RUMOR: Should Detroit Pistons Trade for Anthony Davis? Trade Packages, PROS and CONS!

RUMOR: Should Detroit Pistons Trade for Anthony Davis? Trade Packages, PROS and CONS!

Could the Detroit Pistons trade for Anthony Davis? What do the trade packages look like? And what are the pros and cons for trading for the one-time superstar? He might still be a superstar. Who knows? We’ll talk about today’s episode, Locked on Pistons podcast. You are Locked on Pistons, your daily Detroit Pistons podcast, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. What’s the deal? Welcome back to another episode of the Locked On Pistons podcast. Per usual, I am your host Cuck Hill. I’ve been covering the Detroit Piston for the last four years for the lockdown network credential media member over the last three years. And I appreciate all of you guys who make Locked On Pistons your first listen every single day. Free and available on all your podcast platforms. If you haven’t already, head to the YouTube channel at Lockdown Pistons. Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked in NBA for $20 off your first purchase. I also got to let you guys know, thank you for helping make Locked On Podcast Network the number one sports podcast network in America. Appreciate all of you guys’ daily support. And if you guys want to find out another way to become even more of an everydayer and maybe join a Locked On Pistons Discord, find that out a little bit later on in the episode. But today, we are talking about Anthony Davis. And we are joined by friend of the podcast, Kyle Mets. We know that I’ve often referred to him as the Pistons community’s Keith Smith. He is the salary cap guru. He knows all about that kind of thing. We always have him on when it comes to trades, free agency, anything involving salary cap, CBA, any of that stuff. We always have him on because he knows what he knows his stuff and knows what he’s talking about. Kyle, how you doing, man? Thank you for coming on. Oh, it’s fun to be here. I definitely try my best. Not perfect, but things are always changing as we’re trying to learn. So, yeah, I’m I enjoy getting to do this for the community. All right, so let’s go ahead and get into it. We’re going to start off with trade packages for Anthony Davis. Then we’ll move into prot trade for Anthony Davis. All the pros. And then we’ll get into the cons of trading for Anthony Davis. And some of you guys who may not know may be asking why are we talking about Anthony Davis? Why are you talking about trading for Anthony Davis? Well, if you missed it, Sean Sharenia tweeted out, or not tweet out, reported, I should say. I saw it through a tweet, but reported that there are expected to be three teams in the Eastern Conference expected to show interest in Anthony Davis. He included the Detroit Pistons, one of them. We’ll get to the other two teams. Kyle will get to that in just a few moments here, but the Pistons were included in this. Um, we had some few other not as nearly reputable people say that the Pistons could show interest, but it hasn’t. We’ve heard some noise. Seam’s kind of said that he’s heard that they’re going to show show interest. Now, before we get into this, I guess I should say that Mark Stein has said that he’s heard over the last month or so that it’s looking more likely that the Pistons are to stand pat. not ruling out anything, but he said he’s heard that they’re more likely to stay in pad than they are to make a big swing. So, there’s a lot of stuff going on here, but because Sham’s mentioned the Pistons should be are expected to be interested in Anthony Davis, we decided to start talking about Anthony Davis. So, we’re going to start with the trade package. Let’s go ahead and get into this. The first trade package that Cal pulled together for us is going to be, if you’re watching this on YouTube, you’ll see it on the screen, is Anthony Davis to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Caris Levert, Marcus Sasser, and the 2026 first round pick from the Detroit Pistons. Kyle, go ahead and explain why you put this package together, why you believe it works for both sides, all that good stuff. Yeah, and if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll we I tweeted this out maybe earlier today or yesterday. Um and um the the big thing here is the idea is giving the Mavs um stap cap relief. So getting the expiring contract to Tobias. Um and then some other some other role players that can to match salary. So Caris Lebert is primarily just salary matching. Um, you could include Duncan Robinson here, but I went with Caris Levert because there’s no way you can trade your two best shooters and Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson for AD who is okay at shooting, but not known for his uh three-point shot. And and then Sass is also a really good shooter. Um, but he’s there just to make the money work. Um, he’s a he’s a an asset who’s on a good cost control next year. Um, can maybe get some minutes there in in Dallas. Um, but it’s primarily he’s like the lowest he just to get us over the edge. Um, I think it like was just like $100,000 just below the minimum salary matching. So, this is pretty tight. This is about as close to the salary matching as you can get. And and