Betrayer

I hope it doesn't happen, but I'll admit I'm curious to see how this will work. Without Jerami Grant to give back, Phoenix would have to be willing to take a pile of garbage in return on a sign and trade. No way they let him walk for nothing. They're better off matching the offer and then getting something for him after Dec 15th.

If we grab Hayward and let's say pick 13 from Charlotte, then this immediately becomes a really good move. Grant for: Pick #13 mid-20s 2025 1st round pick 36 instead of 47 in this year's draft Hayward 2026 2nd round pick Is a solid haul.

56M in cap space according to Keith Smith: https://twitter.com/keithsmithnba/status/1539730972622585856?s=21&t=7WKA7Uzvk24D8wVCTMoXqQ

This is my hope. That it was done to clear space to acquire contracts that will get us pick(s) and kick the cap space down the road a bit while our young guys develop.

My first reaction to this trade isn't favorable, but if you told me that no other teams were going to give us anything and it was this or sign Grant to a 4/120M deal, I suppose I'd take this. Very curious to see what is done with this cap space. I really don't want another Charlie V + Ben Gordon offseason where we overpay for a bunch of middling players just because we have the money and it's a weak free agent class. And yes, I'm talking about Ayton (max), Bridges (max), Brunson 25+M), or Sexton (20+M) - none of them are worth those contracts.

Beat writers are saying that Weaver's camp plays this way closer to the vest than previous front offices. I'm not sure how much real info we're getting right now and how much is smokescreen. Makes sense, particularly in this draft with there's a very slim margin between these players and you've got a team ahead of you and a bunch behind you that may want to make moves. You want to keep as much leverage as possible. It is interesting nonetheless that the Sharpe talk has really died down. Pistons will come away with Ivey, Murray, or maybe Mathurin (I think this only happens if they trade down). I don't think we'll see Sharpe unless the Pistons get a second pick, but even then it just feels like this front office would rather let someone else take that chance.

No surprise there. Pistons should have roughly 36M in cap space this year after signing the #5 pick and renouncing everyone with options (Bagley, Jackson, Hami). They could re-sign those guys afterwards, of course. We also have about 11M in dead cap due to Troy's love for acquiring players and then cutting them before they ever get to Detroit. Hopefully we don't do that again this year just to move a guy like Plumlee for a an equally average guy like Olynyk 🙃

I think the pick is either Ivey or Murray, whichever the Kings don't take. This draft starts at #4 with the Kings pick. As for the Kings, if the rumors are true and they really want Murray - which they should since he has a high floor, they just traded away Haliburton to make it the Fox show, and Ivey is rumored to not want to go to the Kings - then they're in a tight spot. The only options they have are to just take Murray at #4 or trade with us, because if Ivey is off the board then Murray isn't falling past us at #5. Kind of puts us in the driver's seat if we're happy with either player. As for Mathurin, he's a great prospect, but in my opinion the Pistons are viewing him in that later range of 7-12 alongside guys like Sharpe, Daniels, and Duren if they can get a second pick for Grant. I don't see him being taken at #5 with Ivey or Murray on the board.

Of course he'll go the Lakers 🤣

There's been a bunch of off the court stuff with the Hornets, so I'm not surprised. He probably wants to coach a basketball team, not the Jailblazers 2.0

Cheaters 😁🤣

When he locks in on defense, he's tough to deal with due to his length and athleticism. Combine that with Boston's offense (and most teams in the NBA) of standing around and watching one player try to make a move and it becomes tough to score. On the other side, Boston has some great defenders, but Golden State's offensive system of relentless movement and passing is so much harder to game plan against.

Interesting... https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/267398/Jaden-Ivey-Would-Prefer-Kings-Dont-Draft-Him

Nice to hear that he actually participated in a competitive workout. Right now I'm assuming we're going to draft Murray. I like the kid and I'll be happy to root for him. Great character and I'm sure he'll be a solid player. But... I can't help but feel like he's the kind of player you can get in free agency or in the middle of the first round (like Bey). Meanwhile, if one of the others hit their ceiling (Ivey, Sharpe, and even Mathurin) you aren't signing that kind of player in free agency because that's an All-Star. For me, that's why I'd prefer one of them. You only get so many shots at All-Stars and even less if you're in a market like Detroit. You can get "solid" players anytime down the road through trades or free agency. Either way, I really just want to see the Pistons do more than just make their pick and go home. There's been so much talk about trading Grant for another pick and Weaver making sure his "clip is always empty" that if we walk away with just Murray and some nobody at pick #47 I'm going to feel like the clip definitely was not emptied.

