For years, Pistons fans have kept the same dream alive: Devin Booker, the Michigan native, sliding into the backcourt next to Cade Cunningham. It’s the kind of idea that sounds good in the imagination and keeps getting less believable the closer it gets to reality. Now it has taken another hit, this time straight from Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
Asked recently when he would trade Booker to Detroit, Ishbia answered, "When I'm dead!"
That pretty much tells the whole story. Whatever hope existed around a Booker-to-Detroit move was already thin, and now it looks even thinner.
The Pistons may still have a path to finding a real running mate for Cunningham through the trade market, but Booker is not that player. Phoenix is committed to him, and the money attached to his deal makes any potential trade a nightmare.
That contract is no small thing. Booker is set to make over $60 million per season over the next 4 years, and that kind of number can choke off a team’s flexibility fast. For Detroit, it only makes the fantasy harder to sell.
Phoenix has every reason to hold on, too. The Suns are stuck in a strange middle ground with Booker: not quite strong enough to feel like a true title machine, but too good to fully blow it up. A few seasons ago, they already went all-in by sending a huge package for Kevin Durant.
That move didn’t work out the way they hoped, but the Suns did come away with a decent return when Durant was moved. Dillon Brooks, in particular, looks like a major plus after his career-best season last year.
Still, players like Brooks and Booker make it difficult for Phoenix to embrace a full rebuild. Booker, especially, carries too much meaning for the franchise to be treated like a trade chip.
He’s already the Suns’ all-time leader in points and was central to some of their best runs this century, including the trip to the Finals in 2021 and the 64-win season that followed. That history helped land him the massive extension he’s on now, but it also left Phoenix in a tight financial bind with very little room to maneuver.
And even if Detroit wanted to push harder, the pieces just aren’t there. The Pistons don’t have the kind of draft capital Phoenix would want if it ever considered moving on from Booker.
Detroit is expected to make the playoffs every year for the foreseeable future, which limits the value of its picks. On top of that, the young players on the roster haven’t shown much star-level upside, except for the ones the Pistons would never want to include.
So unless Detroit can suddenly build a package Phoenix would actually take seriously, this one stays in the category of wishful thinking. Between Ishbia’s blunt answer, Booker’s contract, and the Suns’ attachment to their franchise centerpiece, the deal looks dead on arrival.
In Other News...
Pistons Fixed Their Shooting But One Offensive Problem Still Lingers
The Pistons made a clear point of attack this offseason by adding four players who shoot better than 40 percent from deep and bringing back Kevin Huerter, a move aimed at lifting an offense that ranked 17th in the league from 3-point range last season. For a team trying to keep pace in a tighter Eastern Conference, the logic is obvious: more reliable shooting should help open the floor, create cleaner driving lanes and make Detroit a harder team to load up against.
Still, the shot-making itself was only part of the issue. Detroit was among the leagues lowest-volume 3-point teams a year ago, and the real test is whether the new additions can help push the offense into a more modern, more punishing shape. If the Pistons are going to get the spacing they want, they need more attempts, not just better percentages, and that remains the lingering question hanging over the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Need Answers Around Cade Before A Bigger Trade Makes Sense
Detroit spent the offseason kicking around several trade possibilities, but the front office ultimately chose to add role players and see what this group looks like once the games start to matter. That leaves a lot of evaluation still to come, especially with the roster built around young pieces and veterans who have to prove where they fit in the bigger picture.
Ron Holland II is one of the more interesting tests because his shooting and role could push him toward being a long-term piece or a more attractive trade chip later on. The same goes for the broader mix in the frontcourt and on the perimeter, where the fit between John Collins and Jalen Duren, along with whether Kevin Huerter, Jaden Jenkins or Ebuka Okorie can help with creation and ball handling, may end up telling Detroit whether a bigger move is necessary before the next deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Face A Cade Cunningham Decision They Can't Dodge
The Pistons are at the point where patience alone cant be the whole plan anymore. With Cade Cunningham emerging as the centerpiece, Detroits next step is less about adding marginal help and more about deciding whether it is willing to make the kind of bold roster choices that actually change a teams ceiling.
Theres a clear cautionary tale in the league for teams that wait too long to get aggressive, and Detroit can see the value of moving decisively while its star is still on the rise. If the current No. 2 approach does not produce the kind of contender the Pistons need, the front office may have to start considering harder conversations about who stays in the long-term picture and who becomes part of the larger push to build around Cunningham. [Read more 🡒]