We’re 10 days from the NBA trade deadline, and the Pistons have frequently been mentioned as one of the league’s most active teams. They have plenty of assets and plenty of holes. They could benefit by adding or shedding salary. It almost seems inevitable they’ll make a trade.

But in all likelihood, they won’t. And I think there’s good reason.

I’m all for making trade that upgrades the team – whether that be short- or long-term. But the odds of that happening are low. Nearly any trade the Pistons could make would involve selling low.

Go through the Pistons’ roster. How many players do you think will be more valuable at this time next year than they are right now?

Charting expected value

Value is determined by two factors: how good a player is and how much he makes. (Age factors into both). So, here’s how I see each factor applying to the Pistons’ trade bait.

• A plus mean a player should be more valuable next year.
• A minus mean a player should be less valuable next year.
• An equal sign means the player should be equally valuable next year.

The Pistons seem intent on building around Rodney Stuckey, so I don’t think he’s tradable. And rookies aren’t traded often, so I didn’t include them, either.

My thinking on the first seven players in the chart:

• Hamilton, Prince, Gordon and Bynum all lost significant time to injury. They have to be better next year, right?
• Hamilton will have one fewer season left on his contract, and Prince’s expiring deal could be quite valuable. On a smaller scale, the same is true with Maxiell and Wilcox’s expiring contract.
• Gordon and Villanueva will each have one few year left on their contracts, but the amount they’re owed per year goes up. Any team that acquires one of them would making a long-term commitment. I’d call that a wash.
• Bynum’s contract is up after this season, and he will be paid more next year, likely by Detroit.

The exceptions

That leaves only two players whose value will likely decrease next year – Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown.

It’s amazing what Wallace is doing at 35. He’d be even more amazing if he’s doing it at 36. His value is probably the highest it will be the rest of his career.

But he came back to play in Detroit. I don’t think he’ll be traded without his permission.

So, the only player I think the Pistons should make a concerted effort to trade is Brown. Many teams need an extra center and an expiring contract, and he would provide both.

Brown hasn’t been in the Pistons’ rotation in a couple months, so I’d guess this is his last year in Detroit. If his contract expires at the end of the season and he signs elsewhere, the Pistons will get nothing in return for him.

Maybe the right deal is out there for Hamilton or Prince – but it’s far more likely Detroit would receive the most value from trading Brown.

Every Friday (well, that’s the goal, which obviously didn’t happen this week), I’ll analyze a potential Pistons trade. It might be a rumor (like this one), a deal I completely made up blindly or one you suggest (e-mail me at danfeld11@gmail.com or leave a proposal in the comments).

Trade

Pistons receive:

• Amar’e Stoudemire (21.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 blocks, 0.7 steals)
• Jarron Collins (0.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.1 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.0 steals)

Suns receive:

• Charlie Villanueva (13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.8 blocks, 0.7 steals)
• Kwame Brown (3.5 points, 3.5 rebounds,  0.6 assists, 0.2 blocks, 0.3 steals)
• Chris Wilcox (4.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.4 steals)
• First-round draft pick (lottery protected this year, top-10 next year, top-5 the next year and top-1 forever)

Salaries

Pistons receive:

Suns receive:

Player option

Pistons’ perspective

Well, I figured it was about time I tackled the Amar’e-to-Detroit rumors. Right off the bat, let me say this: I don’t think the Pistons have what it takes to land Stoudemire. But Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns and I discussed a few ideas, and we think this is the most realistic option.

I think this deal would have to be a no-brainer for the Pistons. They’re essentially trading three bench players and a draft pick for a star – a young big man at that.

All of a sudden, they’d have a guards Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon, forwards Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko and Stoudemire at center. That’s a young lineup full of promise to build around for the next several years.

I think a Gordon and Stoudemire could be deadly on the pick-and-roll. And Stoudemire’s inside play would create jump shots for Daye and to a degree, Jerebko and Stuckey.

There are a few drawbacks, though.

