Bill Simmons Suggests Detroit Pistons Trade for NBA Champion

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated May 13, 2025 8:00 AM ET

This offseason, the Detroit Pistons will continie their years-long mission of adding and building talent around Cade Cunningham. Additions like Ausar Thompson, Ron Holland, and Jaden Ivey seem like long-term pairings, although solid veterans Dennis Schroder, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. are all free agents.

To replace the scoring punch offered by those players this summer, the Pistons have been urged to pursue a trade with the Golden State Warriors.

After the Warriors added Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga has been the odd man out. He has improved slowly and steadily during his NBA career, but has since been relegated to a smaller role with Butler in town, and is almost certainly not going to play in Golden State next season.

As a restricted free agent, the most logical course is for him to be dealt in a sign-and-trade, and the Pistons are a clear fit.

“If I were the Pistons, let’s look at all the tape of when Kuminga played 30+ minutes and try to figure out what that looks like on our team," said Bill Simmons. "I think he's competitive, I really think there's something there."

In 32 games before Butler arrived, Kuminga averaged 16.8 points and five rebounds. He shot 34.5 percent from deep and 45.9 percent from the floor while being a solid defender.

As the Pistons look for replacements for their free agents, Kuminga has postseason experience (not so much this year) and would be a fit on the wings in the Pistons' starting lineup, which is a role he has long coveted.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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