NBA cellar dweller bizarrely floated as potential Warriors trade threat

There are a host of teams who could remain in the hunt for Lauri Markkanen over the next few days, such is the value of the Utah Jazz forward whose trade interest has been headlined by the Golden State Warriors in recent weeks.

There's a growing belief that Markkanen will take himself off the trade market by agreeing to an extension with the Jazz, but until that point speculation will continue to simmer on a potential move to the Warriors or elsewhere.

The Detroit Pistons have been floated as a potential threat to the Golden State Warriors hopes of trading for Lauri Markkanen

A number of Western Conference rivals have been linked to a move for Markkanen, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. Yet there's been little suggestion of a trade involving an Eastern Conference team, which must come as a little surprising given the Jazz should assuredly want Markkanen to dominate against them on as few occasions as possible.

Yet in a recent article, Justin Grasso of Sports Illustrated has floated the lowly Detroit Pistons as a possible Markkanen destination, suggesting "they could be a sleeper organization in his developing trade market."

While the 2023 All-Star would be a good fit for just about any NBA team, it's hard to envisage the Pistons getting their hands on the seven-foot forward. Following the worst of a five-year stretch where they haven't more than 23 games in a season, Detroit still aren't in the greatest position to be going out and sacrificing their young players and future picks for star-level talent.

You could argue the same about the Spurs who are coming off back-to-back 22-win years, but that's still eight more victories than the Pistons managed last season, plus San Antonio already have a once-in-a-generation player in the form of Victor Wembanyama.

Then there's also the factor of Markkanen's role in all of this -- as someone on an expiring contract, would he provide assurance to Detroit that he would re-sign? Given the Pistons monumental struggles in recent years, and Markkanen's record as the leader in most games played without a playoff appearance (of current players), the answer to that is probably not.

The Thunder, Rockets and Spurs could all have legitimate arguments to being a better trade destination than the Warriors, but their current status as a mid-tier team is still far superior to that of the Pistons short-to-medium term outlook.