the reason why I went with this is one, I was trying to look at a package where Detroit’s not really dipping into their young core. Um, because frankly, I don’t know that they’d be interested in in doing that for Anthony Davis um too much. and we’ll get to another one where they might do that depending on if they need to. Um, but this was just pure salary, the expiring salary from Tobias. They get the Mavs get a 2026 um, draft pick. And then I’m also assuming in this in this trade that they’re they’re going to send out a few second rounders. Dallas has like two second rounders over the next seven years and Detroit has a ton. And so they actually those those could be assets and they can throw as many second round picks as they need to to make it happen and I probably wouldn’t lose sleep over it. Um, but that’s the assumption here. Ultimately, this helps the Mavericks tank a little bit this year. Um, and kind of they they lose control of their draft picks over the next few years after this year. This is their last one before they have before it’s going to likely go out. So, this helps them make it as good as possible by tanking a little bit um while also giving giving them some salary relief relief next year. And then the primary for the Pistons, um, you get Anthony Davis. And the idea here is you put him at the four next to Duran. We know that Anthony Davis doesn’t like to play the five. And so he gets to come to Detroit, play the position that he prefers to play next guy who complements um, his skill set. And you can a threeman rotation of Stewart and Duran and AD on the floor. Like there might be some spacing concerns, but that’s you can stagger those guys at any one like at any time. And that’s a pretty solid defensive rotation and with offensive firepower. Um, and so that’s kind of the idea there. Um, yeah, we can kind of get into the specifics. I don’t know if you want to dive in now to some of the pros and cons of this deal in particular or if you want to have any thoughts on it. Yeah. So, I I think one of the things we’ll eventually get to here, and I’m going to keep the trade up for just a few more seconds here, but one of the things we’re going to get to talking about this is the reason why there seems to be, it sounds like there’s going to be people interested, so many teams interested in Anthony Davis, because it sounds like he’s a distressed asset. It’s not going to be, you’re not getting Anthony Davis, the who, we’ll talk about this coming up, but a great basketball player. You’re not getting him for just what his value is as a basketball player. you’re getting you’re getting him at the cost because of all the other stuff that comes with him. We’ll talk about it, but he is you’re you’re buying low on Anthony Davis. So, the idea of buying or getting Anthony Davis for nothing really costing you from the future, some salary matching. Obviously, fans like Tobias Harris, they like Marcus Sasser, all that, but like we’re talking about Anthony Davis. So, you’re not really giving up anything. You’re keeping your young guys. That would basically be I think most Pistons fans if you want a trade for Anthony Davis this would be like exactly what they would want. Um we’re gonna move on to the second trade because I don’t think Dallas would take this. I think they would want the second trade that you crafted up. So let’s move on to the second trade. Go ahead. Go. Let me give one defense why this might be this might be good enough because I agree it’s probably not quite enough. But the one reason why I thought it might be is because the other teams mentioned is Toronto and Atlanta. Now, Toronto is up against the first apron and they can’t go above it. And so, it’s actually really hard for them to put together a package um with without giving up one of their core guys. And I don’t see them doing that for Anthony Davis. So, we’re talking RJ Barrett and Purle. They probably have to get a third team involved to take like Abaji or something like that. And so, it’s complicated for them to get a deal done. And then also Atlanta, they they are they’re below the apron, but same it’s the same deal where they’re going to have to give up um Porzingis most likely, which it does offer Dallas a little more breathing room in terms of expiring salary than what the Pistons can offer, but it’s going to be a similar package. There’s not they’re not going to give any other young guys for Anthony Davis, and the salary matching just doesn’t really work for them to throw in one of their good young players. So the guys the teams that have been mentioned as suitors now I think there’ll be others but the ones who’ve been primarily mentioned really can’t offer a package much different than this where it’s good expiring salary and a young player. So if they don’t have to get up to that point then this might be enough. But I agree it’s probably not what they want to do. All right so let’s get to the second one. Now, the second one is one I’m I think that the Mavericks would take um considering how he’s not as valuable as he as he once was in the trade market and when they’re at where they’re at in their season. This one is Anthony Davis and Max Christie to the Pistons for Tobias Harris, Caris Levert, Jaden Ivy in the 2026 first round