At 3-36 this season, it’s safe to say the Pistons are in a rough spot.
The Pistons on Sunday reportedly made a trade with the Wizards, looking to take a step towards fixing what has become one of the NBA’s worst teams in the last several seasons.
Detroit is trading forwards Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers, along with two second-round picks, in exchange for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
While Gallinari and Muscala — both 6-foot-10 stretch forwards capable of shooting the three-ball — don’t transform the Pistons into a contender by any stretch of the imagination, it does free up more salary cap space.
Both Gallinari and Muscala are on expiring contracts worth a combined $10.3 million, while Bagley is guaranteed $12.5 million next season, the same as this season.
The trade is reportedly seen as a “first step,” according to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press. It is not clear whether the Pistons will be looking to use that extra cap space in the offseason or if they’ll be looking to make another trade ahead of next month’s deadline.
Coming off a torn ACL that sidelined him for the 2022-23 season, Gallinari is averaging 7.0 points a game on 31% three-point shooting over 14 minutes a game this year with the Wizards.
Muscala, meanwhile, is averaging just 4.0 PPG on 27.5 3FG% in 14.1 minutes. Both players are 38% career three-point shooters.