Overlooked Detroit Pistons' Trade Target Revealed

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By JH Kubicek | Last updated May 21, 2025 8:14 AM ET

As the Detroit Pistons enter the 2025 NBA offseason, they will do so without a first-round pick, although the mission remains the same: build around Cade Cunningham.

Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder, and Tim Hardaway Jr. will all be free agents, meaning the Pistons will have a need to address at the wing. With trade assets like Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Stewart, and even Jalen Duren or Ausar Thompson, the Pistons can take a big swing this offseason.

In an effort to stay youthful, one target was recently floated who fits their timeline.

"If there was one player I’d suggest the Pistons go after via trade this summer, it would be Jabari Smith Jr.," wrote The Athletic's Hunter Patterson. "Given the success of Thompson’s twin brother, Amen, and the logjam of wings the Houston Rockets have from Tari Eason to Amen to Smith, I’d gauge the Rockets’ interest in trading him."

In his third full season, Smith Jr. averaged 12.2 points and seven rebounds (both career lows) while shooting 35.4 percent from deep. It was his first NBA season where he was not a full-time starter, and the Pistons could offer him more minutes.

The Rockets might be interested in Ivey or even Tobias Harris, although their sights would certainly be set on Ausar Thompson, who could play next to his twin brother. An Ausar for Smith Jr. swap straight up would be malpractice by Trajan Langdon, so a trade would have to be a bit more complex than that.

Cunningham flourished this season with shooters around him for the first time in his career, and bolstering the spacing needs to be a priotiy for the Pistons.

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

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