pick. Kyle, go ahead and break down why you went with this trade and why this one makes sense. Yeah, this one’s very similar to the previous one, but if it’s if if Dallas is demanding the need to have a young player, um Ivy is going to make sense in this in this deal. I think Duran has is is you don’t want Anthony Davis at the full-time five. So, putting Durn in there doesn’t make a lot of sense. And from a salary matching standpoint, sending Dur out is way harder. Um so, so Ivy going out with Levert, you have a little bit more cap room. So that’s where um in terms of salary matching getting Max Christie to fit into that space um helps and I think it helps with the value proposition here because Ivy I think would all agree that probably has a higher upside than Max Christie and might be this feels like a little bit too much um like good expiring salary, a good draft pick plus some seconds and a good young player feels a little much um for Anthony Davis especially because it doesn’t solve the spacing issues. So bringing Max Christie back helps with the spacing issues. He’s a AC he’s cost controlled for two more years after this. Um and can kind of help with the roster management from having to send out too many guys and not getting any back. Um so that’s my thought process here. Um both of these trades would allow them to to convert Danis. It would open up a roster spot and convert Danis who’s been in the rotation um to fill in that backup point guard spot. Um and then this deal actually brings some cap relief compared to the other one. uh the first one you’re going to be fighting the second apron as as early as next year where this one pushes that off a little bit because you don’t have Ivy’s $30 million cap hold on the books in addition to Anthony Davis’s $60 million salary next year. Um so this kind of makes that tradeoff there while giving the the the Mavericks some more long-term value in a guy like Ivy. Yeah. So I I think this one probably would get it done. I don’t think the question on this one would be from the Dallas from Dallas’s end. I think this would be from Detroit send about whether they would want to do this. Um, but I think this one’s much closer. I think if any trade they make with the Mavericks, I think they’re going to ask for Ivy. Um, and I’m not going to get into my full thoughts on Ivy because I know how that gets. But I think overall, like you can see that if any of the young core guys are expendable, it probably is Ivy at this point. They’re not moving on from Duran. They’re not moving on from Assar. Um, and it doesn’t seem like they want to move on from Ron Holland either. If there’s one player that seems like he is expendable, it is Jay and Ivy. And I feel like the Pistons, if they did want to go with Anthony Davis, I think this would have to be the deal that they would have to come to. And I personally, if I am the Pistons and I am saying I want Anthony Davis, I would do this deal. If you don’t want Anthony Davis, obviously don’t do any deal. But if you’re operating from the standpoint of we’re the Pistons and we want Anthony Davis, I think this is a I I think I’d do this deal right here. Um, but with that said, I do want to get into now coming up after the break, whether I actually would do this and why there are some pros and cons to wanting to go after Anthony Davis. And we’ll say at the end of this whether we believe the Pistons actually should end up doing. We’ll give our actual opinions on it. We’ll talk about it uh coming up in just a few moments. Today’s episode is brought to you guys by Game Time. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That’s why the Game Time app is clutch. Finally giving fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. With Game Time, you can track price drops in real time, get alerts when great seats open, and buy tickets the moment they hit the app. It puts the power back in your hands and makes going to the World Cup realistic instead of impossible. Prices include fees upfront, which I love. There’s no last second surprises at checkout. 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A membersonly locked on merch store with exclusive gear. Again, I think one of the things you guys will love the most about it is the fact uh you get ad free listen to lockdown pistons. So, if you’re interested in all that, I’ll link it down below or if you want to just go type it in now. It’s locked on pistons.ssupcast.com. All right, Kyle, let’s go ahead and get into this now. I think a lot of the playback uh community will like that now that playback’s ending sadly Friday. I think a lot of the playback community will enjoy rotating over to Discord and having that community still together. Talk talk pistons. Um, all right. Let’s get into the pros for training for Anthony Davis. I want to start with you. I’ll let you go first. Anthony Davis is still a great player. We both agree on this, right? Like he’s he’s still a great player. Yes. Correct. Correct. And that’s that’s definitely going to be something brought up soon here. Um, but go ahead and give me one of your pros for training for Anthony Davis because I have a few here I want to go through, but I want to hear from you first. You go ahead and start. I do think Anthony Davis fits