Just because the Detroit Pistons season ended in disappointment doesn’t mean the front office has gone on vacation quite yet.
According to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, the Pistons are actively shopping their two best players, Reggie Jackson, and Andre Drummond.
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Sources: Detroit Pistons are gauging the trade market on Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson. Both were on the market at the trade deadline.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 8, 2017
There was talk around the trade deadline that the Pistons were looking to move on from one, if not both of their star players in an attempt to “rebuild on the fly” while still keeping other core pieces in tact, but nothing came of it.
Both Jackson and Drummond were highly scrutinized for the Pistons tumultuous 2016-17 in which they finished 37-45 just a year after making the playoffs and appearing to find themselves.
In a vacuum, both Jackson and Drummond can present tremendous upside to teams. Jackson is one of the best pick and roll players in the league, and isn’t afraid of the late-game moment.
Drummond is one of the best centers in the league despite his free throw woes, and can still average a double just by rolling out of the bed.
Jackson and Drummond both figure to still have very productive years left as the duo is just 27 and 23 respectively.
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The biggest obstacle coach and President Stan Van Gundy will have in trading either player is going to be finding a suitor that is willing to take their massive contracts.
Moving Drummond’s $23.7 million salary and Jackson’s $16 million salary will be extremely difficult unless Van Gundy can convince a team that the only things stopping these guys from blossoming is a change of scenery.
Van Gundy quickly became Detroit’s most beloved coach, but has fallen out of the good graces of fans even quicker. A major shake-up like this could very well be the defining moment for Van Gundy in Detroit.
