Pistons open to trading all players – could one help Boston?

With the Detroit Pistons reportedly open to trading any player on their roster, there are several NOT named Andre Drummond the Boston Celtics should consider.

January is a month of reckoning for NBA front offices.

Teams are starting to reassess their goals from the start of the season, with the month being the last run of games a franchise can take stock of how well the parts they started the season work together, and whether changes need to be made.

For some teams, the month won’t be needed, and the Detroit Pistons have made up their mind they are one such club.

With a 14-26 record and All-NBA forward Blake Griffin likely to miss the rest of the season with the same knee issues that ended his 2018-19 run, it’s clear the team won’t be competing for postseason success.

And with star center Andre Drummond all but certain to opt out of the final season of his current deal, it makes sense the team has been looking to move the big man while he still might have trade value.

The Boston Celtics have been linked to the UConn product, but the assets likely needed to deal for the former Husky don’t make much sense for the Massachusetts franchise.

Team president Danny Ainge has made it clear he won’t trade away key players for a short-term rental, and with Drummond making $27 million this season on an expiring deal, a trade for Big Penguin is unlikely.

However, the Detroit Free Press’ Vincent Goodwill reports the team will listen to trade proposals about any player on the roster, and there are a few the Celtics should consider making calls about.

Detroit has several players on affordable contracts who might be able to help the Celtics in the postseason, but some may come at too high a cost for the team to reasonably hope to pry them away, while others may not be such a good fit for Boston’s style of play.

Derrick Rose, for example, would be an intriguing backup point guard for Boston, but much of the success driving his resurgence with the Pistons is due to his adept ability as a pick-and-roll player, which the Celtics do not use often in head coach Brad Stevens’ pace-and-space system.

Third-year shooting guard Luke Kennard could be an interesting option, but the price might be steep due to his age (just 23) and excellent shooting — he’s 40.2 % from beyond the arc over his career, and logged 6.5 attempts a game last season.

His defense is bad, but he’s young and would play on the second unit alongside Marcus Smart, mitigating what you’d lose on that end of the court.

Finding a match for $3.8 million Kennard is owed this season would be uncomplicated. That he has another year afterwards for a bargain $5.2 million would make some difficult payroll decisions involving Gordon Hayward potentially easier to weather.

Forward Markieff Morris might offer many of the same benefits on the offensive end of the court with the twin of former Celtic Marcus logging a career-high 40.2 % from beyond the arc on nine attempts per season.

While his defense isn’t as good as Mook’s, he’s also a big body who could help with filling the frontcourt. Earning just $3.2 million, he’s also easy to match salaries with, and would likely only require a younger player and a second-round pick to secure.

Fourth-year center Thon Maker could be an interesting depth big target, a serviceable rim protector against the reserve lineups he’d mostly face. His low salary ($3.5 million) and ability to stretch the floor a bit are added perks.

Center Christian Wood is another target on the Pistons Boston could go after.

Only earning $1.6 million, the 24-year-old journeyman has been pulling down 5.2 boards and blocking 0.8 block per contest over just 16.8 minutes per game while hitting 35.7 % of his 3-pointers at 1.6 attempts per game.

None of these players will catapult Boston into the realm of title favorites, but there may not be such a trade out there anyway.

But, there may be trades to be made around the margins that could help set the stage for a balanced roster in future seasons while raising the team’s floor this season — if not with Detroit, then the next team to cautiously wave the white flag on the current season.

Expect a team or two each week this month to come to terms with the reality of their record and roster as we inch closer to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

While a trade that gives both instant gratification and concrete results may simply be out of reach, the natural arc of the NBA season should shake out intriguing trade and buyout option over the next several weeks.