Pistons passing on big trades to stick with their core

Detroit picked up second-round picks in 2027 and 2031 in exchange for helping the Philadelphia 76ers get under the luxury-tax line by taking on forward KJ Martin and his $7.9M salary. As one of the rare teams with salary-cap space, the Pistons had the option of making a big move to bolster their surprise contender status, but they opted to stick with their surprising playoff squad.

The Pistons are 25-25 after winning only 31 games in the last two seasons combined. Behind All-Star Cade Cunningham and strong defense from young bigs Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson, Detroit has the NBA's 12th-ranked defense. Throw in contributions from veterans Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley and the Pistons have their most promising team in nearly a decade.

They could have tried to add a veteran for their playoff push, especially with young shooting guard Jaden Ivey out for the season with a broken leg. But that would mean taking minutes away from members of their young core, including 19-year-old Ron Holland, the No. 5 pick in last year's draft.

Not that Martin can't help. He's a great athlete who thrived as a small-ball center in Philadelphia. Martin can play defense and rebound, though he's not much of a shooter. He's a nice bench option, but he also won't be threatening anyone's regular minutes.

While second-round picks are always handy, the main takeaway from this deal is that the Pistons are content to roll with the team that got them this far. This playoff run is an unexpected bonus, but the Pistons are keeping calm and doing business like it's the first of many playoff runs to come.