If Stoudemire opts out of his contract, he could be gone after this year. The Pistons likely wouldn’t have the cap room to sign a max free agent, but they still could get an excellent player.

If Stoudemire doesn’t opt out, the Pistons could be forced to let Ben Wallace and/or Will Bynum walk or trade someone else to stay under the luxury-tax line next season.

Detroit has very little size and would be losing a lot of it. Jarron Collins would be a stop-gap to help that problem a little. The Pistons would probably look to add a free agent center for the rest of the season, too.

And of course, if the Pistons struggle after this trade, that draft pick could end up pretty valuable.

John Hollinger also analyzed the trade in a recent column (Insider):

Detroit: Nobody is quite sure whether the Pistons are coming or going these days, but one option to think about is a trade of Charlie Villanueva for Stoudemire. That would get the Suns a younger player at a more reasonable salary and pave the way for the rebuilding process, and the Pistons could line the deal with expiring contracts (Chris Wilcox and Kwame Brown) to make the salary-cap math work. Such a deal would give Phoenix $10 million of additional wiggle room around the luxury tax and, of course, a replacement for Stoudemire.

From Detroit’s perspective, it would be taking a risk by committing to Stoudemire and adding another long-term contract to a fairly large stable of them. Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon and Jason Maxiell all have at least two years left after this one at big numbers, and Rodney Stuckey is likely to join them because the Pistons can extend him this summer. Although there isn’t any threat that the Pistons could become a tax team, it would be a heavy salary structure for a club that’s losing big and is in the process of changing owners.

For that reason, the odds tilt heavily against such a deal taking place, but from the Phoenix perspective, it would be one of the more intriguing options.

Suns’ perspective

For each trade, I will seek the analysis of the other team’s TrueHoop Network blogger.

Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns:

“Although lately the Amare Stoudemire trade rumors that have interested me the most have been those involving Andre Iguodala and Philadelphia, if I were Suns GM Steve Kerr I would at least take a moment to contemplate it if Joe Dumars offered me Charlie Villanueva, Kwame Brown, Chris Wilcox and a protected first-rounder for Stoudemire.

I believe the Suns need to get a potential All-Star young stud and a big in any Amare trade. In the right deal that could be the same person, such as a Michael Beasley or Al Jefferson.

This Detroit deal would essentially involve the Suns receiving cap relief/filler and Charlie V.

There are many things I love about Villanueva, and it’s not just because I follow him on Twitter. He’s a young big who knows how to score the basketball and would play well with Nash on the offensive end (but then again, who doesn’t?). His salary ranging from $6.5 million this year to an $8.5 million player option in 2013-14 is fairly reasonable for a guy of his skill set.

On the other hand, he doesn’t even defend or rebound as well as Amare does, and that’s not tough to do for a 6-foot-11 performer.

As for the salary reasons, the Suns would be taking back nearly $3 million less in salary, which would amount to a savings of close to $6 million when factoring in luxury tax savings. Losing Brown’s expiring deal next season, the Suns would save $7-10 mil next year depending on if Wilcox picks up his $3 mil option (likely) as compared to their cap situation if Amare stays and picks up his $17.7 mil option.

That would put the Suns in the $52-55 million range if Grant Hill and Channing Frye pick up their options (or more if they decline and are re-signed for more), which means this deal would take Phoenix out of the Summer of 2010.

If Amare were to opt out and leave, this deal would add $7 or $10 mil to Phoenix’s 2010-11 cap in comparison to what it would be without him.

So in summary, the Suns would be receiving a solid player in Charlie V and a solid draft pick as well as some short-term cap relief but a 2010 cap detriment that limits Phoenix’s future flexibility.

Upon further review, I would decline this deal if I were Suns GM Steve Kerr because Villanueva is not the kind of player who would move me to get rid of Amare, especially with the Suns having won five in a row to vault into the No. 5 spot in the West.

My response

I completely agree. Stoudemire should fetch a better player than the Pistons have to offer. They could probably get better cap relief than having to take Chris Wilcox, too.

