Biggest winners and losers of the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline
Winner: Detroit Pistons
The Blake Griffin deal happened a few days before the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline, but since the Detroit Pistons also made a move on deadline day, we’re lumping those two trades in here. After all, how could we not include the Pistons when they’ve gone a perfect 5-0 since they acquired the Flyin’ Lion?
So far, the Griffin-Andre Drummond frontcourt looks great. Losing Tobias Harris hurt, but Avery Bradley was on the trade block as an expiring contract who wasn’t working out in Motown, and Stan Van Gundy was far too impatient to cling to the team’s 2018 first round pick.
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Detroit is still on the outside looking in at the playoff picture, but they’re now hot on the heels of the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. Griffin’s injury history, age (he turns 29 in March) and contract (he just signed a five-year, $173 million deal) are all concerns, but he’s fitting in great so far and brings some much-needed star power to a team that badly needs it to fill up its new arena.
Through his first four games in the Motor City, the Flyin’ Lion is putting up 21.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. That’s an exceedingly small sample size, but his immediate chemistry with Drummond suggests this frontcourt pairing could thrive for the long haul as long as they both stay healthy.
As for deadline day, Van Gundy made a smart deal to acquire Jameer Nelson from the Chicago Bulls, who recently picked him up as part of the Nikola Mirotic deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
At the mere cost of the recently suspended Willie Reed and the right to swap second round picks in 2022, the Pistons are acquiring an experienced, poised point guard who addresses a serious need in Detroit’s backcourt.
Stan Van Gundy LOVES point guards he knows well. He stuck with Jameer Nelson for a long time in Orlando. He brought in Rafer Alston (who played for him in Miami). He was hesitant to play Ish Smith at first in Orlando, but then Ish earned his trust so SVG brought Ish to Detroit.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 8, 2018
With Reggie Jackson sidelined and Ish Smith being Ish Smith, Van Gundy gets a point guard he’s familiar with from their time together in Orlando.
Nelson’s minutes dipped this year in NOLA as he competed with Ian Clark for bench minutes, but he’s just a season removed from being a stabilizing force with the young Denver Nuggets, where he averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 assists per game on .444/.388/.714 shooting splits.
The Blake Griffin deal might look really bad in a few years when he’s 32 years old, but Van Gundy and the Pistons are looking to win and sell tickets now. To that end, trading for a bona fide superstar and bolstering the team’s biggest position of need has to go down as a pair of victories for SVG.