The Pistons and Hornets are finalizing a trade that would see Mason Plumlee sent to Charlotte along with the No. 37 pick in Thursday night’s draft in exchange for the No. 57 pick, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Hornets had been expected to be one of the NBA’s most aggressive teams in pursuit of a center this offseason and will get an early start on addressing that position by acquiring Plumlee, who averaged 10.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 56 games (26.8 minutes) during his first and only season as a Piston.
Plumlee had been set to earn $8.1M in 2021-22 and will receive a 10% trade bonus as a result of the deal, bumping up that cap hit by $830K, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Even at close to $9M, Plumlee’s deal isn’t particularly onerous, especially since it’s only partially guaranteed in 2022-23. So it’s somewhat surprising that the Pistons were willing to drop down 20 spots in the draft to move off it, especially since GM Troy Weaver just signed Plumlee to that deal last offseason.
Still, Detroit will gain cap flexibility as a result of the trade and could open up about $20M in space rather than operating over the cap this summer, per Nate Duncan. The move will also create additional playing time for promising young big man Isaiah Stewart.
The deal will have to be completed once the new league year begins, when the Hornets can take Plumlee into their cap space. They’ll still have about $13M in projected cap room, according to Marks, so they could pursue another center in free agency.
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