The Detroit Pistons have had a total overhaul since this time last season. Since Troy Weaver took over as general manager, he’s turned over nearly the entire roster with only Sekou Doumbouya returning from the 2019-20 squad. Now that the trading bonanza of last season is complete, there’s no reason to expect a repeat performance. Without a doubt, Weaver has a roster that looks much more like what he wanted, and the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft is coming in just a few short weeks.
The Detroit Pistons are relying on internal development and the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft to improve, but don’t rule out trades of these three players.
There may be no trade explosion, but it would be naive to assume the Pistons won’t trade anybody. In fact, the Pistons will likely seek to get more picks in the first round of the looming draft, perhaps in combination with some of their three second-round picks (including the 37th pick).
Second-round picks alone won’t get the Pistons back into the first round, however. It’s going to take a high-performing player or more, so let’s take a look at three players that could be on the move via trade in the offseason.
Pistons who could be traded this offseason: 3. Sekou Doumbouya
The last man standing from the pre-Weaver era, Sekou Doumbouya could be the most obvious candidate to get shipped out. Whether Doumbouya is a “Weaver Guy” or not, he had an underwhelming sophomore season and his trade value would have been nil.
Obviously, he hasn’t had an opportunity since the end of last season to show more, but there may be teams interested in gambling on his upside. On the other hand, is Doumbouya plus a haul of second-rounders enough to net a first-round pick in this draft?
Probably not.
Doumbouya isn’t without value, but he doesn’t have a surplus at this point. He may end up being more of a mid-season trade candidate than an offseason mover.