The Detroit Pistons are 4-9 and have lost the last four games. Why? well it could be because they are without their starting point guard, and, Blake Griffin is just getting back into the swing of things, or it could be that they’re bad. Very. Very. Bad. Is it too early to pull the plug? Yes. Should they be thinking about it if this continues? Absolutely. But whether you think the Pistons should rebuild or not, this article is about showing what a potential Pistons rebuild would look like.
The Staff Situation
First and foremost, they would need to figure out who coaches and manages this team. General Manager should be easy as they have been grooming Malik Rose for two years. He is only 44 and seems to have his best days ahead of him. But on the other hand you’ve got the coach which is a harder decision. Although Dwane Casey seem like the kind of coach you would want to coach young players, he is 62 which doesn’t seem to be an ideal pairing with a young gm. But if you remember when the Pistons hired Casey it had come down to either him or Ime Udoka, the former Gregg Popovich assistant who is now in Philly.
It seems as though it would be a wise to bring in Udoka for a nice, young, GM and coach pairing.
The Blake Trade
Now for the good stuff, Trades. In any Pistons rebuild Blake Griffin would certainly be traded, and the most rumored team seems to be the Portland Trailblazers. Below is a potential trade that would send Blake Griffin to Rip City.
TRADE
Pistons get: Hassan Whiteside, Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, 2020 FRP
Blazers get: Blake Griffin
This trade should be an easy deal for the Pistons, the only question is, Do the Blazers want to forfeit their future to become a championship contender? This trade would almost certainly come after Nurkic gets back and that would give them a Lillard, McCollum, Griffin, and Nurkic starting lineup. That is a legit championship contender. Meanwhile the Pistons get an expiring Whiteside contract and quality young pieces to pair with Brown Kennard and Doumboya.
The Drummond Trade
This one is much more debatable. Some think we should keep him, some say the exact opposite. But a 26 year old Drummond is probably 2-3 years late. As far as trades go, there isn’t a team rumored to be interested. The Hornets were, two years ago, but they were working on keeping Kemba Walker. That being said, there are many teams who would love to have a center of Drumond’s caliber on their team. Specifically the Boston Celtics who have lacked a true starting center for years.
TRADE
Pistons get: Gordon Hayward, Robert Williams, Carsen Edwards, 2020 FRP, 2022 FRP
Celtics get: Andre Drummond, Langston Galloway
For the Celtics they get a young always healthy Drummond (even though Hayward was doing good he just broke his and and is not dependable) and a player every team trying to compete for a championship would love in Langston Galloway. This pairs with their already stellar lineup of Kemba\Jaylen\Tatum and gives them a true center down low. Meanwhile the pistons get another center on the roster to save us from watching Thon Maker and Carsen Edwards who has had his moments also two FRP that would likely be late round picks.
What Then?
So what else would need to be done? Well it depends on if players like Derrick Rose and Markeiff Morris would want to play for a rebuilding team. If not, buying them out or maybe, for Derrick, getting something small in return would be the likely path. But besides that, all they would need to do is make sure they build around their young guys like Luke Kennard and Sekou Doumboya.
published by Pittstons
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