive: Bogdanovic, Alec Burks (1 yr, $10.4M)

Pistons receive: Andrew Wiggins (4 yrs, $109M), Moses Moody (2 yrs, $9.7M, restricted FA in 2025)

The Warriors are in a tough spot. At 18-20 overall, they’re one game out of the West play-in race and failing to maximize another standout season from soon-to-be 36-year-old Stephen Curry. Wiggins, 28, has slumped, averaging just 11.9 points while shooting 42.5% overall and 29.4% from 3. Young players Moody and Jonathan Kuminga are reportedly both unhappy with their roles. They need to pick a direction as an organization, and soon.

Assuming their priority going forward is to continue building around Curry, their trade deadline should focus on acquiring players who can help them win now. Bogdanovic and Burks qualify as such, and they would also give the Warriors financial relief during a pivotal offseason this summer.

For the Pistons, the gamble is the 21-year-old Moody’s long-term upside (the 6-6 wing is averaging 8.7 points on 48.2% shooting and 35.8% from 3 and defends) could make up for potentially having to eat Wiggins’ salary, should he continue to struggle.

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Los Angeles Lakers receive: Burks

Pistons receive: Gabe Vincent (3 yrs, $33.3M), Maxwell Lewis (4 yrs, $7.6M, RFA in 2027), 2027 2nd

Similar to Golden State, the Lakers need to make moves now to maximize a rapidly closing window. They’re 19-20 and facing the prospect of losing a still-dominant LeBron James as a free agent in 2025, assuming he picks up his $51.4 million player option this summer.

Burks would provide a scoring lift to their underwhelming guard rotation. The Pistons would receive a well-rounded veteran guard in Vincent, who would give the backcourt a heady defender who can also knock down 3s. Vincent has been limited to five games this season due to an ailing left knee, for which he underwent arthroscopic surgery in late December, keeping him out until mid-February at least.

Vincent has two years remaining on his deal after this season, adding to the Pistons' current logjam at point guard but providing a solution as a stabilizing presence should they look to move on from Morris and Killian Hayes. In Lewis, the Pistons would receive a 6-7 2023 second-round pick who excelled as a three-level scorer during two seasons at Pepperdine. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 46.8% shooting and 34.8% shooting from 3.

Dallas Mavericks receive: Marvin Bagley III (2 yrs, $25M)

Pistons receive: Maxi Kleber (3 yrs, $33M), Markieff Morris (1 yr, $2M)

The Pistons’ most glaring roster deficiency, positionally, is at power forward. This trade is a simple swap between three bigs who might be better fits on the opposing rosters.

Kleber, a 6-foot-10 stretch four or five, takes most of his shots from the perimeter and is a career 35.8% 3-point shooter. A toe injury has cost him most of this season, but he was upgraded to “probable” ahead of Dallas’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. The Pistons would also reunite with Morris, who played 44 games with the franchise before reaching a buyout agreement midway through the 2019-20 season. The 34-year-old power forward hasn’t played much this season, but would give some experience.

Bagley would provide more depth to a thin Dallas frontcourt, and more future flexibility as his contract ($12.5 million per year) comes off the books a year sooner than Kleber, who signed a three-year, $33 million contract in September.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons fake trades: 4 deals that would aid disaster season