Verdict

The Pistons would say yes. The Suns would say no.

Previous

• Getting out of Richard Hamilton’s and Jason Maxiell’s long-term contracts and getting immediate help
• Bring David West to the Detroit Pistons
• Dumping Jason Maxiell
• Acquiring Ty Lawson in a three-way trade

Essentials

Date: Feb. 6, 2010

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

Detroit: 16-32

New Jersey: 4-45

Probable starters

Detroit:

New Jersey:

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Detroit -7

Over/under: 187

Score: Detroit wins, 97-90

Statistical projection

Detroit offensive rating: 102.9 (26th)

Detroit defensive rating: 109.2 (22nd)

Detroit pace: 88.4 (29th)

New Jersey offensive rating: 97.6 (30th)

New Jersey defensive rating: 110.2 (26th)

New Jersey pace: 92.1 (17th)

Score: Detroit wins, 96-93

Outlook

As Dan so eloquently put it last night mid-way through the 3rd quarter of the Pistons’ loss to the Pacers, “this team is full of suck.” Winning this game won’t change that.

These teams are both at the bottom of their respective divisions, and the two worst overall in the Eastern Conference. The Nets have lost five straight and the Pistons have dropped six of their last seven. Neither team is performing well, a fact that was made obvious when they met last week. It was sloppy, uninspired basketball. Tonight, Detroit needs to take advantage of its healthy roster and league-worst opponent and get a convincing win.

This game kicks off a four-game run against mostly underwhelming opponents. Many times this year I’ve been optimistic that a win in a contest like this could be a catalyst for Detroit to make a run. So far I’ve been mostly disappointed. But I haven’t given up.

If the Pistons can start making a consistent effort, there’s still time to turn this thing around. Even if making the playoffs is little more than a pipe dream, at least they can move out of the Eastern Conference basement.

• Check out Daily Dime Live to chat during the game.

Essentials

Date: Feb. 5, 2010

Time: 7 p.m.

Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

Detroit: 16-31

Indiana: 17-32

Probable starters

Detroit:

Indiana:

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Detroit -4

Over/under: 200

Score: Indiana wins, 102-98

Statistical projection

Detroit offensive rating: 103.2 (26th)

Detroit defensive rating: 109.0 (22nd)

Detroit pace: 88.4 (29th)

Indiana offensive rating: 101.6 (27th)

Indiana defensive rating: 107.0 (16th)

Indiana pace: 97.8 (2nd)

Score: Tie, 98-98

Outlook

• Check out this trade idea. It’s with the Pacers, so you can do some scouting tonight. On that note, the Friday Trade Idea has been pushed back a day or two.
• I’m not sure what else to say about this game. It’s not exactly an intriguing matchup.
• Thanks to Patick Hayes of Full-Court Press for pointing out the story line of the night: a Pistons win moves them from last place in the Central Division.

Via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press:

"I don’t read the papers much at all," said Prince, who averaged 12.3 points and seven rebounds in his past three games. "When something is wrote bad about me, somebody will let me know and then I’ll read it, so basically if something is being said bad about me, I’ll find out."

…

"It’s hard for me if we’re winning or not winning, because if somebody writes something bad about me, I’m ready to explode on somebody. That’s why I really don’t pay much attention to it."

Maybe Tayshaun’s friends could give him some positive articles about him. Or maybe not – I just spent five minutes trying one on this site and couldn’t.

But in all seriousness, this puts John Kuester in a tough spot. Does he encourage Prince more, possibly given the forward the feeling he can walk all over the coach? Or does he let Prince continue to wallow in self-pity, which obviously make him less productive?

I’m sorry, typical Pistons fan. You’re not going to like this. You’re already sick of Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, and this won’t make you like them more. Ken Berger of CBS Sports:

Hamilton and Prince didn’t elaborate on the improvement in chemistry that is required, but you don’t have to be a psychologist to figure it out. Take the lingering bitterness over the Billups trade, combine it with three coaches in three seasons, and lather it all up with losing and you have a team that one person close to the situation said is "in need of serious change."

