A Disappointed Detroit Piston Fan's Analysis of the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline (part 1/2)
Taking a step back and wondering why the Pistons did not trade Bojan or Burks
If I am being honest, I am very disappointed that the Detroit Pistons did not trade either Bojan Bogdanović or Alec Burks at this Trade Deadline. I am one of many in the Piston fandom who would rather see the team use both of these veterans as a way to either get more picks in the future OR grab a young wing with great defensive potential.
I also understand the argument for keeping them. Both help out with spacing and give this young team two professional scorers who can just go out and get you a bucket when your offense breaks down. Why I and many like me think the team would be better if they moved on from both players mainly has to do with defense.
Bojan in particular has been a major part of the problem on defense as you look at his defensive rating of 122, ranking in the 14th percentile in points allowed per 100 possessions, and in the 27th percentile in defensive effective field goal percentage and it gives you an idea just how bad. These defensive numbers also deteriorated the last two seasons he was in Utah so I just do not feel he will get any better on defense.
And defense is where this Pistons team already needs to start finding capable players. Burks has been solid in this regard ranking in the 74th percentile for points allowed per 100 possessions and 83rd in defensive effective field goal percentage. Yet he somehow posts a 120 defensive rating so he’s not exactly a reliable stopper.
My thoughts on why I felt Burks should be moved were best summed up by NBA salary cap guru Keith Smith on a recent guest appears for the Pistons Pulse. Smith equated Burks role as a good 6th man on this 15 win Pistons team to having a great relief pitcher for a terrible baseball team. He is a luxury for your team and is best served being moved so you can build out a full roster.
While I WANT to be critical of Troy Weaver for not moving Bojan or Burks at the deadline, realistically speaking his options for trade partners was SEVERELY limited. There were reports many teams were “interested” in both Burks and Bojan, but those reported teams that were interested did the following:
The Suns got KD. They also got Darius Bazley
The Mavs got Kyrie
The Nets were in full teardown and rebuild mode
The Raptors apparently JUST wanted a center
The Bucks got Jae Crowder
The Blazers got Thybulle, Reddish, AND Kevin Knox, AND a 2023 1st from NYK
The Knicks got Josh Hart
The Clippers got Eric Gordon and Bones
The Grizzlies got Luke Kennard
The Timberwolves got Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, AND 3 second round picks
The Lakers got Rui, DLo, Malike Beasley, Mo Bamba, Devon Reed, and Jared Vanderbilt
I lay out all these transactions to ask the question: is Bojan Bogdanović or Alec Burks better than any of these players? The answer is a resounding yes to many young guys still finding their way like Bazley, Rui, and Bones. Yet, all of these players were included in deals that landed their new teams MAJOR upgrades like KD and DLo. So, even if these teams thought about Bojan, they were obviously after MUCH bigger fish. This would relegate Detroit to plan B or C if everything fell through.
Even looking at someone like a Jae Crowder, you could make an argument that Bojan makes the Bucks better than Crowder. Yet, Crowder’s deal is about half of what Bojan makes per year and he is a FAR better defender than Bojan. Crowder does also have NBA Finals experience. Even someone like Josh Hart has defensive abilities more valuable to NBA teams (and ESPECIALLY NBA teams coached by Tom Thibodeau) in addition to being younger than Bojan that would keep the Pistons still very much in Plan B or C territory yet again.
This left the Pistons to negotiate with who exactly? You can eliminate ALL other teams at the bottom of the NBA standings like Orlando, Houston, Charlotte, San Antonio, and Indiana. None of them are looking for a veteran to help them win games. When you add these team to the other teams that did make major trades, that means you have 14 teams immediately off the table as trade partners. You can also eliminate Atlanta as they got Saddiq so they obviously didn’t want a vet either.
Next, take out the teams who it would be near impossible for them to take on Bojan’s contract without dealing a player integral to their roster in a deal with Detroit. So, scratch: Boston, Golden State, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami, Sacramento, and Denver. That would bring the grand total to 25 teams. 83.3% of the NBA negotiating for a better player than either Bojan or Burks or in a position where the team would not need either player.
