The Detroit Pistons add draft capital, but give up on Sekou Doumbouya

The Detroit Pistons make a blockbuster deal Friday afternoon, sending forward Sekou Doumbouya to the Brooklyn Nets.

Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver continues to shake things up, sending the 20-year old forward to Brooklyn to reunite with former Piston Bruce Brown.  The Nets also added veteran center Jahlil Okafor in exchange for DeAndre Jordan, and four future second-round draft picks.

This is a cap-clearing move for the Nets, who understand they have no issue luring veteran players to join them for the vet-minimum salary.  Brooklyn will open the season with the best odds to win the 2022 NBA title.

Detroit Pistons send Sekou Doumbouya to Brooklyn in a blockbuster deal.

Detroit needed to clear a roster position before camp; this deal puts the active roster at 15. Still, the organization is expected to work a buyout with Jordan, who will somehow likely end up with the Lakers because it seems all the vets are going to Brooklyn or Los Angeles these days.  After the buyout, Detroit will have the ability to add one more player before heading into the 2021 regular season.

Almost immediately after this deal was announced, the Nets signed free agent LaMarcus Aldridge to a one-year deal worth $2.7 million.

The seven-time All-Star, Aldridge, halted his career last season shortly after joining the Nets due to a health issue.  At the time, it seemed Aldridge’s career was in serious jeopardy. Still, after being cleared by team doctors in addition to an independent physician, Aldridge is poised to return for his 16th NBA season.

To make room on their roster, the Nets also released forward Alize Johnson.

The only somewhat surprising thing here is that Troy Weaver is giving up on an inconsistent Sekou Doumbouya at just 20-years old.  Doumbouya joined the Detroit Pistons as a rookie with plenty of potential, but the organization made the selection knowing he’d be a work in progress, a developmentary draft choice.  But don’t forget, Sekou was not one of Weaver’s selections.

Again, it almost seems crazy to give up on a 20-year old, but Weaver clearly is not as high on Sekou as Ed Stefanski.

Doumbouya played 17.3 minutes and averaged 5.6 points, 2.8 boards per game while shooting just under 38% from the field over his two seasons in Detroit.

In just about a year and a half’s time, Weaver has completely overhauled the entire roster that he inherited.