NBA Trade Rumors: Pistons' Alec Burks, Saddiq Bey Would Take 'Quality Draft Capital'

The Detroit Pistons will reportedly have their eye on the future if they decide to trade Alec Burks or Saddiq Bey ahead of the Feb. 9 deadline.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Eastern Conference team has "maintained for weeks that it would require quality draft capital to acquire" the two players. That follows since this is shaping up to be a lost season for the team after a 13-39 start.

Thanks to the implementation of the play-in tournament, most of the league is still in contention with the deadline approaching.

In fact, Detroit is one of just four teams in the entire league that isn't within at least four games of the final postseason spot. That means there may be plenty of hesitation across the NBA when it comes to potential sellers and trades if there are still realistic routes into the playoffs.

Such a position as one of the few possible sellers could give the Pistons more leverage in discussions as they attempt to restock their draft capital and build a future contender with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey as foundational cornerstones.

Bey could be a secondary scorer on a contender.

He is averaging 14.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from deep. While he could use some improvement on the defensive side, with opponents shooting 5.1 percent better than their normal averages when he guards them, per NBA.com, he could still be a valuable role player thanks to his offense.

Burks, 31, is more experienced than the 23-year-old Bey and is one of the best shooters potentially available for trade.

In fact, he is hitting a blistering 44.6 percent of his three-pointers in what is tracking to be his third consecutive season with a better than 40 percent clip from downtown.

The journeyman has played for the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Pistons, and he could immediately step into a lineup to provide more spacing with that ever-important outside shooting.