Who is left is Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, Oklahoma City, and Utah. Well right off the bat you scratch Utah since Bojan AND Burks both have played there before and Danny Ainge isn’t known for taking guys back. So up that percentage to 86.6%. Oklahoma City seems unlikely as well since they are in a similar position to Detroit with one star guard and a GM intent on finding the next franchise superstar through the draft.
For me, I take a step back now that the dust has settled post trade deadline and REALISTICALLY see Chicago, New Orleans, and Washington as the only teams that would legitimately need Bojan and/or Burks knowing what we know now.
New Orleans would have been a great trade partner, and of the active teams at the deadline, the one I WOULD actually like to know why the Pistons didn’t try and get the deal that actually happened done. For starters, JUST to get off of the Devonte’ Graham contract the Pelicans gave up 4 second round picks. Secondly, Devonte’ Graham isn’t a useless player as he has always been a good volume 3-point shooter. And lastly, while his contract says there are two more years on it after this season, his 2024-25 only has $2,850,000 guaranteed. That final year of his contract is only fully guaranteed on 7/1/24. So Devonte’ Graham is essentially an expiring contract next year.
Perhaps New Orleans just liked Josh Richardson better, or perhaps the Pistons or Pelicans were too busy calling up other teams and they did not have time to really connect. I find it hard to believe Josh Richardson is a better player than either Bojan or Burks, though. Burks is a MUCH better shooter and can generate way more free throws than Richardson. Maybe this deal was all the Pelicans were willing to give up and the Pistons wanted more? Still I think this would have helped the team to continue to have future assets while not giving away a player who is a part of their core.
Chicago and Washington however…I mean these are two franchises who are notorious in the last 15-20 years of committing too late to a direction. And that seems to be the case yet again these last two seasons again. The Bulls made a massive overhaul in the 2021 offseason and the Wizards continue to ‘build’ around Bradley Beal. Both teams have been in the bottom half of the East for the majority of this season, yet there is no indication either team wants to change anything about their roster or how they operate.
The Wizards could have been a team to deal with Detroit, but imagining a deal that works for both teams is difficult. MAYBE Detroit would want to take a flyer on Rui Hachimura, but he got dealt early to the Lakers. Okay so what remains? Deni Avdija? Kyle Kuzma? Monte Morris? Corey Kispert? Johnny Davis? Kuzma is someone the Wizards have said publicly they will re-sign. The rest of those players seem like they could fill a needed role on this Pistons team; yet, none of them really feel like an upgrade either right now or thinking of their long term potential. And with Washington committing to Beal again and again, and now to Porzingis as well, there really is nothing there for Detroit to want.
The Bulls are more defensible both in terms of them not making any moves and the Pistons not trading with them as this core was JUST assembled less than 2 years ago. So maybe they are not willing to make any major additions or subtractions until they can see everyone on the court together for a full season at least…but it would also be dumb for them to turn down a deal that gives helpful veteran players. This team currently has a payroll of $148,557,260 and being content to stay the 11th seed in the East seems foolish to say the least.
What’s more, they are in real jeopardy of losing their starting shooting guard, Ayo Dosunmu, for nothing. While he will be a restricted free agent, the Bulls still have over $120 million on the books for next season AND Nikola Vucević will be an unrestricted free agent this Summer. The team will also have Coby White’s restricted free agency to deal with this same offseason. So having another 20 points per game scorer OR an efficient sixth man wing both on team friendly deals should have been enticing.
It was also reported in the 2020 NBA Draft how much Troy Weaver liked Patrick Williams—a player who fills a position of need, matches Detroit’s timeline, and had the defensive skill the Pistons need. This seems like a match made in NBA trade deadline heaven. Yet, I do have to return to the idea that this Bulls team hasn’t been able to consistently play together due to Lonzo Ball’s injury so maybe this just cut off all possibilities of a trade with the Bulls at this time. The outcome seems to STRONGLY suggest Chicago had no intention of trading with anybody.
So in a trade market where the active teams needing an upgrade can get players MUCH better than the ones you are offering, the teams looking to sell are trying to deal with the same teams you are, and the remaining teams happy to do nothing, it must have been why the Pistons and Troy Weaver could do next to nothing…only they DID end up doing something. And THAT trade I do think is worthy of a more in-depth critique.
Next time we will analyze the trade they did end up making and not only my personal dislike for it, but how this could be a move that ends up being a major hole in the hull that sinks the rebuild in Detroit.