A year ago, Pistons GM Troy Weaver traded a player and a second-round pick for a 22-year-old with upside: Hamidou Diallo.
He pulled the same move Sunday for Bol Bol.
The Pistons are finalizing a trade for the 22-year-old forward, sending Rodney McGruder and future second-round pick to the Nuggets in exchange for the 7'2 Bol, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Son of the 7'7 Manute Bol, Bol Bol was one of the biggest recruits in the country coming out of high school, much like Diallo. He wound up at Oregon, where he was one and done in 2018-19, before being drafted, like Diallo, in the second round. At the time, one scouting report said Bol "has the potential to be elite on both ends of the floor due to his freakish physical package."
Three years later, he's yet to find his footing in the NBA. He's averaged 2.7 points and 1.2 boards in 53 career games. He also never got much of an opportunity on a contending team in Denver. That should change with the Pistons, who will "offer Bol a chance to play a more significant role," per Wojnarowski.
Bol was averaging 5.8 minutes per game this season with the Nuggets. In Detroit, he'll join a frontcourt led by center Isaiah Stewart and forward Kelly Olynyk, ho remains sidelined with the knee injury he suffered in November.
McGruder, 30, arrived in Detroit two years ago as part of the trade that enabled the Pistons to draft Saddiq Bey 19th overall and was averaging 2.5 points in 17 games this season.