The way the veteran core of Hamilton, Prince, Billups and Rasheed Wallace ran roughshod over Flip Saunders at the end of his tenure has come full circle. After a dismal year under the inexperienced, but no-nonsense Michael Curry, the Pistons have another pushover in the lead chair on the bench. Old habits have returned under first-year coach John Kuester, whose vision for the future is being clouded by the faces of the past.

There’s a growing feeling in the locker room that Kuester isn’t holding the veterans on the team accountable, and that he’s "too soft," said a person with direct knowledge of locker room conversations.

"Once Joe traded Chauncey, that was sort of the tipping point for all that stuff," the person said. "There is this old-guard mentality there, and it holds them back."

Berger’s column has plenty of flaws (see below the jump). But I think the above passage gets at a huge issue with the Pistons.

I’ve noted Tayshaun Prince’s apparent poor attitude with his new coach and his new teammates. And I expressed doubt’s about whether Kuester could transition from being an assistant to a head coach who commands respect.

I’m not ready to vilify Hamilton. I think he really wants to be in Detroit. He went out of his way to praise Ben Gordon before the season, and I think that was, in part, an effort to show the two could coexist. And he’s transformed his game to fit better as a second fiddle. Still, this column gives me pause.

Looking for a silver lining? Maybe these issues will make it more likely Joe Dumars trades Prince and Hamilton. Not so fast. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:

“Teams calling the Detroit Pistons about Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are finding out that GM Joe Dumars isn’t interested in expiring contracts, but getting value for his players.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Tradition box score – Advanced box score

Well, the Pistons found the most uninspiring way possible to snap a five-game losing streak.

For Detroit a win should be a win, but it’s tough to adapt that mentality after so many stellar years. So, sorry, but last night’s 97-93 win over the Nets doesn’t thrill me.

Maybe it was Yi Jianlian missing 11-of-12 shots. Maybe it was Ben Gordon (2-of-6 for seven points and no assists in 14 minutes) looking ineffective again. Or maybe it was all the empty seats at the Izod Center.

But last night’s game was ugly.

Will Bynum returns

Glancing at the box score Will Bynum had a nice performance after missing 16 games with a pair of ankle injuries: 10 points and three assists in 17 minutes.

But his defense was lacking.

Although he showed progress earlier in the season, Bynum isn’t a good defensive player. A Bynum still probably at least somewhat bothered a bum ankle really isn’t a good defender. So, I don’t want to beat up on him too much.

But he has to do a much better job of staying in front of his man. Speedy Nets point guard Devin Harris is the type of player who gives Bynum trouble, and that definitely happened last night.

Bynum and Harris were matched up for 9:52, and Harris scored 10 points in that span. That’s 42 percent of his points in 25 percent of his minutes.

Bynum is back to where he was last year with his defense. I’d like to see him get back to where he was pre-injury this season.

Rip’s renaissance

Richard Hamilton is playing like he wants to remain a Piston.

I think Ben Gordon’s signing made Hamilton realize he doesn’t have a future as Detroit’s go-to scorer. So, Hamilton has changed his outlook. His assist numbers have been way up. He had three assists before he took a shot last night.

But in the second half, Hamilton showed he hadn’t lost the other side of his game.

Hamilton scored 20 of his points in the final 21 minutes. He finished with seven assists, five rebounds and one turnover in 40 minutes.

Prince’s pouting

If Hamilton is playing like he want to remain in Detroit, Tayshaun Prince is acting like he wants out. Yes, his numbers have been picking up (15 points and eight rebounds last night). But his body language hasn’t.

In the first quarter, Prince threw a cross-court pass to Rodney Stuckey. Jonas Jerebo jumped to catch it but realized it wasn’t intended for him and pulled back. By the time Jerebko landed, Stuckey lost track of the ball and it went out of bounds.

Prince looked at Jerebko, threw his arms arms wildly and made a disgusted face.