the identity of what JB wants to do. Um it’s it would be it would be doubling down on the things they’re good at for sure. Um he’s still a good defender. Um he can he can put up points in bunches. So you know we you’ve talked about before how Tobias has been that safety blanket at the end of a shot clock who can go get like a match like uh mismatch like go up against a mismatch and get a get you a bucket. I mean Anthony Davis does that but like at least two and a half times better than Tobias, right? Like he he is still great if not elite at that. And so he he does provide offensive punch. He can be a guy who you can be a second option. Um or even with Duran, like you know, Durham’s kind of becoming that second option to Cade, but AD can do that in a different way that feels more like a a creator. Um and so I think it just gives you another scoring option for when you need someone to carry the load while also not being a liability on defense. Um, so those are some of the things that I could see being beneficial uh to it would it would definitely I think make more clear if Pistons aren’t already the second best defense. It would like for sure like lock them in is that as long as Anthony Davis is healthy. Yeah. And I think it’s again I keep making comments that I think it’s hilarious that you say the second best defense because we all just have punted on catching OKC. It’s just it’s just like OKC is just ins have you seen how far ahead they are from the second place team in defensive rating. They’re like eight points ahead. It’s it’s insane. I I it’s crazy. Having that low defensive rating in 2025 I thought was impossible. I don’t know how they’re just they’re crazy. Um but yeah, I agree with you. I before the season we did a locked down top 100 and I had Anthony Davis in my top 12. I thought when he’s healthy and when he’s on the floor, he is still one of the 12 best players in basketball. I felt like before the season he is incredibly impactful defensively. We know how great he is defensively. But trading for Anthony Davis, there’s been a lot of people saying that they want K. Cunningham to have his Batman. They want him to go out there and actually play with another superstar, another all-star level player. And while Jaylen Durn’s taking this step forward and they have a few other young guys that, you know, the fans love, Anthony Davis would be that bonafide Batman or Robin, I should say, next to Kate. He he would be bonafide number two. A guy who has won a championship as the second best player on the team. A guy who during that championship run could have won finals MVP during that like he was we’ve seen him reach heights of that that we haven’t seen very many players like an don’t get it confused. Anthony Davis is still exceptional. He is a great basketball player and I do agree with you that he would take this defense that if again like you said if it’s not second the best in the league right now. I mean, you add Anthony Davis to Isaiah Stewart in Assar Thompson with Jaylen Duran with the size they have at every single position, the length now, like you’re just doubling down and being like, we’re just you’re not going to score on us. It’s just not going to happen. You’re never going to score on us. And it would be frightening, I feel like, for opposing teams to go against them within the half court defense. It’d just be the amount of length and and and activity you’d have defensively would be wild. Um, I also agree with you about offensively that Tobias does provide a little bit of that bailout option, but Anthony Davis is just better. He’s a better like he’s he can do that, but also better also giving you more on ball juice. He’s a better play finisher, I think, than Tobias. Obviously, he can he serves as another lob threat. He’s a guy you can give the ball at the high post and trust in to make a play out of that, whether it’s scoring or even finding somebody open. Like, he’s not Magic Johnson. He’s not I don’t think he’s even as good of a pass as maybe Giannis at from at this point in his career, but Anthony Davis is capable of making those reads as well. And he draws that attention. I just did a film breakdown with Jay over in Jaylen Duran’s um drives to the basket today and spoke about how Jaylen Duran is finally acquiring like two to the ball a lot and that the Pistons seem like they finally have another guy that occasionally will draw two to the ball instead of it just being Kade. like having Anthony Davis, you will have a lot of guys on the floor that defenses are going to be having multiple guys focused on that should open up other advantages for other players within the half court offense. So, all of that said, I I like that those are my main pros for going after Anthony Davis. Just that he’s great. I mean, that’s a long way of saying if you know you don’t feel like reading the whole message. Short answer, he’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic basketball player. He’s an all-star level player. I think higher higher than just an all-star level player. And when you can add that type of talent, I think it would it does it does things that maybe we haven’t expected the Pistons to be able to pull off this year. And I guess that’s the next question I want to go with you or