The Celtics aren’t the only Eastern Conference contender looking to upgrade their roster after a disappointing playoff loss. The Pistons won 60 games and landed the top seed in the East, but fell in round two to the Cavaliers, with a big reason why being their lack of shooting and scoring outside of Cade Cunningham.
On Friday, Marc Stein reported on various trade rumors around the league, and the Pistons came up as a team interested in both Kyrie Irving and Trey Murphy III, two excellent off-ball shooters who could change the team’s gravity on offense.
Stein ended his musing by noting, “That’s two shooters by the way, for those of you scoring at home, who have been connected to the Pistons in this piece. After a 60-win season that ended in the second round of the playoffs, Detroit clearly knows what it needs.”
But Stein also pointed out that Irving may not be available and the asking price for Murphy is very high. There’s a very real chance the Pistons are unable to acquire either player, but they are still going to need to find shooting somehow, and that’s where the Celtics should look to be opportunistic.
Celtics could look to trade Sam Hauser to Detroit
Boston has a surplus of wing players, and with Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr. all ready to take on bigger roles, the Celtics could look to trade Sam Hauser, who could be a great fit as another floor-spacing option in Detroit.
And as it happens, the Pistons may have an extra big man to spare. They are almost certainly going to have to splurge to re-sign Jalen Duren, who just made an All-NBA team, and they have Isaiah Stewart and Paul Reed under contract as well.
Stewart had a rough playoffs, but he’s a great rim protector, a decent stretch big, and an elite enforcer. Making $15 million next season, he could be an interesting option for the Celtics to add frontcourt depth. Reed was arguably the team’s best big man in the postseason, and I’m sure Detroit would love to bring him back, but it may not make sense for them to waste the asset on a third center.
Set to make $5.6 million next season, B-Ball Paul would be a great change-of-pace backup big man for the Celtics next season. Again, the Pistons likely won’t want to part with Reed, but their top priority has to be shooting, and if they can land an elite marksman like Hauser, the Celtics may be able to extract some very solid value.
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