Detroit Pistons at the Deadline

After Stan Van Gundy went on record about the Joe Johnson rumors & said no, that deal wasn't happening (thank god) and the Pistons were most likely standing pat, the Pistons DID NOT stand pat.

Trade #1: SF Kyle Singler, PG DJ Augustin, & a 2019 2nd round pick to OKC, and a 2017 2nd round pick to Utah for PG Reggie Jackson.

Trade #2: PF Jonas Jerebko & SF Luigi Datome to Boston for SF Tayshaun Prince.

Roster-filling Move: Signed SF Quincy Miller out of the D League to a 10-day contract.

ESPN's Kevin Pelton gave Detroit a 'C' for the Reggie Jackson trade, although most people like it a bit better than that (I'd give the trade a B+). Jackson was either the best or 2nd best player in the 3-team trade (depending on who you ask). He doesn't shoot it as well as Singler or Augustin do, so the Pistons get worse there, but he's a solid defender and runs a great pick & roll.

The Pistons give up their starting SF (who should be a bench player) and their starting PG (who WAS a bench player until Jennings got hurt), but Jackson is worth it. If you look at his production while Westbrook was hurt, Reggie averaged basically 20 ppg & 8 apg.

The Tayshaun Prince deal I don't like quite so much. The Pistons needed depth at the 3 position, so they gave up a bench PF on a good contract and a bench SF that wasn't getting any burn for a washed up Tayshaun. Jerebko is the best player in this trade, only he wasn't a great fit for Van Gundy's offense.

Tayshaun possesses the skill set to fit in, only he doesn't usually use it the way he should. If you'll recall, before he was traded the Pistons implemented the ISO-Tay or Isola-shaun offense, which was the worst, most boring offense in the NBA. It consisted of clearing out for Tayshaun on the wing, Tay S L O W L Y backing his guy down for 15 seconds, then either throwing up a hook shot or turning it over. At his current age and diminished athletic ability, Tayshaun should be establishing himself as a spot up shooter. My other concern is Tayshaun has shown a propensity to sulk quite a bit. If he steps up and fits in, this isn't a terrible deal. Otherwise, you can forget about making the playoffs this year. The other aspect of this deal is Tayshaun's $7M expiring contract, which should help SVG find some REAL help on the wing this summer.

Speaking of help on the wings, the Pistons got 6'10" SF Quincy Miller to shore up the SF position after dealing Singler & Datome. Miller was the #1 rated D League prospect, averaging 25.3 ppg on .506/.352/.892 shooting, 7.6 reb, 1.9 ast, 1.6 stl, and 3.6 blk. He's had a couple cups of coffee up in the NBA, but never really stuck. He had a couple of solid games, like the Houston game above (19 pts, 6 boards, 3 dimes, 4 blocks), but never had any sustained success. Maybe getting some run in the D League helped him figure it out, and Miller becomes a solid contributor off the bench. Maybe he goes full-on Hassan Whiteside and makes the leap from D Leaguer to NBA stud.

We aren't going to see the new-look Pistons until Sunday at the earliest. I expect some growing pains with Jackson as he learns the playbook and his new role. I don't have a clue what we'll be getting out of the SF position. I do think this team can make the playoffs. Milwaukee and Charlotte will slide, Brooklyn isn't really any better, Boston is slightly better, and Miami - despite picking up the best player who moved yesterday - may have lost Bosh for the season.

Get ready. The next 8 weeks are going to be INTERESTING.