Detroit Pistons Trade for Offensive-Minded Veteran Wing
As the dust continues to settle from the NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons are not done making changes to their roster. On Friday morning, Trajan Langdon pulled off a trade to bring in a veteran scoring option for the supporting cast.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Pistons and Dallas Mavericks have agreed to a trade centered around Tim Hardaway Jr. THJ is on his way to Detroit along with multiple second-round picks for Quentin Grimes and second-round picks.
Dallas sends a 2025 second via Toronto and two 2028 seconds in the deal, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/JuUa0lEI7O
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2024
This trade marks the end of a brief run for Grimes with the Pistons. He came over to Detroit from the New York Knicks at last year's deadline in the Bojan Bogdanovic trade. Grimes was dealing with a knee injury at the time, which resulted in him only playing in six games.
Hardaway, 32, has established himself as a reliable scoring option the bench during his time with the Mavericks. Last season, he averaged 14.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.8 APG. What is most enticing about his game for the Pistons is his outside shooting. Hardaway has always been a high-volume three-point shooter, and he shot about league average last year on over seven attempts per game.
Before free agency gets underway, the Pistons are already making the most of their abundance of cap space. Even after this trade, Langdon still has a lot of financial flexibility. Heading into free agency, the Pistons now have around $50 million in cap space at their disposal.
For the Pistons, Hardaway will likely slot into a super-sub role where he can help alleviate spacing troubles with his outside shot. Seeing that shooting was a key area of improvement for Detroit, this should be viewed as a solid pick-up for the Pistons.
KEVIN MCCORMICK