u/Whippi_Dip13

Drop your most outlandish takes.

No wrong answers (probably)

This definitely isn’t a complaint about our acquisitions. I love the Isaiah Joe move. I’m higher on Huerter than most. John Collins gives us some versatility.

But we now how so many contracts in that $9-17M range. More than most teams. And we have multiple players with non-guaranteed contracts.

I say all this to say, we may be done for the majority of the summer, but I do have an inkling it’ll be a loud trade deadline for us.

Don’t say Wemby or Jokic.

But if they do wanna move on from Duren, who’s your dream target that isn’t completely blasphemous.

Not to get all Cap nerdy, but I really feel like we’re in a position to benefit from descending contracts with the upcoming Ausar and JD extensions.

It really is a win-win for both the player, and the organization.

The player gets the majority of their money upfront and can let the money grow in the market.

The organization gets more cap flexibility as we grow out our roster into future years

If JD signs like a $200M extension for example, I think i’d fight hard for a breakdown of 45-42.5-40-37.5-35.

Orlando has multiple guys who they frontloaded their contracts on

It may seem like a little thing but frontloading the Ausar and Duren contracts could go a long way.

Obviously time will tell if Okorie ends up being a stud

But wouldn’t it be such a full circle moment if we were essentially able to acquire Okorie because of the Ivey trade (yes i know there was a tad more to it)

I know it’s two completely different regimes but man I’d feel a lot better if our wasted #5 pick in Ivey gave us one last gift in Okorie

Pistons fan here!

I’ve watched just about every game of Isaiah Stewart’s career. Yes, unfortunately I did watch the majority of games in years we were losing 28 in a row and playing G League guys. But with all of that I got to watch Beef Stew grow into the player he is now. So I figured i’d give you some insight into exactly what you’re getting.

First off… The person:

Beef Stew’s personality on the court could not be any different than what he’s like off the court. On the court he is a gladiator. Ready to fight at any moment. Off the court he’s laid back and is literally a farmer (yes actually) and he is very soft spoken.

As for the player:

He is genuinely one of the 3-5 best rim protectors in the league. Just wait. Every game he will have 2 of the most badass blocks. Nobody can dunk on him. His super power is timing his jump and positioning his hands EXACTLY where they need to be. I genuinely feel that he is 2nd to Wemby with his paint protection. The only downside is that he has really only shown he can do it in bursts and he is EXTREMELY foul prone. Another key strength is his ability to switch and guard on the perimeter. He is so good at moving his feet. Funny side note: There was a play where a team was hunting a switch and they just switched Beef Stew onto the ball handler. And Cade Cunningham yelled so loud you could hear it through the TV saying “That’s what we want.”

Offensively he is nothing special. But solid overall. He’s mostly a below the rim player. His layups look a little funky but they go in at a good rate. His jumper is slow but looks pretty. He can give you a solid 10 PPG given the right minutes

Overall, he’s just an amazing backup/role player. Every time he’s on the court you will be thinking “I’m not worried about our bench unit.”

If you guys have any questions about Beef Stew I’d be happy to answer them

-Ebuka Okorie

-Isaiah Evans

-Bennett Stirtz

-Christian Anderson

-Allen Graves

-Meleek Thomas

-Dailyn Swain

-Joshua Jefferson

(I’m assuming guys like Cameron Carr are off the board)

Yes, he can’t shoot.

Yes, we need shooters

Yes, we should be making a push and need win-now players

I dont care. Ron is already an elite defender and athlete and is 6’8 with a frame that can put on lots of muscle. He has an insane motor and work ethic. He is 20 years old and will likely be a cheap-ish 2nd contract. Don’t trade him please. Especially not for Tyler Herro (no disrespect to Herro)

Edit: Even if you do want to trade Ron, at least WAIT till next year’s trade deadline. The year 3 jump is a real thing. And there’s always plenty of options available at the trade deadline. There is zero chance Ron hurts his value from now until then

First off, let me say I do love me some Beef Stew. And I think he’s a lot better than what his playoff showing was. But if you’re gonna put $35-40M into your starting Center, it might not make sense to be paying $15M for a backup who can’t play with Duren. Especially when you already have BBall Paul holding it down.

So with that being said, what could we get for Stew. I think you’d either be looking at a player for player swap, or maybe a combination of 21+Stew. Is Stew enough to get you a quality rotation guard or shooter?

Some names like Payton Pritchard, PJ Washington, Max Christie and Ben Mathurin (S&T) are one that could theoretically make sense.

What do y’all think? Trade Beef Stew, and if so any of these names or any others make sense?

First, off we have no idea if this Pistons will even want to trade up. Heck, maybe they’re more likely to trade out of the pick. But just for the sake of fun let’s look at some trade up scenarios

If the Pistons wanted to trade up from 21, who would be willing to move back and what would the price tag be?

I dont think any team in the top 10 makes sense and that would be really expensive. All the top 10 teams aren’t really in a big rush to win now. If anyone feels differently, feel free to throw out fake scenarios.