go to you for is obviously if you make this move, you are going you believe this puts you over the top. Do you believe the Pistons trading for Anthony Davis puts this team over the top as far as getting to the finals? Do you think it gets them to the finals in the East? I think it really depends on if it’s one of the packages that we put out before. I think it could. Um, definitely if you’re not having to send Ivy out, I definitely think that you you you have to really consider that deal. Um, because you’re basically getting him for scraps. Like Tobias is not scraps. I love Tobias. Like we we underell the leadership that he brings in the in the vibes in the locker room. Like they that other players love him. So, like that would be a loss for sure, but like from a pure basketball standpoint, you’re giving up three guys that two that are in the rotation, but we’ve shown that you can win without and one that’s not even in the rotation right now because he’ve been injured. So, you have to consider that. Um, does it push him over the edge? I definitely think it puts them in a conversation that right now we’re still wondering, right? It’s like, okay, we’ll see quarter of the season in. Like, it’s been a lot of close games, so, you know, there’s some luck there. I think getting Anthony Davis in in that way would would be like a okay no doubt top four team in the East and and immediately puts you in the we don’t have to question it may not happen but it’s like but they’re they have the talent requisite to make a run if they get Anthony Davis for sure. Yeah. So my answer is going to actually lead us into the next segment here. While I think Anthony Davis is absolutely exceptional and adding that talent immediately puts the conversation on, you have to start talking about them as a as a like as an Eastern Conference contender. You can’t have that type of talent with Kade and Anthony Davis on the same team in the Eastern Conference and not have the conversation of, oh, is this team going to go to the finals? Like that immediately becomes, I think, the expectation of a team that has Kade and AD on the same team. So, I understand that completely. I’m going to say my answer, I’m not so sure it actually would make them a contender because of the cons we’re about to get to. So stay tuned. Coming up, we’ll get to the cons and why I believe it doesn’t it’s not as sure of a thing to me that actually makes them that great of a team where we’re talking about they’re getting to the NBA finals. We’ll talk about it coming up. Today’s episode is brought to you guys by Mint Mobile. 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Um, but let’s go ahead and get into the cons, Kyle. So, I want to start here and I want to get your thoughts on this. Um, I think Anthony Davis is obviously I mean he was a top 75 player a few years ago. like he is he is an exceptional basketball player, but the reason why he is a distressed asset right now is because of the availability concerns. It is impossible to have these conversations about Anthony Davis without talking about the reason why he’s available, which is he’s just always hurt. He’s just always hurt. And it’s not like there’s a few guys like I hear people over the last few days I’ve heard people try to say, “Yeah, Giannis is injuryprone, but Giannis like over the last five years has played 65 plus every single year.” It’s not one of those where people overexaggerate how much this guy’s really injured. It’s not one of those ones where a good player becomes available so now everyone just starts picking at them to try and make it seem like they’re not actually that good like they’re doing with Giannis right now in my opinion. No. Anthony Davis actually has a major injury concern the last going all the way back to 2018 2019 season. He’s played 56 games one year. 62 36 40 56. He did play 76 in 2023 but then down to 51. played only nine games with Dallas after being traded and then he’s only played 10 games this year. So we’re talking about since 2018 2019 he has only played over 60 games twice and he played 62 in 2019 2020 and he played 76 in 2023 2024. He’s yet to hit 60 games in a in a year outside of that. That is a major concern. He is a legit injury-prone player. And a lot of this would be you’re selling everyone on if he’s healthy, this is what it could look like. And I get that 100%. And I’ve said on the podcast many times that these are the type of players I think the Pistons should go after. The Pistons need to go after somebody who is a dist a lower asset, has lost some of their value because of some of the baggage that comes with them so they don’t have to pay a premium price. Take that risk and then hope it pays off for them. I think that’s the best case scenario for the Pistons. I’m not sure if Anthony Davis is it. It feels like Anthony Davis requires so much belief, so much like hopeful thinking that he’ll stay healthy long enough. Even if you want to say just let’s just hope he’s healthy in the playoffs. Just get to the playoffs. If he’s healthy in the playoffs, we’re good. He’s even been hurt in the playoffs, too. It’s not one of those things where it’s like, okay, you can just kind of load management through the season and then get to the playoffs, you have Anthony