Trade Season

Trade rumor season is in full force. With the trade deadline less than two weeks away, teams must determine a course of action for the remainder of the season. Some teams are looking for the piece that could potentially put them over the top; others are looking to clear salary, while a few simply want to clean up chemistry problems.

The Pistons should be trying to acquire young talent so long as they avoid doing too much harm to their impending salary cap flexibility. Rodney Stuckey is probably the only untouchable on the roster, but it’s hard to imagine that Joe Dumars would deal Tayshaun Prince. Also, after the financial sacrifice Antonio McDyess made to return to the Pistons, there is no way Dumars would trade McDyess unless the veteran requests a move. With that in mind, I went to work with ESPN’s Trade Machine.

Trade Idea #1: Pistons trade Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, and Will Bynum to Phoenix for Amar’e Stoudemire and Goran Dragic.

The Pistons could do their 2010 shopping early, although they would be forced to pay a steep price. Stoudemire has ruffled feathers in Phoenix with his lackadaisical defense and poor rebounding. Word out of Phoenix is that he is unhappy with Terry Porter and does not like the idea that Shaquille O’Neal is the focal point of the offense. The Pistons would be making a serious gamble by giving up two of its young assets to acquire the mercurial Stoudemire, but they would have a better chance to contend for the next two seasons and if things do not work out, they would actually be in even better position for the summer of 2010.

From Phoenix’s standpoint, this deal makes a lot of sense if they determine that the Nash-Stoudemire-O’Neal tandem is hopeless. Wallace is a better than Stoudemire alongside O’Neal because of his defense and long-range shooting. Phoenix injects some youth into a franchise that could otherwise be dreadful after 2010. Lastly, Bynum would upgrade the backup point guard position while ridding the Suns of Dragic’s three-year deal.

Trade Idea #2: Pistons trade Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, Amir Johnson, and Arron Afflalo to Toronto for Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal, and Joey Graham.

The Raptors are in serious trouble of entering the league’s basement for the first half of the next decade. O’Neal has not provided the defensive lift many had hoped for and the Raptors have taken a step back this season. The team is also short on assets and young talent. Chris Bosh has to be salivating at the prospect of getting out of this mess. If the Raptors do not trade him, he might do just that in 2010. By making this trade, the Raptors would clear O’Neal’s contract off the books a year early, add two young pieces, and get a head start on re-building.

From this Pistons’ standpoint, this might be the only plausible deal that could move them back into contention for this season. The Pistons would make a run at a title in 2009 and 2010 with a starting lineup of Stuckey, Hamilton, Prince, Bosh and O’Neal backed up by Bynum, Graham, Maxiell and McDyess. After the 2010 season, O’Neal’s massive contract would come off the books while Bosh would become a free agent. The Pistons would probably want to re-sign Bosh, but if that plans fails, they would have plenty of cap space to work with.

Trade Idea #3: Pistons trade Tayshaun Prince, Jason Maxiell, and Walter Herrmann to Toronto for Chris Bosh.

Again, the Raptors only consider this deal if they are convinced they are going to lose Bosh in 2010. They would add two players to build around in Prince and Maxiell, both of whom are under contract into the next decade.

The Pistons would add the superstar big man they have craved while making room in the starting lineup for Hamilton. Losing Prince would hurt, but adding a superstar like Bosh would clearly come at a price. At the end of this season, the Pistons would have a core of Stuckey, Hamilton, and Bosh plus a ton of available cap room.

Trade Idea #4a: Pistons trade Rasheed Wallace to Houston for Ron Artest, Carl Landry, and Luther Head.

The Pistons would not have much interest in Artest, but he has an expiring contract which they could either flip or buy out. The other option would be to send Artest somewhere as part of a three way trade (Trade Possibility #4b). Even if the Pistons limit the deal to two teams, they would acquire a nice young piece in Landry without doing too much damage to their salary cap flexibility.

The Rockets have a glut on the wings with McGrady, Artest, and Battier. Using Artest to upgrade the power forward position would enhance their chances of making an extended playoff run this spring.

Trade Possibility #5.

I like this deal because the Pistons improve their core without losing Stuckey, Afflalo, Prince, or Johnson. (If I’m making up crazy trades with the trade machine, I have the right to dream, right?)