The Detroit Pistons weren't expected to be very active at the trade deadline, and may have made their only move on Tuesday by sending Jaden Ivey to the Bulls for Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and a first-round pick swap from the Timberwolves. Now, their next order of business is to find enough roster space for the new acquisitions and Daniss Jenkins, who needs to be converted to a guaranteed contract. Even before he signs a new deal, however, it's safe to say that Jenkins is already a big winner of the deadline in Detroit.
The Pistons currently don't have an open roster spot. Since they are taking back two players in exchange for one, they have to make corresponding moves. Rather than another trade, this could be cutting Isaac Jones or Bobi Klintman. There is a possibility that Saric will be rerouted to another team or released before ever wearing a Pistons jersey. Regardless of which two players are cut, Jenkins will almost certainly take a roster spot.
Daniss Jenkins Is the Big Winner of the Pistons' Jaden Ivey Trade
Jenkins has one more game left before he is no longer eligible to play in an NBA regular-season contest this season. Players on two-way contracts are limited to 50 games at the NBA level in a single season and are not allowed to play in the postseason. With Ivey now out of the picture, the Pistons need Jenkins even more and will sign him to a multi-year deal.
There were reports last week that Jenkins turned down a two-year, minimum contract offer from the Pistons. The 24-year-old combo guard likely thinks he has already played at a higher level than a minimum deal and should land a better contract. The Pistons now have fewer future obligations on their books, as Huerter and Saric are both expiring contracts. This means the amount of money available for Jenkins for the next few years has significantly increased.
Even though the writing was on the wall for Ivey, he was still getting 15-20 minutes per game because of the organization's investment in him. Jenkins had already supplanted Ivey in the rotation and was closing more games. Now, there will be even less competition for Jenkins for the backup point guard role. He should increase his playing time and role, giving the Pistons another competent ballhandler and playmaker.
Huerter will have a chance to get some minutes off the bench and potentially threaten Jenkins' role, but he has to show that his shot is back to where it was earlier in his career. He has made 34.2 percent of his threes in his Bulls career, and that is not good enough for a player whose calling card is shooting. Unless he brings that number to the high-30s, Jenkins will feel good about his role since he is better than Huerter in non-shooting aspects of the game.