Davis. He gets hurt. He’s been hurt then, too. So, that’s my obviously the number one risk with trading for Anthony Davis that has me hesitant. I’d say the second thing that makes it more makes me more hesitant because trading for Anthony Davis and the packages we were talking about, especially the first one, it’s not much at all. And I honestly I think I probably would take the chance on it if it’s just one especially the first package. If it’s the first package, I’m like, you know what, it’s Anthony Davis. If I can take a chance on him without really giving up anything, screw it. I’ll Yeah, for sure. The thing that makes me mo most hesitant to trading for him is I don’t know if he actually fits. I like I don’t know if I if I think he actually fits on the team. And that’s not to say like a lot of people will have the belief of and I can’t disagree that talent figures it out. If you put talent together, they will figure it out. And maybe that is the case. But I’m not sure how the Pistons would be able to play Assar AD and JD in the half court. You can get away with two guys the way the Pistons have that are non-shooters and find different ways to make them work. There’s ways to do it. Once you get to three and AD is not a complete non-shooter, but he’s not getting up more than two threes a game. He he’s not, you know, he’s not he’s not letting it fly from deep. He’s not someone who wants to stay out there. He likes to operate inside. He’s not a three-point shooter like that. He’ll get some up, but he’s not like that. I’m not sure how the Pistons be able to make that work. Maybe JP has some crazy idea and maybe they come up with something. I just struggle myself to see any way how you could make a half court offense work that has AD, JD, and Assar all on the floor. Now, could you stagger them? Could you get Assar out early and then bring it and then kind of stagger them throughout the game? Sure, you you probably could do that. Um, but I’ve always had the belief that if you’re going through multiple different avenues to not play your five best players because your five best players can’t play together, I probably don’t want to do it. like if you can’t play your five best players together, I I that’s probably not a good situation. So, that’s the biggest thing to me. I just don’t know if he actually fits the team. So, what do you think about all that? Yeah, I 100% agree with that. That’s something that you live with when you’ve drafted all those guys and they’re on rookie contracts and you’re still trying to figure out and then you make the trade for the guy that fits, right? That’s a part of the the building that we’re in now. Like, and that’s I mean, I’ve been saying this for years, like young cores are built to be broken. Like I love all the guys, but like you it’s almost impossible to draft guys that are talented and all fit together well, right? And so that’s what you see teams figuring out when they when they’ve got all these guys. And now it’s time if the Pistons are going to push their chips in. It’s got to be for a guy who really fits Cade. And maybe it’s becoming more Kade and Duran than Kadear. We’ll see. Like I like we’re we gota that’s going to still be a conversation. But but at this point, I agree. Anthony Davis, it would be a it would be a tough sell. Like you’re not gonna be able to just put him in the corner like Tobias, right? Like Tobias can do that and be content and get and we and we’ll let it fly from the corner. So that’s a big difference. And I think personalitywise and what again what Tobias brings culturally to the team, it’s almost I wouldn’t say the opposite of AD. I don’t want to make it sound like he’s a bad like teammate, but like he’s different than Tobias, right? like I don’t the things you hear about Tobias versus the the the at least the persona that Anthony Davis carries like he hasn’t exactly been a happy camper everywhere he’s gone. Um and so I think that begs questions for me too. But so from I think from a culture fit and a basketball standpoint at least on offense I do wonder I do worry about the spacing issue. Now again gravity is gravity like we sometimes obsessed with spacing having to be three-point shooting. Anthony Davis is going to create gravity just by being on the floor. And so maybe they can get around that. But I I agree it’s not the best fit. Um and if you’re going to pay a guy, which one of my big cons is you’re going to pay a guy 54 million this year, 58 and a half next year, and then 62.8 million with a player option in 27 the same year that Assar extension has to come in. That’s where I’m going. He has to be perfect glove fit to make it really worth it because we’re already talking about pushing up against the second apron next year like with him on the team depending on what the trade package is and how you structure Duran’s extension and things like that. So from a money standpoint it really limits your ability. It pushes them over the first apron which means they can’t take in more salary than they send out. There’s a bunch of restrictions with that um that we can get into but you know you can look it up other people have done this work. So it if if to to make that move, you have to be really sure. And I think with his injury history, his age, and