I don’t know if this says more about what a good draft pick Saddiq Bey was or what a disastrous pick Marvin Bagley III was, but according to a recent report, the Detroit Pistons turned down a Sacramento Kings offer of Bagley for Bey.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo reports the former No. 2 overall pick and the Kings both believe a relocation is in order, but apparently the Pistons weren’t interested in parting with rookie Bey, the No. 19 overall pick to take a chance on Bagley’s potential.
Infamously and forever, Bagley will be known as the former second overall pick in a loaded draft as a project big man with huge upside and early warning signs related to defense, health and overall ability. Bagley was selected by the Kings with the next three picks being Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr and Trae Young.
Not that the Pistons would no anything about taking a huge neon-lit bust of a big man second overall in a loaded draft. …
Luckily, Troy Weaver does not seem to be Vlade Divac or Joe Dumars, and early returns on his draft picks (the injured Killian Hayes excepted) seems promising. Bey looks like a steal at No. 19 as a two-way wing who can be relied on to hit from deep and is expanding his offensive game more and more as the weeks roll on.
The same report from Hayes contains another nugget about the Pistons that should not be overlooked. He reports that Jarrett Allen, the big man acquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Brooklyn Nets in the James Harden trade with the Houston Rockets, is expected to enter restricted free agency with the Pistons having “some level of interest” in his services.
This is interesting because as of now, the Pistons don’t have the salary cap space to offer Jarrett Allen the kind of contract he would command in free agency, leaving aside Cleveland’s willingness to match any offer.
This means the Pistons either think they could concoct a sign-and-trade that would entice the Cavaliers, that they could easily get offer some long-term money of Mason Plumlee ($8 million per for the next two seasons) and some others. Also, it raises questions about Detroit’s long-term plans for Isaiah Stewart, who has impressed just as much as Bey has in his rookie season.
Stewart seems to be capable of playing center full-time in the NBA. If Detroit is interested in Allen, it means they are either willing to part with Stewart in a deal, think he can play power forward alongside a larger center or that he’s more of a backup big.
The trade deadline is only days away, so expect more and more of these interesting but unlikely rumors to continue dropping. Don’t count on anything happening, but also never underestimate Troy Reaper, er, I mean Troy Weaver, and his willingness to remake this basketball team.