With the center-Point Guard combination of Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson leading the way, expectations were high for the Detroit Pistons last season. However, the Pistons sputtered down the stretch, losing 12 of their final 16 games as they missed a playoff berth with a 37-45 mark. Now, the Pistons’ plans of building around Drummond and Jackson could be in peril as they are reported to be gauging the trade market for their two superstars.
According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, per a report by Lakers Nation, the Pistons are currently determining what they can get for Drummond and Jackson.
During the 2015-16 season, he averaged career-bests 16.2 points and 14.8 boards, persuading the Pistons to sign him to a five-year, $127 million deal, with an annual average salary of $25.4 million.
However, Drummond’s performance suffered a huge dip last season as his averaged went down to 13.6 points and 13.8 rebounds in 81 games. He was also a liability during close games as the Pistons were forced to sit him down the stretch due to his bad free throw shooting.
Jackson’s inconsistency hurt Pistons last season
The Pistons signed Jackson to a five-year, $80 million deal in 2015 after he was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder via trade. The Pistons were hoping that Jackson will become a franchise point guard that they envisioned him to be.
However, he was inconsistent last season, averaging 14.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 turnovers in 52 games last season. It will be hard for the Pistons to find a trading partner for Jackson as he has three years and $51 million remaining on his contract. Before last season’s trade deadline, the Pistons discussed a deal with the Orlando Magic involving Jackson, DJ Augustin and Jeff Green but it did not push through.
Pistons willing to trade No. 12 pick for win-now veteran
The Pistons plan to trade their No. 12 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft for a “win-now” veteran who can complement Drummond and Jackson if they decide to keep them. There were reports that the Dallas Mavericks may capitalize on the opportunity and offer shooting guard Wesley Matthews for the No.
12 pick. Matthews is known for work ethic and veteran leadership, aside from his outside shooting prowess.
The Pistons could also use Matthews as a backup plan in case Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signs with another team. Matthews averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists last season while Caldwell-Pope tallied 13.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in 75 starts with the Pistons. The Brooklyn Nets may try to lure Caldwell-Pope with a lucrative four-year, $103 million deal offer sheet that the Pistons may find hard to match.