Golden State at 11 could be a trade down candidate, but they’d definitely want win now players. Is a starting point of 21+ Stewart intriguing for them to move back to 21?

OKC could also look to trade down out of 12 or 17, but I honestly have no idea what they’d want. Expensive roster and already more picks than you can imagine.

The only other candidate that could make sense is Memphis at 16. Hypothetically, what could it cost to move up from 21 to 16? I honestly have no idea or reference point I can remember off the top of my head

Any chance Isaac Bonga cracks the rotation next year?

Best defender in Europe. 6’8. Solid wingspan. Good at making corner 3’s. Could he be the PF version of Javonte Green this upcoming season? I am not getting my hopes up, but he was an intriguing addition

I’ve seen a lot of discourse about how if we pay Duren and Ausar then it essentially eliminates our chances at getting Cade a “2nd star” due to cap restrictions.

And while this, in all likelihood is true, do we really need a 2nd star? Or do we just need a respectable level guard/creator who can take pressure off Cade?

I’m not sure what the right answer is tbh. Obviously I would love to bring in an All-star level guard/creator next to Cade but then you have to start worrying about depth, your payroll, and your draft picks/optionality after you make the move.

What do you guys think?

Or can we just re-tool on the fly IF NEEDED, in the future? Let’s say worst case scenario, it isn’t working with him, would he would still hold somewhat positive value and we could trade him for a pick or two or a couple quality role players? Assuming he doesn’t get dramatically worse as a player. Which seems unlikely

Don’t get me wrong, I dont necessarily hate the player. But if we were to go this route, then why not just re-sign Kevin Huerter? I know Red Velvet has had some up and down shooting years (mostly up), but I can promise you the next 3 years of Huerter would be better than the next 3 of Evans. And I know many in this forum are antsy about our “window.”

Or if not Huerter, then one of the other 50 role playing shooters who could be acquired for cheap across the league.

Heck is Chaz Lanier a better player next year than Evans? I would argue so.

Shooters are mostly a dime a dozen.

And it’s not like Evans is some defensive stopper that Huerter isn’t. Evans is like 170 pounds soaking wet and wont be ready for playoff physicality for a couple years

Allocate our Draft resources towards someone else I would personally say

Like do you guys even think it’s feasible to put any player on our draft board if they aren’t at least a respectable shooter? Not just for this draft, but going forward? Assuming Ausar and Duren stay.

Interesting name to look out for in the draft. Combo Guard out of Europe

I dont see him on any mock drafts but he’s a Euro prospect who was committed to Gonzaga. However, he entered the draft and it sounds like he’s only staying in because teams told him he’d go 1st round

So add him to our potential targets and see if you like his YouTube highlights 😂

Drives me insane every time JB doesn’t close with Ausar. He is just too valuable. I get if it’s just for 1 singular possession, but Ausar has gotta be out there during crunch time no matter what! He’s our 2nd best player. Obviously it’s not offseason time but long term we have to make sure we have multiple players around Ausar that allow him to be in every closing lineup combination

I dont care if he cant shoot the basketball. If other players on the roster dont fit with him, then you simply have to get new players around him. He is one of the most unique athletes, and basketball players i’ve ever seen.

I think we are all used to seeing 2-4 first round picks required to get a star player. But now, any pick that could be forecasted in the top 16 would seem to hold much more value. Especially the picks from middle of the pack NBA teams. So I wonder if we see a complete reset on the trade market as well

Obviously this team needs a 2nd creator. Maybe they go for a bigger name. Maybe it’s just a rotation guy like we saw with Dennis Schroder. But here’s a list of potential targets I made, and some quick notes about each:

Kyrie Irving: Could be cheaper to acquire than you’d think. I think everyone knows his pros and cons by now. Maybe you could even get him for the 21st pick this year and a protected 1st in the future.

Jrue Holiday: Portland has Scoot minutes they need to give out and Dame coming back. Jrue is aging and has a big contract. But these playoffs have shown he’s still got some in the tank.

Ayo Dosunmo: Ayo is an unrestricted free agent actually. Minnesota would have to be the favorites to sign him, but it is possible for Detroit to slide into his bidding

CJ McCollum: Atlanta will probably look to re-sign, but like Ayo, he’s unrestricted. Certainly aging but he would bring great shooting, experience and could certainly play with Cade.

Anfernee Simons: Not quite a lead guard, but if you coupled him with another creator he could improve upon the Caris LeVert role tenfold.

Coby White: Would be a solid spark plug off the bench. Good shooting and offensive creation.

DeAnthony Melton: This is a very cheap option and moreso and end of rotation third creator. But still a guy who can handle the rock with varying levels of success

Davion Mitchell: Could be relatively cheap to acquire. Again you’d want more creators than him but he’s someone who will keep a defensive mindset and can run an NBA offense at least

Tyler Herro: A more expensive option. And a defensive liability. But you would have all the playoff shooting and scoring you need with a Cade-Herro backcourt.

Nikola Topic: A true wildcard option. OKC has no space for him.

Collin Gillespie: Very undersized and a weak defender. But his shooting is unbelievable and he can put the ball on the floor