With the Detroit Pistons’ electric start to the season is already coming speculation of the team making a trade to bolster their roster for another playoff push this year.
Detroit (14-2) sits atop the Eastern Conference behind one of the best defenses in the NBA, a cast of young stars and some big-time performances from their depth pieces as the roster has fought through injuries.
If a window for not just playoff contention but championship contention is indeed opening for the Pistons under coach J.B. Bickerstaff, a move to add more star power next to Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren wouldn’t be out of place.
One of the most-frequently brought up names for the Pistons is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen.
The 28-year-old former lottery pick and All-Star is having a major start to what is shaping up as a career-year, averaging 29.4 points and 6.1 rebounds on 48.2% shooting from the field and 38.4% from three-point range.
As impactful as he could be for the Pistons, Jake Fischer reported for The Stein Line on Sunday that the Jazz would be expecting a hefty piece back in the form of 2023 lottery pick Ausar Thompson.
“Utah would almost certainly want Thompson in return,” Fischer wrote. “Sources say that the Jazz, in fact, considered trading up to select him during the 2023 NBA Draft. The Pistons, as you can imagine, do not want to trade their Thompson twin. The Jazz hope to be competitive in 2026-27 and have signaled to rival teams that any trade offers they are prepared to consider — whether they target Markkanen or otherwise — have to keep them competitive.”
While Thompson has missed time due to injuries and had his season shut down in 2024 due to a blood clot that required some extended time away, he’s proved to be an incredibly effective piece for the Pistons.
He earned the fifth starting spot for Detroit last season and became a lead defender for the team in its push to the playoffs.
Now he’s averaging 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals through his first 12 appearances for the Pistons this season.
Thompson just continues to grow and would certainly be the kind of player the Jazz would want back in a deal that nets the Pistons an All-Star-quality forward.
Beyond the positive outlook the Pistons have had on Thompson going into the season, arguably the key element that makes the deal unlikely is Detroit’s efforts to let their home-grown talent lead the way.
It was part of the reason the Pistons didn’t make major moves during the offseason after their surprise playoff appearance. They added around the young duo of Cunningham and Duren and were prepared to let Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland and Thompson continue to show they could up their game and be integral pieces in a high-end roster.
So far, that bet is paying off as new additions Duncan Robinson, Caris LeVert and Javonte Green are all impacting winning and their draftees have all, seemingly, taken another step in their development.
It’s certainly not out of the question the Pistons may want to make a move or moves before the trade deadline in February, particularly with a large expiring contract in Tobias Harris on the books and plenty of draft capital to work with.
But chemistry, team identity and trust in development have been top of mind for the Pistons since the offseason. That’s worked to this point with the Pistons racing out in front of the Eastern Conference behind those pillars.
They might not want to go away from it to take part in a blockbuster deal.
