The Detroit Pistons are kicking off the 2025-26 season on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls. After a surprise playoff appearance last season, the Pistons have higher expectations than they have had in a long time entering the season. With a wide-open Eastern Conference and a young, hungry team primed to take a step forward, Pistons fans have every right to dream big.
To get to the next level and become a true championship contender, however, the Pistons may be a piece or two away. An in-season trade could potentially help them get there if they can add more shooting and offensive juice, especially if it comes at the power forward position. If they were to swing for a trade, the likeliest candidate to be moved is Duncan Robinson.
Even though he just arrived in Detroit, Robinson's age, salary, and role with the team suggest that he may not last very long with the Pistons.
Duncan Robinson Is Entering His First and Last Season in Detroit
Robinson will surely play a big role for the team to start the season. They are desperate for shooting after the departures of Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. Robinson will be their most trusted shooter.
At the same time, he is not the shooter Beasley is, and the veteran forward has significant shortcomings in other aspects of the game. He is an improved ball-handler and playmaker, but he is a very poor defender and a downgrade from Beasley and Hardaway. Yet, he gets paid like a high-level role player, making $16.8 million for the 2025-26 season. It is difficult to imagine that he will live up to that salary, considering that he saw his playing time reduced last season on a 37-45 Miami Heat team, playing only 24.1 minutes per game.
Robinson's deal is partially guaranteed for the 2026-27 season and entirely unguaranteed for the 2027-28 campaign, meaning that the Pistons or any team acquiring him could move on from him without too much pain. He is essentially on an expiring contract, making him an appealing trade chip.
The Pistons don't have too many mid-sized contracts that can be matching salary in a trade. Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Caris LeVert are the only other players who fit that bill, but they are more essential to what the Pistons are doing. They could also be combined with Robinson to bring back a starting-caliber player with a large contract. The Pistons certainly have the draft capital to sweeten any trade deal to acquire an All-Star-level player if one were made available during the season.
Even if Robinson survives the trade deadline, the Pistons will likely want to upgrade his position in the offseason and get a better shooter who can play both ends of the floor. At that point, Robinson would be too big a luxury to keep around with his overpaid status, meaning that Wednesday night will be his first and last Opening Night with the Pistons.