There is suddenly a lot of national buzz around the idea of the Detroit Pistons trading for Kevin Durant.
Zach Lowe was the latest to weigh in, calling Detroit his “favorite, fun destination” for Durant in a recent episode of his podcast. To be clear, these were fake trades and not backed by any intel, but as always, they make for interesting conversation around players and whether Detroit should even be in the business of speeding up their timeline.
Here is the trade Lowe offered:
Lowe isn’t the first to name Detroit as a possible destination for Durant, but he’s one of the first in the national media to lay out a possible price to acquire the 36-year-old. I had my own idea for a palatable Durant trade you can read here, but it was significantly more beneficial to the Pistons.
Both trades show the complications of trading for a max player when you don't have stackable contracts, as the Pistons would be left with big holes to fill and little money to do it.
My feeling is that Durant is an aging player on an expiring contract, which should significantly lower his value. He’s also coming off an injury, and Phoenix is desperate to try and get out of tax hell, all things that should lead to a lack of leverage for the Suns.
Even my lesser trade (which swaps Stewart for Fontecchio) isn’t a no-brainer given the risks associated with Durant, and co-host Michael Pina made another point that needs consideration.
The Detroit Pistons aren’t far off without Kevin Durant
The Pistons were a blown call and a couple of missed shots from beating the Knicks in their first round series, and after watching New York advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, it’s not unthinkable that they could be in that spot soon with internal growth and the right fringe additions.
The counter argument is that the Pistons would be getting Kevin freaking Durant for an expiring contract (Tobias Harris) and two players who barely played in this year’s playoffs, and in Ivey’s case, not at all.
As much as Trajan Langdon has preached patience, he would have to consider it.
If Durant were a few years younger this is beyond a no-brainer, but if he were, the cost would be much higher, ask the Suns, who are about to eat a lot of assets when you consider what they gave up acquiring Durant in the first place.
KD is getting traded, and if I had to guess, I’d say it won’t be to the Pistons, but there is a price at which Trajan Langdon would have to at least consider it. I’m not sure Lowe’s offer is that price, but it’s in the range.