Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of trading Reggie Jackson

Con: Low value

Right now, the value for Jackson is at an all-time low. He has a little over one season remaining on his contract, and he is playing some of the worst basketball of his career. The only way it would be worse is if he had dealt with injuries this season, as he has for much of his career. Unless the front office is blown away with an offer at the deadline, they would be better off holding him until this summer, and they could attempt to trade him during the offseason.

Unless Jackson is going to explode with production down the stretch, his value is going to continue to hover in this low-end range that we have seen thus far. While the Pistons would like to get his contract off the books, they have no immediate commitment to doing so. They aren’t trying to go all in to contend, but they are also not going into a full-blown rebuild. Keeping Jackson doesn’t make them win, but trading him away doesn’t either.

As long as Jackson stays healthy for the remainder of the year, his value will go up, and he will be tradeable as a stopgap for a team that doesn’t have a point guard for the 2019-20 season. Detroit will still get low-balled compared to what it signed him for, but the value will be much better than attempting to trade him now. Most teams are avoiding being overly aggressive this year, in favor of next season, and the Pistons should be patient along with them.