A Kyrie Irving deal would ask the Pistons to trade tomorrow for a chance at right now, and that’s exactly why this proposal is so hard to ignore.
Bleacher Report floated a three-team trade that would land Irving and Naji Marshall in Detroit, while also using the salaries of Taurean Prince and Gary Harris - both eligible to be aggregated in a trade in a week - to make the money work without forcing the Pistons to empty their rotation.
Here’s how the deal breaks down:
Warriors get: P.J. Washington, Taurean Prince, 2027 second-round pick (from MIL, via DET) and 2028 second-round pick (from CHO or LAC, via DET)
Mavericks get: Ron Holland II, Brandin Podziemski, Daniss Jenkins, Moses Moody, Duncan Robinson and 2028 first-round pick (via DET)
Pistons: Kyrie Irving and Naji Marshall
For Detroit, the price tag would be steep. The Pistons would be sending out Ron Holland II, Taurean Prince, Daniss Jenkins, Duncan Robinson, a first-round pick and two second-rounders.
That’s three rotation players, a first, and two more picks - real value, not pocket change. But the idea is simple: Detroit would be getting two clear upgrades back.
The biggest swing piece is Holland. At 21, he’s still young, but the concern is already loud enough to hear.
He was unplayable in the playoffs, and right now the missing piece is obvious: offense. Until that changes, he profiles more as an expensive defensive specialist than a future cornerstone.
The risk, of course, is that he could still grow into the kind of two-way wing every team covets, especially if he ever develops a shot. There’s even the possibility of Detroit watching him turn into the ideal fit next to Cooper Flagg.
Jenkins is another tough piece to surrender because cheap, productive players matter in this league, and losing that kind of value chips away at long-term flexibility. Robinson and the draft picks sting less, especially since Detroit still owns all of its own first-rounders and already has plenty of second-round picks.
Then there’s the upside, and it’s enormous. If Irving is healthy and playing like Kyrie Irving, Detroit suddenly has the kind of ball handling and scoring it doesn’t have next to Cade Cunningham. He’s a champion, he’s delivered in big moments, and he would fill the security blanket role the Pistons lost when Tobias Harris was gone.
Marshall matters too. He’s not just a throw-in.
He’s better than Holland right now, and he would bring defense, playmaking and shooting that Holland hasn’t shown. He also feels like a natural fit for Detroit’s culture.
And on the wing, the Pistons already have answers in Isaiah Joe and Kevin Huerter, which makes the Duncan Robinson piece easier to absorb.
The catch is the money. Irving and Marshall would cost around $60 million combined over the next two seasons, and that would leave Detroit with very little room for error. If Irving gets hurt or isn’t the same player, the Pistons would be stuck.
That’s the tradeoff here: long-term flexibility versus a genuine shot at a title. For Detroit, it’s a brutal decision - but one that would give them exactly what they need if they want to hang another banner.
In Other News...
Pistons Are About To Gain Two Trade Chips Worth Watching
The Pistons added a couple of familiar veteran pieces when they took on Taurean Prince and Gary Harris in the multi-team sign-and-trade that sent John Collins on his way, and even before training camp fully gets rolling, their long-term value looks tied more to the trade market than the rotation. Both players give Detroit some experienced depth, but the bigger appeal may be that they are movable contracts on a roster still shaping its next phase.
Detroit has more immediate business to handle, especially with contract extensions for Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson on the table, but Prince and Harris could become useful chips when the front office starts looking for flexibility. For a team that may need salary-matching help later, those deals give the Pistons another layer of optionality, and the timing of when they can be bundled in a trade will be worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Face A Bigger Risk Than The Jalen Duren Standoff
Jalen Durens contract situation remains one of the lingering items on Detroits offseason checklist as camp draws closer, but it is not the only roster issue hovering over the Pistons. The bigger picture is that the front office is still trying to steady its relationship with Duren while keeping the focus on a younger core, rather than jumping into a costly star chase that could reshape the teams future.
That caution looks even more deliberate when measured against the kind of swing-for-the-fences move Detroit passed on with Anthony Davis. Davis is extension-eligible, has not played for the Washington Wizards because of injury concerns, and the Wizards plan to discuss an extension with him during the season, which only adds to the kind of long-term uncertainty Detroit seems intent to avoid right now. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Have One Cade Cunningham Problem They Havent Solved
The Pistons rise from a 28-game losing streak to a 62-win season and the top seed in 2023-24 changed the conversation around the franchise fast, and Cade Cunningham was right at the center of it. Alongside Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson and J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit built a team that looked ready to matter again, and the offseason moves only reinforced that belief on the surface. Isaiah Joe, Ebuka Okorie and John Collins all arrived with the idea of making the roster deeper and more flexible as the East gets tougher.
But the lingering question around Cunningham is less about whether the Pistons have enough talent to win games and more about whether they have surrounded their lead guard with enough reliable offense to keep defenses from loading up on him. The additions helped, but they also left open a familiar issue for Detroit: enough bodies are in place, yet the exact kind of support Cunningham needs to fully unlock the attack still feels unresolved. [Read more 🡒]