The Pistons have traded their longest-tenured player, with bigger moves potentially in the works.
Detroit is sending big man Isaiah Stewart to Memphis for the three second-round picks the Pistons originally sent to the Grizzlies on Tuesday night to move up in the first round of the draft for Ebuka Okorie.
The Pistons will miss Stewart's rim protection and rugged demeanor that personified their defensive identity. But they were on the hook to pay him $30 million in the final two years of his four-year, $60 million contract. With that money off the books, the Pistons are inclined to invest it elsewhere.
It looks like they're going "big game hunting," NBA insider Brian Windhorst said on ESPN during the draft, as they seek more ball-handling and shooting around Cade Cunningham. Windhorst mentioned LeBron James and Kahwi Leonard as potential targets.
That's obviously dreaming big, and it's unclear if either superstar would be open to joining the Pistons.
James is set to be a free agent after eight seasons with the Lakers and will likely be seeking a max deal wherever he decides to close out his career. He's entering his 24th NBA season, at age 41.
Leonard is under contract through next season with the Clippers with a cap hit of $50.3 million. He turns 35 in June and has battled numerous injuries in recent years, but is still one of the game's top players when healthy. He finished seventh in MVP voting last season.
Other potential trade targets for the Pistons include Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans, Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks and former Heat guard Tyler Herro, who was recently dealt to Milwaukee in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
They were said to be eyeing Austin Reaves in free agency before the Lakers retained him Wednesday on a max contract, upping their offer over the prior 24 hours, Windhorst said, "because they knew that there was a chance that Detroit was going to open up space."
"Detroit is setting themselves up to be the story of this offseason, one of the stories of this offseason, after falling short when they needed more scoring and more creation in the playoffs last year," Windhorst said.