the salary that he’s on, I think there are better fits that I feel more comfortable putting more chips into the table for than that, right? He’s going to make he’s making more than Giannis, right? Like that’s that’s just a that’s just a thing. So So yeah, I think that’s where I also view it as really risky and maybe not worth it. Yeah. And obviously like I mentioned the injury stuff is going to be the first thing everyone brings up. But honestly my head first went to does he actually even like does it actually even work within like this team. I I want I want to hit on the point you brought up which is very important which is you get to this point of the team building phase to eventually and Traan has said this. I know everyone likes to keep going back to the clip of of him saying I don’t know if we’re going to be aggressive. I I I want to get answers. What everyone actually is ignoring what he said in those clips as well is you wait to find out these answers about what you need then you make the push. He’s never once said he’s not going to make a trade. He said you need to find the answer to know what what the core is and what that core needs to complement it. That’s when you go and make the move and that’s where the Pistons find themselves in. And if you are going to make a move like you mentioned it needs to be along that concept. It has to be we know this is what this team needs. We have our core. Okay. Now we’re pushing in the chips to get what that core needs. And I’m just not sure. Again, I know there’s going to be some people that say it’s Anthony Davis, bro. Like, he’s that good. Like, why you’re overthinking this? I don’t know. I like I know he’s great. I’m not as second guessing his greatness at all. I really just don’t know if it actually makes a lot of people better because of the some of the fit offensively. And like you mentioned, there are a few other players that I think I honestly I honestly think there’s quite a few other players that aren’t as good as Anthony Davis that I would give up more for Anthony Davis because I think they are just a better fit and would elevate the guy the the young core around them without being as good of a player as Anthony Davis. I think they just would fit what the team needs more. I probably would give up more for them. Um so I look, like I said earlier, if you came up to me, I’m not going to lie to you guys. If you came up to me and said, “K, you can have Anthony Davis. All you have to give up is Caris Lebert, Tobias Harris, and Marcus Sasser.” It’s going to be hardressed for me to sit there and say, “Nah, I don’t want Anthony Davis.” Like that that would be that would be very tough. Like, if that’s a package you could actually get them with, it’s I think it’s going to be hard to see someone say, “Nah, I don’t want Anthony Davis.” Because that’s really it truly is like you’re giving up nothing. You’re just giving up matching salaries at that point. Like, and that would be tough to to say no to. And I think that’s why you see teams like Tom is saying like Toronto, Detroit. You’re going to hear like if that’s really where his his value is at, you’re going to hear probably like seven, eight plus teams interested in Anthony Davis because like okay well if we can get Anthony Davis for nothing basically like yeah of course we want Anthony Davis. Um but yeah, I just question the fit. I think there’s other players I’d rather the Pistons go after um that fit better. Yeah. And for what it’s worth, I mean, Omari Sanca from the Detroit Free Press did report or is reporting that he’s heard nothing in about Detroit’s actual interest. So, this is not I wouldn’t say speculation from Shams, but it it is more likely AD’s agent putting out there me or Ma the Mavs putting out there, here are some teams that maybe that might have interest or could be interested. And that’s not to say there hasn’t been any interest expressed, but that’s been the reporting. I think you said Markstein, Omari, they said there’s been no like actual conversations about Anthony Davis up to this point. Um, and so this is it’s it’s an interesting hypothetical. Yeah. To your point, same thing. If on paper, if you told me that’s what you could have AD for, like that’s a hard thing to say no to. And then but then you have to step back say what is it going to cost them instead, right? Like what is the opportunity cost of having Anthony Davis? Because does that mean you can’t extend Duran fully or you can but then you have to lose Ron Holland, right? you can’t you won’t have the money to resign him. Like, does that is that what it means? You know, that’s a player option in 2027. So, we don’t they don’t have control over that. Like, Anthony Davis gets to decide if he’s going to pick that up and then he’s going to want an extension. We didn’t even get into that that he’s due for an extension and then you’re paying him till he’s 37, you know? So, the last thing I’ll say just to correct myself before they came after me, he’s making the same amount as Giannis is that he has the same exact contract as Giannis. And so honestly from a salary standpoint, why, you know, keep the keep the powder dry, right? Like why would you not put put your chips in for Giannis if you’re gonna if you’re going to do that? Like