Detroit Pistons
There are a couple of big names on the roster in Detroit that might make you think they could work something out with the Pelicans, but this hypothetical destination doesn’t really hold up if you look too closely.
The biggest star on the Pistons is definitely Blake Griffin, who had a very impressive showing in the Motor City this season. He’d be a nice consolation prize for a New Orleans Pelicans team that has to give up their most talented player ever, but don’t expect Detroit to actually be willing to move Blake Griffin for a possible one year rental of AD. Blake is locked into a contract with the Pistons through at least 2020-2021, so it’s not worth the risk to trade him away.
Andre Drummond, however, is absolutely a piece that Detroit would be willing to send away in exchange for Davis. The 25 year old rebounding machine does a few things very well, but he’s clearly much less skilled in almost every area outside of working the glass in comparison to AD.
For the Pelicans, they could do worse than an offer centered around Drummond, but the Pistons just don’t have enough to package with him. Their #15 overall pick in the NBA Draft isn’t great, and their young talent in Luke Kennard, Thon Maker, and Svi Mykhailiuk aren’t exactly pieces New Orleans would expect to turn into prolific contributors in the future.
If the Pelicans do end up trading away AD this summer, it won’t be with the Pistons.