DETROIT, MI -- While the trade deadline was quiet for most teams around the CSL, the Detroit Pistons were working late into the night to try to make some moves to position the team for a brighter future. Reports out of team headquarters stated that the GM was seen pacing the facility yelling at passer-bys and at one point throwing a half-eaten banana at a janitor cleaning his office. When the night finally ended, the Pistons sent out star point guard John Wall and big man Boban Marjanovic to the Denver Nuggets in an odd move that brought back a potential lotto pick and some young players to add to their depth.
Below is a summary of the trade:
Detroit Pistons Receive:
Julius Randle - $14,898,936
Traveon Jackson - $943,000
Dennis Schroeder - $2,800,000
2022 DEN 1st (Top 3 Protected)
Denver Nuggets Receive
John Wall - $15,900,000
Boban Marjanovic - $3,512,620
With Wall, the Pistons were 24-10 and have the top seed in the East, prior to his arrival the Pistons were 17-4, but lacked a true identity. Three quarters into Walls short Detroit tenure, the Pistons were presented the opportunity to add defensive and polarizing guard Terry Rozier on a relatively cheap deal and this signaled the end of Wall in Detroit. Since then, the GM had been working the phones to open up more time for prized prospect Jamal Murray and to allow Rozier to become the starting SG to pair with Kemba Walker.
Now Walker is back to being the teams starting PG and has been given the green light to take over games any way he wants again. When asked about the trade Kemba responded by saying "Yeah, I was surprised he was traded. Me and JW we were starting to get it going and I think we could have done some big things this year, but you know how the GM is. If he has a bad breakfast someone is getting traded."
When asked if he was excited to be the main guy again, Kemba just said "I was always the main guy. JW was my dude, but he knew coming in here who ran the show."
Surprisingly enough, the first game post trade for the Pistons came against none other than the Denver Nuggets and John Walls new team. Kemba proved his dominance in the league by putting up a stat line of 33 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and a block while holding Wall to 5 points and 8 assists and causing him to foul out in only 24 minutes of play.
Julius Randle was one of the big pieces coming back with the injury-plagued big man having a ton of talent, but not being able to piece together a full 82 game season. With him being placed in a rotation with current bigs Montrezl Harrell and Jahlil Okafor, his minutes should be relatively limited, but they are hoping to see a big impact in the time on the court. Traveon Jackson is someone the GM has liked for some time as he provides an offensive spark off the bench and has good room for growth on the defensive side of the ball. Dennis Schroeder is a great defensive backup PG to further add the depth to the team.
The prized possession was the Denver 1st round pick, which is Top 3 protected. If this pick lands top 10, the team should be able to add a talented player to the team to set up a good foundation for the future during the Post-Kemba era. The real question now for the Pistons is when will the Post-Kemba era begin? It was supposed to begin two seasons ago, then it was pushed to this off-season when the Pistons cleaned house. But here we are with Kemba still a Piston. The GM was asked why he hasn't moved on from Walker and responded by saying:
Minutes later, the GM was quoted saying "He's as good as gone after this season. I can't stand that guy." We'll see if this move pays off as two years in a row the Pistons have traded prime talent for the future, but all eyes will be on the Pistons and Denver the rest of this season.What the hell kind of question is that? That guy has given his all to this team. Hes not going anywhere. He will be a Piston forever, his kids will be Pistons forever, his grandchildren will be Pistons forever. Don't ever ask that question again.