that’s the kind of thing. I don’t think Giannis is coming here, but you get my point. Like and I do think there’s other guys that you can use that salary for or not have to give up Tobias at all that would come in and actually improve the team more than maybe Anthony Davis would even if they’re less talented. And I agree. So that’s I think the o when you the opportunity cost really is what pushes me into the no no column at least for now. So I’ll wrap up the podcast with this. Uh I want to say two things that I’ve heard for those of you guys who listen to the end of the podcast you guys get to hear this kind of stuff. Uh so I asked people today some some you know people I happen to know um if the Pistons actually have interest in Anthony Davis. What I was told today was probably not. That’s that’s basically what I was told that they haven’t really heard anything. So, it backs up what Amari’s heard as well. Um, that they haven’t really, it doesn’t sound like it’s actually going to happen. It definitely feels like it’s Sham’s doing a doing a favor for Clutch, you know, that kind of thing. Um, the second thing I will say is that Evan Cider tweeted something out today and I know that Evan Cider is not a very trusted guy. Like, I completely am understanding with that. Um, and I’m not saying anyone should trust him on just about anything he tweets out. I get it. I will say what he tweeted out today is what I have heard for the last like month and a half is that if there is a trade package that the Pistons would do, it’s been the same Ivy Tobias first. That’s a package that they will shop around. Maybe shop around is the wrong word. That’s a package they will Okay. Hey, what would what’s Ivy Tobias and first Garen get us? What’s that pack? What would is that package going to give us something that maybe we would really like? if that’s something that can get them a really great piece, I think that’s something they may do towards the trade deadline. Um, again, shop is maybe the wrong word because it’s not like they’re actively trying to get rid of these guys. But if they decide that they want to upgrade, that is what I’ve heard the packages that they’re willing they would be willing to part with and they want to find out, okay, what would this get us? Would this get us a great piece that we really want or is that not enough? If it’s not enough, then okay, we’ll just sit stand pat. But I have heard what he tweeted out about how the Pistons are willing to move off of a Ivy Tobias first package. I have heard that same thing for the last month and a half. Whether they actually do or not, we’ll see. But I I’ve heard the same thing over the last month or so. So, thought I should wrap it up uh with that right there. Is there anything else you want to say, Kyle? I’ll just say that makes sense because uh Ivy plus Tobias in a first gets you a player that’s making 46.2 million or less. That’s a lot of range. And then you if you have to throw Sasser in there or a minimum contract just to get over the hump to get, you know, that puts you in Lori Markin in range sal like that’s a lot of salary. So yeah, I agree. That’s why that’s why that package is getting floated around. Um, and Evan, if you’re listening to this, unblock me, bro. It’s all love. I wasn’t I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. I promise. It’s just a misunderstanding. I think I think Ev I’m pretty sure I was told that Evan used to be a locked guy like when it very first started like back in 1819 or something. I think I forget where it was, but I think like back in 1819, he was a locked on guy and just, you know, did whatever he’s whatever it is he does now is I don’t even know what it is. What does Actually, let’s not get into I don’t want to sound like I’m a hater. I like whatever. Um Kyle, thank you for coming on, man. You guys can find Kyle on Twitter, Kyle Mets23. Appreciate all of you guys are making lockdown on pistons your first listen every single day. Free development on your podcast platforms. Let us know in the comment section down below or over on Twitter. Would you guys want the Pistons to trade for Anthony Davis? But until next time, I’ll see you guys later. Stay safe out there and peace out everybody.

Detroit Pistons eye Anthony Davis as a blockbuster trade target—could this be the move that transforms the team’s playoff ambitions? Host Ku Khahil and salary cap expert Kyle Metz break down potential trade packages involving Tobias Harris, Jaden Ivey, and future first-round picks. Does Anthony Davis’ superstar pedigree outweigh concerns like persistent injuries and questionable roster fit alongside Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson?

Key topics include Davis’ impact on Detroit’s defensive identity, the strategic value of acquiring a distressed asset, and whether the Pistons should sacrifice young talent for championship contention. Kyle Metz provides insider CBA analysis and trade-scenario comparisons with the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks, rumored rivals. Explore the pros, cons, and long-term implications of adding Anthony Davis to Detroit—will this bold gamble ignite a Finals run or create new challenges for the Pistons roster?

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