Detroit Pistons: Trading for Thon Maker is a good move

The Detroit Pistons acquired Thon Maker from the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the 2019 NBA Trade deadline. Was it the right move for a team fighting for a playoff spot?

The most valuable thing that a struggling franchise like the Detroit Pistons can sell its fanbase is hope.

Even when the team is mired in a decade-long stretch of mediocrity — the Pistons have made the playoffs just twice since 2009 and would be in the lottery again if the playoffs started today — hope for the possibility of better things can keep paying fans from giving up entirely.

On Wednesday, the Pistons brought some hope into the equation by trading forward Stanley Johnson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Thon Maker.

Some might view this as a lateral, ultimately inconsequential move for both sides. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those “Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man” memes being used to describe this trade.

Johnson and Maker are both former top-10 draft picks who have a few NBA seasons under their belts but are still very young. They have also both been something between letdowns and a busts, depending on which Pistons or Bucks fans you ask.

Johnson, the No. 8 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, is averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in 20.0 minutes per game in his fourth pro season. The 22-year-old is regarded as a good defender with potential to be a stopper on the wing, but his offensive limitations kept him from claiming the Pistons’ starting small forward job that two head coaches — Stan Van Gundy and Dwane Casey — seemed determined to give him.

Maker, the No. 10 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, is averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game in his third season. The 21-year-old came into the league hyped as a seven-footer with guard skills who could be a game-changer. However, after showing promise last season, Maker had fallen out of head coach Mike Budenholzer’s rotation and recently requested a trade.

Standing 7’1″, Maker can provide depth in Detroit’s frontcourt, where All-Star power forward Blake Griffin and center Andre Drummond — the NBA’s leading rebounder — are carrying a heavy workload. Maker may not be the giant shooting big that some envisioned when he got drafted, but he does have some perimeter skills that could fit well into Casey’s system, where Griffin often works as a point-forward.

Maker can offer a twist on the “3-and-D” label, as he can be a spot-up shooter (33.3 percent on 3-pointers this season) and a rim protector (1.6 blocks per 36 minutes). The Pistons’ two biggest weaknesses as a team are their outside shooting and defense.

If Casey, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, can unlock the potential that made Maker one of the most intriguing draft prospects of the last few years, the Pistons have just pulled off a good trade for their long-term success.

Even while the jury remains out on Maker, however, it’s still a good move because it gives Detroit something to look forward to and hope for the best. By comparison, a lot of Pistons fans had already given up on the idea of Johnson making any significant improvement.

Maker is under contract through 2020, and he can become a restricted free agent in 2021 if the Pistons make him a $4.8 million qualifying offer.

This could be the kind of trade that works out for everyone involved, featuring two young, talented and still promising players who perhaps just needed a change of scenery to find their niche as impact players in the league.