Does anyone lose the ball more going to the rim more than Jaylen Brown. He dribbles into traffic, gets stripped, passes it to nobody, or tosses up an off-balance bad shot. Not once or twice per game, but over and over again. I noticed it early in the playoffs, then it got worse against Miami and I just thought, "OK, Oladipo is doing a good job on him"...but now I see this is just Jaylen Brown. It happens so much it's almost predictable. Frustrating to watch even as a Piston's fan semi-rooting for Boston, but I can't imagine how frustrated Boston fans must be with it.

He came from the Boston coaching tree, right? So maybe he could have been viewed as the successor to Casey in a year or two? Is this something Detroit fans should be disappointed about? Honestly don't keep up on assistant coaches enough to know how some of these guys are viewed in the league and with the fanbase.

I can't imagine any of the big 3 drop farther than #4. People have been touting this as a "big 3" draft talent-wise for a long time now and all of those teams would rather draft a big than a guard. Plus, having one of them draft Ivey would make SAC's day since they'd much rather grab one of the "big 3" instead of staring at Ivey (or having to trade out) since they just traded away Haliburton.

Who's going to be the awkward one that's still sitting there a bit too long this year? AJ Griffin?

This Warriors team loves playing the innocent good guy to the media while they go out there and do the same or worse.

Unless it's Sharpe. He probably won't participate in that either 😄

If it's Jabari. If not, you answer the phone because multiple GMs are about to give you a king's ransom to get that pick.

I came here to say this exactly. He should've been ejected from multiple games now. The refs just let him get away with anything and apparently if he already has 1 tech, they aren't going to give him another no matter what he does because they "don't want to impact the game in that way." This is why NBA refs get such a bad rap - just call each play as it's meant to be called and drop the meta gaming.

No thanks on Ayton. Yes, he'll give you more regular season wins, but I'm thinking about the playoffs and if you've been watching the playoffs for the past few years you know that drop coverage Centers are tough to keep on the floor in a lot of matchups. You see them getting played off the court by 5 out lineups, getting their minutes shortened, and sometimes sitting for entire series. I'm talking about guys who were core pieces for their team all year like Gobert, Lopez, Ayton, Adams, etc. Even in the finals just last night they were talking about how Udoka is pulling Robert Williams in order to keep up with the perimeter switching they need against the Warriors. I don't want my highest paid player to be matchup dependent like that in the playoffs. That's the first strike against him. And it's not just a matter of paying him the max, the suns aren't just going to let him walk. If they can't pull off a sign and trade, then it makes way more sense for them to just match any offers and trade him later. That means you also have to give up major assets for the privilege of maxing out a drop-coverage Center. Strike two. And that's before we even get into the character issues, the bad work ethic that has him pulling all-nighters playing video games rather than focusing on basketball, and the fact that it's not even working out on a contender...how's he going to act on a team that's not good yet? Third strike. Give me someone like Mitchell Robinson, Jalen Duren (if we can snag a later lotto pick), or another affordable Center who can give me 90% of what Ayton gives at 30% of the cost and not have to give up assets on top of that cost.

I've heard Bogdanovic and 16 as the rumored return. I'd do it. You avoid paying Grant 25M a year for four years and maintain cap flexibility for a team that's still finding its stars. Pistons are leaning towards Murray, who will replace Grant for a fraction of the price. Bogdanovic can space the floor and has just 2 years left on his deal, which expires when you have to pay Bey/Stewart. Plus you can probably get a solid player at 16 depending upon who drops. I expect whatever trade the Pistons make will happen on draft night when we know who we get at #5 and who may be left around the time that the other team is picking.

That should help calm things down and bring order to the Lakers train wreck.