The Detroit Pistons are one of the teams heading into this NBA season looking for immediate, not long term improvement. One way, in their opinion, is trading for Tim Hardaway Jr. of the New York Knicks, maybe even with Brandon Jennings involved in the trade.
The Pistons finished 32-50 last season, and perhaps if it wasn’t for Jennings getting injured and ending his season they would have made the postseason for the first time since 2009. Either way and regardless of the reasons, among other things they’re forced to handle (like the Greg Monroe contract), is getting a perimeter player who is a reliable shooter.
Hardaway is one of maybe two players on the Knicks roster right now the team is actually happy they have heading into next season. Carmelo Anthony and Hardaway himself who has had some very nice moments during his first two years in the league, but is also a very inefficient shooter, hitting only 38.9% of his shots last season and hitting 34.2% of his 3-point attempts while scoring 11.5 points per game on an awful, awful team.
And Jennings? He wasn’t bad last season for the Pistons, especially after Josh Smith got cut. He has an $8.3 million contract for next season, the last year on his deal. Something the Knicks can live with. But do they want Jennings, who is far from the most efficient point guards out there, and might not be the best of fits for the triangle offense the Knicks are hoping to get working next season?
With Reggie Jackson hopefully re-signing, the Pistons don’t really have use for Jennings; not with the kind of money he’ll be making next year. As for Hardaway, the Pistons can always need some more shooting, especially from a player who is owed just $1.3 million next season and there’s a team option on his 2016-2017 year.
However, with Hardaway not looking like the right answer when it comes to efficient shooting, this trade seems to be standing on some shaky ground, and sounds more like semi-wishful thinking than anything else. Or maybe it’s just an attempt to get Tim Hardaway Sr., an assistant for the Pistons, together with his son on the same team.