The Detroit Pistons are building around their core three players – Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
Team president Trajan Langdon emphasized their commitment to the trio during his predraft press conference last week, as the franchise prepares to cut big checks to sign Duren and Thompson to longterm extensions.
Coming off of the heels of a 60-win season and second-round exit in the playoffs, the Pistons have tough choices ahead as they map out ways to improve the roster and enhance their postseason chances. It might require parting ways with other core parts of their roster, as they search the trade market for more shooting and ball-handling.
The rumor mill exploded this past week with reports that the Pistons are firmly in the mix to acquire Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, who would directly address their weaknesses on offense. The trade likely would involve the Milwaukee Bucks, with the Heat offloading Herro’s expiring salary $33 million contract to the Pistons to make room for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Free Press has confirmed with multiple league sources not permitted to speak publicly that the Pistons have been involved in discussions regarding Herro. And though it remains to be seen if the deal will get across the finish line, three of their key role players – Isaiah Stewart, Duncan Robinson and Ron Holland – are candidates to be moved in such a trade.
The reason? Simple math. The Pistons would have to clear salary to take in Herro and all three players are on reasonable contracts relative to their production. Robinson and Stewart are on the books for $16 million and $15 million next season, respectively, and Holland is making $9 million in the third year of his rookie contract. Along with Caris LeVert ($14.8 million), at least two of the four players likely will have to be moved in any deal bringing back Herro.
As Langdon alluded to at the end of the regular season, shooting and ball-handling are coveted skillsets and are costly to obtain. Even if talks to acquire Herro fall apart, the Pistons will have a difficult time coaxing other teams to part with their best offensive players without offering something worthwhile.
“Spacing the floor is huge and just giving more optionality on the offensive end to have more creativity,” Langdon said. “When you have multiple ball-handlers and more shooting on the floor that opens it up for our three best players. Those are things we’re looking at. How do we fill that? Can we fill it with two players, do we fill it with one, or do we do it with a big, we’ll look at all those different options.”
Stewart is the team’s longest-tenured player and one of the league’s top rim protectors. His physicality and tenacity on the defensive end is a core part of the team’s identity on that end of the floor. Those traits, however, also have made him a coveted player around the league. Duren and Paul Reed also were impact players on defense – though not to Stewart’s level – and Reed has made a strong case for a bigger role after overachieving as a third big for two-straight seasons.
Few players were more important to the Pistons’ offense than Robinson, who knocked down 41% of his 3-pointers and anchored the spacing in the starting unit. His contract is very team-friendly, with only $2 million of it guaranteed next season. Herro also is a strong shooter, however, hitting 38.2% of his attempts for his career on 7.1 attempts, with more juice off the dribble.
Holland has shown promise through two seasons, particularly on defense. He was their second-best player on that end last season and made his presence felt offensively by being a fastbreak starter and finisher. But his lack of outside shooting was a factor in him falling out of the rotation during the postseason. Langdon selected him fifth-overall in 2024 and publicly backed him during his end-of-season press conference, calling him a “high-level” competitor and person, and saying he expected the playoffs to light a fire under him this summer.
As the adage goes, it takes money to make money. The Pistons’ assets include all of their first-round picks, including No. 21 in Tuesday’s draft, a trove of second-round picks and several good players on contracts that can be easily moved.
[ MUST LISTEN: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Pistons can afford to trade these 3 players for Tyler Herro
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
