The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching and the Detroit Pistons are in one of the more intriguing spots among teams around the league.
Last season, the Pistons had a clear motivation to get some guard help after a season-ending injury to Jaden Ivey and brought in Dennis Schroder as a key part of their playoff push.
Now the Pistons are leading the Eastern Conference by several games and looking like a team that can make a deep run for the first time in nearly 20 years.
They have expiring contracts to match for incoming players, a plethora of young talent and all of their first-round draft picks for the next seven years, making for a lot of trade capital.
All the pieces are there to make a big move, if that’s what the Pistons wants and they find the right partner.
But as Detroit and president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon get into a crucial deadline, coach J.B. Bickerstaff isn’t too focused on potential changes to his 34-win roster.
“To be honest with you, it’s hard to say we’re not happy with what we have,” Bickerstaff said Monday. “There’s no reason for us to feel otherwise because of what these guys have done together.
“This is clear that these guys have done the job that we’ve asked them to do and put themselves in position to be where they are now. Obviously there’s still room to grow, and we keep talking about that, but that’s for everybody. But I just think we’re in a really good spot right now.”
It’s hard to say the Pistons aren’t exceeding all expectations this season after making the postseason in Bickerstaff’s first year in one of the most impressive turnarounds of all time.
Now, they continue to win with his culture of hard-nosed defense, roster depth and team accountability.
There’s certainly gaps on the team with how the Pistons are 20th in shooting the three and could use another shot-creator to help alleviate some of the pressure on star guard Cade Cunningham.
But, the success of the team and where the unit’s at right now doesn’t change the process of how Bickerstaff and Langdon have been evaluating what the team needs since arriving before last season.
“It’s all the same because it’s what we’ve thought about, the big picture plan,” Bickerstaff said. “(Langdon) and that front office crew, nobody outworks them in putting together a plan and being able to execute a plan. I trust his ability to do that and he evaluates it, we have a ton of conversations, obviously.”
Bickerstaff preaches the same motto his team has leaned on from the beginning of the season to “pay attention to today” even as the Feb. 5 trade deadline is nearly upon them.
There are quite a lot of high-profile names the Pistons have been linked to like Brooklyn’s [Michael Porter Jr.](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2026/01/nba-insider-forward-having-career-year-would-make-a-lot-of-sense-for-pistons.html), Memphis’ [Jaren Jackson Jr.](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2026/01/pistons-reportedly-interested-in-all-star-forward-ex-michigan-state-lottery-pick.html) and even as a suitor for Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.
However, there’s a lot of trust in the Detroit locker room with the players already there. If the coaches and front office are happy with what they’ve got, this trade deadline might not be where they get in the mix for a big move.