Dec 28, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (00) dribbles up court in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Promising Pistons Player Tabbed as a Top NBA Trade Chip

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Justin Grasso | Last updated Aug 2, 2025 8:52 AM ET

Without any major moves over the offseason, the Detroit Pistons have made it clear that they saw something special in last year’s young roster.

The fifth-overall pick, Ron Holland, played a role in the rotation throughout the entire season. He had an impact off the bench, but not everybody is convinced that Holland has a long-term spot on the team as of right now.

Recently, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley tabbed the young veteran as a top trade chip for the Pistons after he drove his value up in the NBA Summer League.

Coming in at No. 4, Holland seems to have some really nice value right now.

“Could recency bias be responsible for Ron Holland II ranking so high? Maybe, but when you're talking about a prospect with this much raw talent, you're kinda supposed to get carried away when they show signs of encouragement. And the spring-loaded swingman flashed plenty of them during a dominant showing at summer league.” Buckley wrote.

Holland entered the pros with NBA G League experience under his belt. While the Ignite program was a mixed bag, Holland is one of the few players from the now-defunct team to show some real potential.

That’s great for the Pistons, who are quite committed to their youth movement while showing clear signs of developing into legitimate Eastern Conference contenders.

Most teams would see Holland’s rise in value as an opportunity to quickly move off of him by selling high. Detroit’s mentality under Trajan Langdon should give everybody the impression that the Pistons are going to hold their second-year player and hope for another step in the right direction.

Holland appeared in 81 games last season. Averaging 15 minutes of action off the bench, he produced six points per game while making 47 percent of his shots. He also averaged three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

The key to Holland’s improvement is developing a reliable outside shot. During his rookie year, Holland averaged just 24 percent from three. In the Summer League, he hit 47 percent of his threes.

It was a small sample size on a small stage with roster hopefuls, but it’s clear that Holland has the ability to add a reliable three-point shot to his toolkit. Since the Pistons plan to rely on Holland to play a steady role off the bench, it would have to take a real steal of a trade offer for them to cash in the chip.