The Detroit Pistons have been very busy making deals ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. They are currently pacing the league with the most completed transactions, as the Pistons have consummated three trades.
The first was with the Utah Jazz, as they acquired Simone Fontecchio in exchange for Kevin Knox II, a second-round pick and the draft rights to Gabriele Procida. In their second deal, they traded Monte Morris to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr. and a second-round pick.
Earlier on Thursday, the Pistons made their biggest deal of the deadline with the New York Knicks. They traded veterans Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic in exchange for Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two future second-round picks. Philadelphia also acquired Danuel House Jr. from the Philadelphia 76ers in a roster-clearing move by Daryl Morey.
With only four players on the way out and eight coming in, the Pistons have already gotten to work on waiving players so that they are compliant with NBA roster rules. One of the players who has been waived is veteran Joe Harris, according to Shams Charnia of The Athletic and Stadium.
There was hope Harris would provide the Pistons with some much-needed spacing as an elite 3-point shooter. But, he was never able to get on track, battling injuries and appearing in only 16 games. In those 16 games, he failed to get much of a rhythm, connecting on only 33.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
House, Milton and Brown could eventually join Harris on the waiver wire, but the team has made a bit of a surprising decision with their next release. Killian Hayes, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has been released as well.
Some rumors were swirling that the Pistons were looking to move Hayes ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline. His market must have been nonexistent, as the team has opted to waive him instead. Despite several chances, Hayes has not developed as well as Detroit had hoped he would, leading to them heading in a different direction.
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