Should The Detroit Pistons Have Been More Active At The NBA Trade Deadline?

If it isn't broke, why jump through hoops to try to fix it?

The Detroit Pistons sit right at the top of the Eastern conference with a win-loss record of 37-13. The team is coming off of a loss to the rebuilding Washington Wizards 127 to 116. Detroit welcomes the second place New York Knicks into Little Caesars Arena. New York currently sits 4.5 games behind Detroit in the Eastern conference standings.

Despite the overwhelming success, Detroit still has glaring holes in their game.

The Pistons still sit toward the bottom of the league in three-point efficiency and they still lead the league in personal fouls. They're ranked No. 3 in fouls drawn, No. 1 in points in the paint, and No. 2 in transition points, but there's a clear spacing issue on the offensive side of the ball, specifically in the frontcourt. What Pistons fans are wondering is whether or not Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon should've done more at the NBA trade deadline.

Oct 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Dario Saric (20) looks on during the second half against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The perfect deadline

The Pistons front office had a fear of mortgaging their bright future for a superstar who is ready to win right now. The Pistons are ready to win right now as well, but trading away young assets who haven't reached their full potential could leave Detroit with more questions than answers about their future.

Trading for Anthony Davis or Trey Murphy would've been a splash for a championship run, but it would leaves fans wondering what they lost with the unknowns they currently have on the roster. Instead, Langdon decided to patch small holes with low-risk acquisitions. The Pistons shipped guard Jaden Ivey out of Detroit for Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and a 2026 protected first-round pick swap from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Detroit had probably seen the most out of Ivey compared to everyone else on their bench unit as Ivey had been with the team for 3.5 seasons.

The move Langdon made at the deadline was the perfect move for Detroit to make this deadline season. The front office addressed two glaring holes in their game: spacing and three-point shooting. Huerter and Saric takes care of both of those things in the short-term. Langdon also didn't have to trade important pieces of this expedited rebuild to do so.

What the Huerter and Saric acquisitions mean

Huerter is shooting the worst he has in a full season this year. Huerter is shooting 31.4%, but that number is simply uncharacteristic compared to the rest of Huerter's career. Huerter is a career 37% three-point shooter. Last season, he spent the first half of the season with the Sacramento Kings and was shooting 30.2% from behind the three-point line.

When he was traded to Chicago, he shot 37.6% for the remaining 26 games of that season. He has experience underperforming before being traded and then performing well again when he's acclimated to a system.

Huerter is also a willing passer who works well in the pick-and-roll whenever he's on the floor without Cade Cunningham or Daniss Jenkins. Huerter is 6-foot-6 offensive Swiss army knife whose presence will be most felt come playoff time.

As dominant as Detroit has been inside the paint and on the defensive end, there's still a spacing issue on the offensive end of the floor. Detroit big men are expected to roll into the paint after pick-and-rolls most of the time because of the lack of a threat they are from deep. Jalen Duren is a lob threat and an offensive bully. Isaiah Stewart isn't afraid to shoot catch-and-shoot threes, but that's not his forte and he only shoots 2.2 threes per game.

Saric is a 6-foot-10 stretch five who thrives behind the arc. Saric averages 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 36% from three-point range on 3.6 attempts. He's someone who is comfortable hovering around the perimeter rather than clogging the paint for Detroit's slashing guards and forwards.

When Saric sets a screen at the top of the key for the ball handler, there's an unpredictability factor at play because Saric can pop out to the three-point line or roll inside effectively. This keeps defenses thinking and expecting more out of Detroit's offense.

The acquisition makes Detroit's offense more dynamic and versatile.