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Detroit Pistons: Analyzing a LaMelo Ball-centric trade with the Timberwolves

By Duncan Smith

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks reacts during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks reacts during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons, LaMelo Ball
Detroit Pistons, LaMelo Ball (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /

As we near the NBA draft, teams must assess how to target their needs. For the Detroit Pistons, that may come in the form of a trade to draft LaMelo Ball.

The Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves are teams with similar goals. They’ve both wandered in the wilderness of NBA purgatory, and they both hope that the 2020 NBA draft will be a catalyst to launch them back into relevance. In one of the weakest draft classes in years, it’s just typical that this is the one they’re both hanging their hopes on.

Nevertheless, they must play the NBA draft cards they’ve been dealt. For the Timberwolves, that means the No. 1 overall draft pick, and for the Pistons, the No. 7 pick. The Timberwolves certainly earned the top pick with two double-digit losing streaks last season, while for more than a decade of mediocrity this is the highest pick the Pistons have to show for it.

The No. 1 pick might fit the Pistons better than the Timberwolves, because two of the top three projected players in the draft play positions that they have already filled in the forms of D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns, creating redundancies that sway them away from drafting either LaMelo Ball or James Wiseman.

If they simply don’t want Anthony Edwards, the third of the likely top three, trading down might accomplish their goals. On the other hand, the Pistons could use a lead-ball handler like LaMelo Ball, and getting an exciting young prospect would be something they haven’t had in an eternity.

Our friends at Bleacher Report recently suggested just such a trade, and we’ll break that down from the perspectives of both teams and discuss whether this deal makes sense for either the Detroit Pistons or the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The deal as described by Greg Swartz:

The gist of this deal: The Timberwolves move out of the top six and the Pistons move into the No. 1 overall spot and select LaMelo Ball.

Let’s break things down for both teams, starting with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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