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A Realistic Blockbuster Trade That Should Happen Before NBA Season
The 2025 NBA offseason brought numerous major changes to the basketball landscape.
Here's to hoping the basketball gods have at least one more fortune-changing transaction left up their sleeve.
The Eastern Conference now feels as competitive as ever. While the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks look strong, and the Orlando Magic took a significant risk by trading four first-round picks (and a pick swap) for Desmond Bane, much of the conference hierarchy remains unclear.
With so much uncertainty, mid-tier teams have a prime opportunity to make aggressive moves. For instance, the Detroit Pistons, who improved their win total by 30 games during the 2024-25 season, could have another huge leap in front of them if they find a legitimate co-star for Cade Cunningham.
The following hypothetical trade could realistically benefit both teams. For Detroit, it would give Cade Cunningham a dynamic new co-star and potentially make the Pistons legitimate conference contenders.
Trade Details
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Detroit Pistons receive: Tyler Herro and Nikola Jović
Miami Heat receive: Tobias Harris, Ron Holland II, a 2026 first-round pick (lottery-protected), a 2030 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick swap (top-three protected)
Why the Detroit Pistons Do It
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Coach J.B. Bickerstaff helped mold the Pistons into a pesky playoff opponent built around toughness, tenacity, defensive disruption and all things Cade Cunningham on offense.
This approach became a problem in the playoffs, as the New York Knicks focused their defense on Cunningham and forced the Pistons' supporting cast to step up.
That will be the same approach opponents take until the Pistons find a viable threat to slot alongside Cunningham. They also can't rely solely on Jaden Ivey or other young players to develop into a star right now—not when the Eastern Conference appears so open for competition.
With this deal, they wouldn't have to hope for internal elevation to fill that void. Herro is already a proven offensive threat. While he may not be best suited as the top option on a playoff team—despite averaging 23.9 points on 47.2/37.5/87.8 shooting splits as a primary scorer—he would excel as a second option.
This past season, when Herro was clearly the top priority for opposing defenses, he landed at a fully elite 93rd percentile (a level shared with Kevin Durant) in offensive estimated plus/minus, per Dunks & Threes.
Herro was also one of only eight players to average at least 23 points, five assists and three three-pointers.
As an on-ball creator, the 25-year-old pairs functional handles with a silky pull-up jumper and enough vision to find rim-running backs or unattended spot-up shooters. And since he is also a high-end movement shooter (39.7 catch-and-shoot three-point percentage), he'd be just as effective when Cunningham was piloting the ship.
Detroit, which already lured sharpshooter Duncan Robinson away from Miami this offseason, could take another step toward powering up its perimeter attack with Jović, a 6'10" scoring forward with a 37 percent career splash rate and legitimate (and underutilized) ball skills.
With knockdown shooters at the 2 and 4 spots, and Cunningham being a viable threat from distance at the 1, the Pistons could be better equipped to work around the fact that they'd have two non-shooters rounding out their lineup in Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren.
While Herro and Jović need to paid soon—the latter has restricted free agency awaiting him next summer, while the former is slated for unrestricted free agency in 2027—Detroit would be able to take at least one playoff trip with the tandem before deciding whether one or both is worth a long-term investment.
Given how snug this fit appears on paper, chances are the Pistons would want to keep both of them around.
Why the Miami Heat Do It
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Although Erik Spoelstra's teams are always competitive, the Heat's current roster has limited upside. With both Herro and Jović due for extensions this summer, Miami could face increasing financial pressure.
Miami already seems less than enamored with this path. The calendar had barely shifted to 2025 when the hoops world heard of its grandiose visions for 2026 free agency.
The Heat have essentially acknowledged they need more. After the season wrapped, team president Pat Riley told reporters: "There's no doubt there has to be some change."
Chances are, Riley was referring to more than just a deeply discounted deal for Norman Powell. They need a difference-maker—a "whale" in Riley's parlance—and Powell isn't that.
Maybe Miami doesn't think Herro has that level in him, either. Or Jović, for that matter.
And maybe the Heat take things further and believe big-dollar extensions to both would hinder their efforts of finding that elite player down the line.
The wise move, then, would be to cash in the trade chips now in hopes of hitting it big later.
This deal would offer multiple hopes for a jackpot prize. The draft picks—two out firsts (including an unprotected one in 2030)—and a lightly protected pick swap would be the most obvious scratch tickets, regardless if Miami spent the picks itself or uses them as additional trade fodder for an established star.
Holland, the No. 5 pick of the 2024 draft, would personify another dart throw. He's a long ways away from stardom, but his motor would make him a perfect fit for Miami's culture, while his athleticism, downhill scoring and defensive versatility all point to significant upside. Oh, and his ceiling may have climbed a few stories if the shooting gains he flashed in summer league prove sustainable.
As for Harris, he'd be mostly attractive to Miami for his expiring $26.6 million salary, but he'd also be capable of filling a starting frontcourt spot for as long as the Heat wanted to keep him around.
Maybe that would be all of next season if the squad surprises again, although it's more likely it'd just be long enough to showcase him and attract the right scoring-starved shopper ahead of the trade deadline.
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