The Pistons may be holding two useful trade chips in plain sight.
Taurean Prince and Gary Harris came to Detroit as part of the sign-and-trade that sent John Collins to the Pistons, with the deal later expanding into a six-team swap. Both veterans were brought in largely for depth and shooting, but their real value might wind up showing up on the trade market rather than in the rotation.
Prince at least has a case to carve out a role as a backup four. Detroit is light at that spot, and he gives them another shooter behind John Collins.
Harris, though, was quickly viewed as someone who likely won’t still be on the roster when next season opens. And the same could end up being true for Prince, with both contracts potentially mattering more than whatever production they give the team.
That’s because the Pistons will get a little more flexibility on September 8th, when both players become eligible to be aggregated in a trade. That’s roughly three weeks before training camp, and it could matter if Detroit has a deal lined up that needs their salaries to match or help complete the numbers.
Together, Prince and Harris would add $7.6 million in matching salary, and both are on short-term deals that don’t run past next season. That makes them easier for another team to absorb, especially if the goal is simply to clear roster space and move on.
It’s late in the offseason to be chasing a move like that, but the possibility is still there. Detroit also has more immediate business to handle, with extensions for Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson still unresolved.
Still, the Pistons don’t have a major expiring contract to lean on the way they did last season. That means any bigger swing would likely require piecing together several contracts to get to the right salary number. In that sense, Prince and Harris fit the bill as movable pieces - the kind of deals that can be used, and if necessary, discarded.
So the deadline is closing in on the offseason, but Detroit will have a little more ammunition in a week.
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