NBA trade rumors: 7 potential Kemba Walker trades

5. Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have dropped below .500 for the first time all season, and the timing is no coincidence with Reggie Jackson missing the team’s last 11 games. Stan Van Gundy is not the patient type, and it’s clear his point guard rotation of Ish Smith and Dwight Buycks is in dire need of assistance.

Short of blowing it up, Kemba Walker represents their most logical trade target to get back on track. Avery Bradley is Detroit’s most attractive trade asset, both as an expiring contract and a perennially underrated two-way player, but the goal should be bringing Kemba aboard with Bradley, Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris still in tow.

That means Reggie Jackson would almost certainly have to be involved, and at that point, it’s a matter of sweetening the package to somehow convince Charlotte to take on the remaining two and a half years of his contract — which, admittedly, would make little sense for what the Hornets are trying to accomplish by trading their best player.

Stanley Johnson is the main attraction here. Though he’s averaging a paltry 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game on ugly .348/.295/.783 shooting splits in his third year, he hasn’t found much playing time under an impatient Van Gundy to this point in his career and he’s only 21 years old.

Henry Ellenson is also only 21 and is shooting 39.1 percent from 3-point range in his second season, albeit on a very limited number of attempts. He has potential as a stretch-4, and though he’s nowhere near a sure thing, throwing in a first round pick or two might tip the scales a bit.

Jackson and Anthony Tolliver would be needed to match salary, with Tolliver being an expiring contract to provide Charlotte with at least some salary cap relief. If Ellenson and Johnson aren’t enough, or if the Pistons hesitate to include multiple first round picks, another option might look like this:

The Pistons might resist parting with their promising rookie Luke Kennard, but he’s the closest to a “sure thing” among that Johnson-Ellenson-Kennard trio. Johnson, Jackson and one first-rounder round out the deal both financially and in terms of incoming talent.

Charlotte gets another sharpshooting guard, a replacement point guard who won’t be good/healthy enough to upstage the tank, a young wing with potential and a first round pick, getting rid of Kemba and Marvin Williams’ deal in the process.

Meanwhile, the Pistons get an upgrade on Jackson at the point, plus a stretch-4 who would fit perfectly in SVG’s offense. It might not be the wisest long-term approach, especially for a team that would have to find room to re-sign Bradley in 2018 and Kemba in 2019, but Van Gundy’s impatience makes Detroit a legitimate candidate to make a big move at the deadline.