Detroit Pistons
Heading into this season, the Detroit Pistons entered the year with a priority of trying to find some clarity when it comes to the young core. So far this season, the early returns on that front have been hit or miss for the franchise. While there have been some promising signs when it comes to a player like Jaden Ivye, he's still far from a certainty when it comes to being a potential foundational piece of the future.
On the other hand, the Pistons do know exactly what they have in Cade Cunningham. He has continued to light up the scoreboard so far this season and appears to be a strong candidate to emerge as a key piece of this team's build moving forward. The problem with the Pistons is that beyond Cunningham and perhaps even Ivey, there's little that this team could bank on moving forward.
Considering that was one of the goals to begin the year, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see this team explore making a move at the NBA Trade Deadline. One player who could be on their radar heading into the deadline is Zach LaVine. Even though LaVine may not make the theoretical sense for the Pistons, if this team is ready to reshape the roster in a way where they would be more competitive at the Eastern Conference, this is a move that could end up making a tiny bit more sense.
I'm not sure if this addition of LaVine would dramatically alter this team's ceiling this season, but this is the type of move that could help them take that elusive next step as a franchise. The addition of LaVine could also buy time for the Pistons' young core to continue to develop in the shadows. My only concern with the Pistons potentially trading for LaVine ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline would be if he would take shots or the ball out of Cunningham's hands.
The last thing the Pistons lead is to add a veteran player who is going to limit Cunningham's potential in this league. However, if Cunningham and LaVine could coexist together on the basketball court, this is a duo that could end up making a bit of noise in the Eastern Conference in the next couple of seasons. But without that guarantee, this would be considered somewhat of a gamble for the Pistons.
Detroit should be monitoring the situation, especially if the asking price isn't all that high, but they also should be careful and how they proceed forward. A trade for LaVine could be viewed as appealing for management (especially with all the losing they've had to endure recently) but unless they completely analyze how this would impact a team, they should be wary of pulling the trigger.