The Pistons have “quietly explored” the trade market for Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, two of their roster’s centerpieces, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reports in his latest piece, which is a deep dive into the situation in Detroit. According to Lowe, the Pistons came away disappointed with what teams might be willing to offer for Drummond or Jackson, reducing the likelihood of either player being moved in the next eight days.
Still, while a Drummond trade remains an “extreme long shot,” a deal involving Jackson isn’t entirely off the table. Lowe suggests the Timberwolves, Magic, and Pelicans are among the potential suitors for the veteran point guard, if Detroit is willing to settle for a modest return. Per Lowe, Jackson’s value has “cratered,” and a player like Ricky Rubio is one of the few solid starters the Pistons could get in any trade package. Lottery teams seeking a long-term solution at point guard are unwilling to move their first-round picks for Jackson, and Detroit isn’t ready to simply dump him for a collection of expiring contracts.
In his attempt to find a potential trade partner for a Jackson deal, Lowe identifies the Magic and Nuggets, pointing to players like Elfrid Payton and Emmanuel Mudiay as possible trade pieces. However, while Mudiay is believed to be available, Denver doesn’t appear to have interest in Jackson. Lowe notes that Orlando is an “intriguing” possibility, since GM Rob Hennigan was in Oklahoma City’s front office when the team drafted Jackson.
Here’s more from Lowe on Jackson, along with a few other intriguing Pistons-related tidbits:
- The Pelicans have kicked the tires on Jackson, but never engaged in serious talks, league sources tell Lowe.
- According to Lowe, several Pistons players criticized Jackson during a December players-only meeting for his apparent lack of effort on defense. Drummond tells Lowe that the criticism “wasn’t cool,” since Jackson was coming off an injury and wasn’t yet 100%. However, both Drummond and Stan Van Gundy acknowledge that the team has struggled to adjust to Jackson’s presence on the court this year after finding a groove early in the season with Ish Smith handling the point.
- According to Lowe, a fear that top free agents won’t come to Detroit has pushed the Pistons to acquire solid players on good contracts when they become available. Those players aren’t always a fit with Drummond and Van Gundy, which has contributed to some of the team’s roster issues.
- Multiple teams, including the Spurs, made an effort to nab Stanley Johnson in a trade after Van Gundy publicly called out the second-year forward earlier in the season. Although the Pistons rebuffed those efforts, the team has been frustrated by Devin Booker‘s development in comparison to Johnson’s, since the draft room was “almost deadlocked” between those two players in 2015, says Lowe.
- The Pistons are unlikely to make a major move until closer to the draft, since they want to make the playoffs and are reluctant to do anything that will adversely impact their odds of earning a postseason spot, says Lowe. The ESPN analyst notes that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s pending restricted free agency will be an interesting case to follow this offseason, since the Pistons may have to shed a salary – perhaps Tobias Harris‘ or Boban Marjanovic‘s – if they need to match a max offer sheet for Caldwell-Pope.
Drummond is going nowhere, Detroit can forget about playoffs for a long time a player of Drummond’s caliber who is still very young is way too valuable to move. Moving Jackson makes no sense either, they just need to stay the course and re-sign Pope, with time they will become a contender.
Drummond is a great rebounder. But he’s not a real 25 point threat to score. Jackson has regressed this season. They need a three point shooter/scorer on the wing to become a contender. While pope is a good player he’s not the wing threat they need to be a contender. Guys like melo or Jimmy butler or cj mcollum are the type of guys they would need. I know jimmy isn’t a great three point shooter but he’s available
Caldwell-Pope is easily a top 5 wing defender and a really good 3 point shooter, is he an all-star? Maybe down the line but his defense and 3 point shooting should keep him around. Jimmy Butler would be a great fit but say bye to Wade if Jimmy gets dealt.
Drummond isn’t that special. If we can break into the top 3 in the draft this year its worth it. We suck and we’re not getting any better. Van Gundy screwed up by getting whatever random player became available at that moment and then playing as safe as possible in the draft and we ended up with the leagues most average player in Stanley Johnson. Drummond isn’t good enough to build an entire team around. The playoffs are meaningless. We’ll just get swept by Cleveland 2 years in a row. The draft and rebuilding is what we should be focused on.
Hey Stan come swing Drummond to Beantown
Boston would win the East with Drummond at the 5.
I’d love to mover Whiteside to Boston
The Pistons would look sick with Melo at the three. I’m sure that a deal could get done with a combination of players like Tobias, Stanley and perhaps some draft picks, but sadly I can’t see Melo waving the no trade clause to go to Detroit.
How about the TWolves trading Gorgui Dieng and our first round pick this year (likely between 6-9) for Drummond. Others would be added to make the dollars work. Maybe Tyus Jones to sweeten the pot.
Detroit’s problem is consistent scoring. They want to be a high scoring 3 pt shooting team, but have guys that can’t shoot the 3 consistently. Reggie Jackson has fell off this year, due to injuries. Drummond isn’t having the impact he had last year either. Morris, Harris, Smith and Leuer have been solid though.