2-Time NBA All-Star Dubbed 'Ambitious' Trade Target for Pistons

This season, the Detroit Pistons shattered expectations by drastically increasing their win total and reaching the playoffs. However, when their run came to an end, many agreed on a key takeaway. That being that the team needed to go out and find a legitimate running mate for Cade Cunningham.

Cunningham did an excellent job leading the charge for the Pistons, putting together a career year that resulted in an All-Star and All-NBA nomination. That said, he can only take Detroit so far. If they're ever going to truly climb the ranks in the NBA, the front office needs to find a complementary high-level piece to put alongside him.

With the start of the offseason just around the corner, the people at Bleacher Report put together a list of "ambitious" trade targets for each team. For the Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. was chosen.

The floor-stretching that Jackson provides would matter on any team, but it'd be particularly important on a squad like Detroit, which doesn't get much outside shooting from Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland II or Jalen Duren. If your wings and other bigs can't pull the defense away from the bucket, it makes life harder on your on-ball star.

Jackson could fit with the Pistons for a variety of reasons. For starters, as a former Defensive Player of the Year, he can help maintain their hard-nosed identity on that end of the floor. In recent years, he's also grown to be a viable threat offensively as well. This season for the Grizzlies, JJJ averaged 22.2 PPG and 5.6 APG while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc.

If Jackson were made available in trade talks, he is a player the Pistons should strongly consider going after. He is on a similar type of timeline as Cunningham, and his two-way impact would instantly raise Detroit's ceiling in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

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