Retired NBA big man and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins was told by his sources that the Detroit Pistons have "a lot of interest" in the Dallas Mavericks' Anthony Davis, who has played just 14 games since arriving in the DFW as part of the Luka Doncic trade.
After spending years perpetually rebuilding, getting a brief reprieve after acquiring Blake Griffin in 2017, but otherwise spending the late 2010s and early 2020s away from the postseason until 2024-25, Perkins' sources think the Pistons should nuke all their progress with a win-now trade for an injury-prone big man on the wrong side of 30.
The NBA media, ever impatient when it comes to watching ascending teams develop, isn't letting Detroit be good after years of trial and error in the draft. No, the top team in the Eastern Conference needs to trade for AD of all people.
Pass. Hard pass. The cost would be too high in the Motor City to justify bringing "The Brow" aboard ahead of the 2026 NBA trade deadline.
Cost For Pistons to Land Anthony Davis is Too High
On The Zach Lowe Show podcast last week, NBA insiders Zach Lowe and J. Kyle Mann revealed the likely trade price to land Davis from the Mavs: Jaden Ivey and Tobias Harris, and one of Duncan Robinson or Isaiah Stewart to match salaries, plus draft capital.
Truth be told, Robinson is a big part of the team's success, having started the most games on the team this season. Getting rid of him would be a bad chemistry move for a team that's not broken and doesn't need a fix. That's before even getting into how foolish it'd be to ditch Jaden Ivey as he continues to ascend next to Cade Cunningham on the wing.
Stewart and Harris are solid veteran hands, too. Losing them could disrupt what J.B. Bickerstaff has in the locker room. There's no guarantee it'd be made up for with what Davis brings. Especially if the injury-prone Davis misses games.
A 2-for-1 could quickly turn into a 2-for-none if AD's injury woes pop back up after a hypothetical blockbuster.
The idea of a Cade-AD pick-and-roll is tantalizing, but the price to make it happen could be a potentially knee-capping mistake. Trajan Langdon could become very unpopular very quickly in the Motor City by jumping the gun and landing a star on the wrong side of 30 with an extensive list of ailments.