5 trades to help Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons finish their wall
By John Buhler
The Detroit Pistons may need some help for their playoff push. Here are five players that head coach Stan Van Gundy could use to finally finish his wall.
After reaching the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the first time in seven seasons in 2016, the Detroit Pistons haven’t exactly elevated under head coach Stan Van Gundy in 2016-17. Detroit finds itself again in position to be the No. 8 seed, but are four games under .500 as of Feb. 7 (24-28).
While they do play respectable defense for Van Gundy,10th in defensive efficiency, that likely won’t be good enough to make the Pistons anything more than Cleveland Cavaliers mincemeat in the first round of the 2017 Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Sure, there a couple of internal avenues to make the Pistons better before the trade deadline, but maybe it’s time to finish Van Gundy’s Wall (NSFW). Here are five players Van Gundy can acquire via trade that can make the Pistons’ Wall most glorious.
Jrue Holiday
Point Guard, New Orleans Pelicans
Look. When we think about forming a basketball wall, our natural instinct is to think about improved frontcourt defense. Well, a wall is only as strong as its weakest brick. Defensively, the Pistons are not getting it done at point guard.
Reggie Jackson and Beno Udrih are both worse than -2.0 in Defensive Box Plus-Minus this season. Basically, the Pistons get beat off the dribble far too many times by opposing point guards. While he is often-injured, New Orleans Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday could be that patch in Van Gundy’s Wall.
Holiday is in the final year of his deal with the Pelicans. The Western Conference hasn’t been kind to the former All-Star point guard with the Philadelphia 76ers. Maybe bringing him back into the Eastern Conference could ignite Holiday for a solid post-season push for the Pistons?
Maybe the talented but inconsistent Stanley Johnson, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and salary filler for Holiday and a future first-round pick might work? Maybe Jackson and Johnson for Holiday, filler, and a future first-round pick is a better offer? Either way, Holiday is tough player and would succeed as a backcourt cornerstone in Van Gundy’s Wall.