A lot of people are expecting the Detroit Pistons to be active ahead of the NBA trade deadline this afternoon. They are your prototypical seller as they are near the bottom of the standings with an eye toward the future and multiple veterans on the roster.
Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Bojan Bogdanovic are the veterans garnering the most attention. Burks and Noel came as a package deal from the New York Knicks while Bogdanovic was acquired from the Utah Jazz.
All three have been involved in some amount of trade rumors, which isn’t too surprising. However, that doesn’t mean a deal will be any easier to make. The Pistons aren’t going to just give away the veterans on their roster. In fact, they are going to make opposing teams meet a lofty price to acquire one of them.
According to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, Detroit has set a high price on Burks and Bogdanovic. Part of the reason for that is that each of them is under contract for next season.
Burks has a team option, which would make him an expiring contract in some trade talks. Bogdanovic signed an extension that many people view as team-friendly shortly after Detroit acquired him. Head coach Dwane Casey spoke highly of both players recently and what they mean to the team.
“(Burks) and (Bogdanovic) are the perfect fit for our rebuilding program, and we’re ready to take off and go forward next year,” Casey said. “Those two guys are just important pieces now and also going forward.”
Burks, who missed the beginning of the season recovering from offseason foot surgery, has carried his 3-point shooting success over from Broadway to the Motor City. He is knocking down a career-high 42.1 percent of his 3-point attempts and averaging 13 points per game.
Bogdanovic is also in the midst of a career season, averaging 21.3 points per game with elite efficiency. His .486/.416/.879 shooting split is the most efficient season of his career with a 62.8 true shooting percentage.
To acquire either player, it sounds like the Pistons would have to be blown away by an offer. At least one unprotected first-round pick could get Detroit to the negotiating table, but it could ultimately take multiple picks and young players to get a deal done.
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