This Lauri Markkanen Trade Makes the Pistons a Contender

Cade Cunningham is well on his way to validating last year's leap to All-NBA status, but he can't continue to carry the Detroit Pistons' offense all by himself.

The Pistons are 16th in the league in offensive efficiency and 23rd in effective field-goal percentage, disservices to their No. 3 ranked defense. That's in spite of Cunningham running particularly hot in November after a slow sstart (by his standards). This month, he's averaging 28.3 points, 12.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds across three games—all Pistons wins.

Jaden Ivey is supposed to be Cunningham's main source of playmaking and shooting support, but the belief in his ability to fill that role depends entirely on 30 pre-injury games from last year. He has yet to play this season following knee surgery, a worrisome development after last year's broken fibula. Due for an extension this summer, Ivey comes with risks and uncertainty across the board.

Let's see what we can do to boost the Pistons' ceiling, give Cunningham the help he needs and finally get Lauri Markkanen onto a team good enough to put his obvious talent to use.

The Trade

Detroit Pistons Acquire: Lauri Markkanen

Utah Jazz Acquire: Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey, Ron Holland II, a 2028 first-round pick (top-3 protected) and a 2030 first-round pick (top-3 protected)

Why Detroit Does It

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Markkanen wouldn't necessarily address the secondary playmaking issues Detroit faces, but he'd draw enough attention as a red-alert scorer to lighten the load on Cade Cunningham in other ways. Off to a start that has him positioned to blow away his All-Star numbers of 2022-23, Markkanen is putting up 30.4 points per game on a 60.8 true shooting percentage.

His movement-shooting prowess from deep is basically unmatched among bigs around the league, and the 28-year-old is also a threat to punish opposing defenses with a wildly underrated driving game. Hard closeouts are a must against a 7-footer who has drilled at least two triples per game in every year of his career, but Markkanen has become just as adept as a fake-and-go attacker. He's getting to the foul line a career-best 7.4 times per game through eight contests with the Jazz this season.

Tobias Harris has played a role of outsized importance for the Pistons since arriving. Markkanen is a more dynamic offensive threat with far greater off-the-dribble verve, and he also does everything Harris can—just at a much higher level.

With Ivey's production uncertain and Holland's iffy shooting making him a poor fit alongside Ausar Thompson, the Pistons may not be giving up quite as much as it seems. It's difficult to imagine a future where Holland, Ivey and Thompson all feature prominently next to Cunningham, so this is a move that swaps out potentially ill-fitting down-the-line pieces for one who slots in perfectly in the present.

Why Utah Does It

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The Jazz have been reluctant to trade Markkanen since he arrived, and Markkanen has shown no interest in playing elsewhere—despite the fact that his prime years aren't going to impact winning on a Utah team still in the infancy of its rebuild.

That dynamic became even clearer when Walker Kessler went down for the year with a shoulder injury, so perhaps both Markkanen and the Jazz would be willing to reconsider their positions. Kessler's absence will dramatically compromise the defense, which may put an end to Utah's surprisingly competitive play to this point in the season.

Ivey's extension eligibility carries the same risks in Utah as it does in Detroit, but the quality of his on-court fit might be even better. Keyonte George appears to have taken a step forward this season and may actually be the Jazz's point guard of the future. Ivey would make perfect sense as his backcourt counterpart, as Utah doesn't have much in the way of prospects at the 2.

Holland might have an even higher ceiling than Ivey if he can figure out how to pair a reliable shot with predatory on-ball defense and hustle. His tenacity would enable him to play some small forward, and there'd be minutes available with Markkanen gone.

Harris is the expiring salary necessary to make this work, and Utah should still be in the business of picking up other teams' first-rounders, of which it nets two here. Detroit figures to be a playoff team for the foreseeable future, which is why the Jazz should feel justified in asking for a pair of picks alongside promising prospects in Ivey and Holland.

Ultimately, Utah is selling high on Markkanen while he's hot and healthy, securing future-focused assets that make far more sense for the organization's timeline.