UPDATE: Stu Jackson reports that the Pistons are making a pitch to the Nets for Joe Johnson, dangling Jennings, Caron Butler, and Jonas Jerebko:
Sources confirm @pistons making pitch to @BrooklynNets for Joe Johnson for Brandon Jennings, @realtuffjuice @JonasJerebko and picks.
— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) February 19, 2015
The deal as constructed above wouldn’t work under the salary cap — the Pistons would need to add salary, and the Nets would need to add players. A source told The Brooklyn Game no official deal has been presented yet, and a potential Pistons-Nets deal still seems real in framework only, though that could change rapidly with the trade deadline approaching.
Original post below.
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With the trade deadline looming less than 48 hours away, this is the time when teams start talking just about any conceivable deal. It appears the Nets & Detroit Pistons are the latest in this line, as ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported that the Pistons have spoken to the Nets about acquiring Joe Johnson’s services:
Hearing Detroit has reached out to Nets to inquire about Joe Johnson according to league sources.
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) February 17, 2015
Detroit's interest in Joe Johnson included reaching out to Nets about a package of Brandon Jennings + expiring contracts for Joe per sources
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) February 17, 2015
Stu Jackson of Fox Sports 1 reported that the Pistons would agree to extend Johnson’s contract past 2016 if they acquire him:
Ok channeling my inner @daldridgetnt. @pistons are trying to trade for @BrooklynNets Joe Johnson agreeing to extend him
— Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) February 17, 2015
The Pistons are 21-33 and have an outside shot to make the playoffs, adding Johnson without shedding any significant talent could catapult them in the playoff standings. They’re already 16-10 since waiving Josh Smith after a Pistons loss at the hands of these Nets on December 21st, and Johnson would give them a veteran, bona fide wing scorer that’s an upgrade over NBA sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. For the Nets, it would signal the beginning of a potential teardown & rebuild.
Actually constructing the deal is a bit more difficult. The Pistons have a lot of small salaries — no one on the team makes more than Jennings’ $8 million per season, and 10 players on their roster make under $4 million — and any reasonable deal for Johnson’s massive contract would either require a third team to take on salary, a few of the Nets’ minimum deals heading out the door, and/or at least four players returning to the Nets. Acquiring Jennings, who is out for the rest of the season with a leg injury, could mean the end of Deron Williams’s tenure in Brooklyn is coming, considering that the Nets would then be three deep at the point guard position next season. But that requires finding a suitor for Williams, a tricky proposition considering his bloated contract and diminishing skills.
RELATED: Nets Trade Rankings: Who’s Most Likely To Get Traded?
Assuming that asking for Andre Drummond results in a brisk hang-up, the Nets could pry for talented big man Greg Monroe, which would help mitigate the team’s frontcourt situation should the Nets elect to sell off Brook Lopez for peanuts. Monroe has averaged 15.4 points and 10.4 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game this season, starting in 40 of a possible 52 games. His contract situation is an NBA rarity: he elected to accept his one-year qualifying offer last season rather than sign a long-term deal, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. It’s an unlikely bet that the Pistons would part with a talent like Monroe’s, particularly since he’s thrived in Smith’s absence. But if they’re worried about losing him this summer for nothing, they may dangle his services to get any talent in return.
The trade deadline is Thursday, February 19th at 3 P.M. EST.
