The Detroit Pistons made their first official trade of NBA Trade Deadline day in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers for sparsely used defensive forward Danuel House. The Pistons will get a second-round pick via the New York Knicks in the deal. Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the deal.
The primary motivator for the Pistons is adding a second-rounder at minimal cost, and with the roster in such flux, I have no idea if they have designs to actually use House in the rotation or even if he will be on the roster when it is all said and done.
House is a 6-foot-6 guard/forward who specializes as a dangerous perimeter defender, but he doesn’t have much offense to speak of.
The Sixers wanted to deal away House and attach a pick so they could avoid the luxury tax and have an open roster spot available in case an advantageous trade materializes in the final hours or if a player, namely Kyle Lowry, receives a buyout and becomes available at little cost.
The move for House means the Pistons now have 17 players under contract and only 15 spots available. That will require the Pistons to either release two players or finalize additional trades where they send out more players than they receive back.
The Pistons could also plan on aggregating these deals together and rerouting some of the players — whether it be House, Troy Brown Jr, or Shake Milton.
We will have more as it develops.