The peak of free agency and the trade season is over, but teams are still trying to finalize their rosters for next season. The Detroit Pistons are trying to sign Jalen Duren to a new deal. Their Central Division rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on the other hand, have yet to re-sign James Harden. They are active in trade talks to open up cap space to fit both Harden and a free agent like Jonathan Kuminga or Peyton Watson.
Over the weekend, they traded former Pistons guard Dennis Schröder to the Charlotte Hornets. NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Sunday that they are trying to follow that up with a Max Strus trade.
Max Strus is an intriguing trade target for the Pistons
Even though the Cavs may not want to trade Strus to a fellow Eastern Conference contender, the Pistons should seriously explore ways to acquire the sharpshooter. Cleveland may want to move on from him for financial reasons, but Strus is a very good player who would help Detroit immensely.
Pistons fans saw firsthand how impactful Strus can be on both ends of the floor in the playoffs. He is a solid three-and-D option who can guard multiple positions. He did a very good job on Cade Cunningham in the playoffs and was a big factor in Cleveland's narrow series win. He played over 28 minutes per game and hit over two threes per game on 36.4% from downtown. He provided physicality and intensity to the Cavs' porous perimeter defense with Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
Strus had missed most of the regular season as he was recovering from foot surgery. Upon his return, he shot over 40% from three on 6.8 attempts per game. He looked excellent physically in the postseason, which suggests that, being a year removed from the surgery, he will be in line for a solid season.
The 30-year-old swingman has one year left on his deal that will pay him $16.6 million next season. This is an ideal situation for the Pistons, who want to clear their books for when Ausar Thompson's extension kicks in next summer. Detroit can choose to re-sign Strus to a less lucrative contract, or let him walk in free agency.
Matching salaries in this trade could be a challenge, especially since the Cavs want to shed salary. Perhaps a third team may have to get involved for that reason. The easiest way to make this trade work is by including Ron Holland. A Holland-for-Strus trade straight up is legal and could benefit both sides.
If the Pistons don't want to trade Holland, they could move Duncan Robinson. Newly acquired Isaiah Joe could also be used, but that seems highly unlikely. Unfortunately, Kevin Huerter isn't eligible to be traded until December 15. Otherwise, he would have been an ideal matching salary. A trade package of Daniss Jenkins and Ebuka Okorie also works salary-wise, but that's likely too much to give up for a 30-year-old on an expiring contract.
The trade could be expanded to include more players and draft picks. As a general framework, however, the Pistons should be interested in Strus and should be willing to give up Holland or Robinson to acquire him. Whether GM Trajan Langdon is interested in such a move, however, remains to be seen.
Add us as a preferred source on Google