Contrast that to when Ben Wallace dropped a Prince pass out of bounds early in third quarter. Prince just pointed, nodded and ran up court.

I noticed these two instances last night, but there plenty of other examples. Prince needs to start showing the newcomers more respect. He can’t play every minute with Stuckey, Hamilton, Maxiell and Wallace.

Power forward rotation

Jonas Jerebko started but played just 15 minutes and was a team-worst minus-7. Chris Wilcox, who had been the starter, didn’t play. Charlie Villanueva still looked bothered by a sore back and played just eight minutes. Ben Wallace played the position a little bit with Kwame Brown at center.

But the Pistons main power forward last night was Jason Maxiell. He played 27 minutes, including the final 21 (besides two seconds when the Nets were intentional fouling at the end).

He looked solid (eight points, six rebounds and tying Hamilton with a team-best plus-10). But I’m not sure if he deserved all that playing time. He looked a little tired by the end of the game. To his credit, though, he didn’t stop playing hard. It’s a welcome sight.

It will be interesting to see how the minutes shake out here going forward – and I’ll have more on that another day.

Is Rodney Stuckey becoming consistent?

Rodney Stuckey had 21 points, eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and no turnovers. And I really don’t have anything to say about him. That’s a heck of a stat line, but in the course of the game, it didn’t seem like he was doing anything better than he usually does. That seems like a good sign.

Prince’s dunk

Tayshaun Prince made what was essentially the game winning basket on an inbound lob dunk with 46 seconds left. Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook breaks down the play – and more from the game.

Essentials

Date: Feb. 2, 2010

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Television: Fox Sports Detroit

Records

Detroit: 15-31

New Jersey: 4-42

Probable starters

Detroit:

New Jersey:

Las Vegas projection

Spread: Detroit -3

Over/under: 182.5

Score: Detroit wins, 93-90

Statistical projection

Detroit offensive rating: 103.0 (26th)

Detroit defensive rating: 109.0 (22nd)

Detroit pace: 88.4 (29th)

New Jersey offensive rating: 97.2 (30th)

New Jersey defensive rating: 110.1 (27th)

New Jersey pace: 92.3 (17th)

Score: Detroit wins, 96-93

Outlook

• New Jersey, the laughingstock of the NBA, is 4-24 in its last 28 games. The Pistons are 4-19 in their last 23. That difference isn’t as pronounced as I’d like.
• I think the Pistons will play well tonight, mostly because they’re worried about the embarrassment of losing to such a bad team. It’s the same reason so many teams look sharp against the Pistons.
• Will Bynum and Charlie Villanueva will play tonight, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
• Pistons injuries: _______. That’s right, everyone is healthy enough to play for the first time since the opener.
• I answered a few questions for Nets are Scorching.
• Ben Wallace is one of 17 players with 1,999 blocks, and he’s the youngest to achieve that mark. When he gets his 2,000th block tonight, both those facts will still be accurate.
• Join me in ESPN’s Daily Dime Live chat tonight.

This week’s quiz is about the NBA’s highest-paid players.

My Score: 22/22 (1:39 remaining)

Warning: Spoilers in the comments.

Traditional box score – Advanced box score

Flash back 11 days. The Pistons were a miserable 14-25. But they beat Boston that night to begin a six-home stand. It seemed to be the spark Detroit needed. Playoffs, here we come.

Yeah, right.

Capped by last night’s 91-86 loss to the Magic, the Pistons dropped their final five games in the home stand. The game was close, and the Pistons played pretty well against a good team.

But they’ve had plenty of moral victories this season, and none of them careened into sustained quality play. This one won’t be different.

The season is shot. The Pistons aren’t very good, and only the Spurs have more road games remaining than Detroit (20).

So, it’s time to stop worrying about this, and keep an eye on this.

Jonas Jerebko steps up

When Jonas Jerebko checked into the game between Richard Hamilton free throws with 1:35 left , Tayshaun Prince looked over his shoulder to see if Jerebko was replacing him.

He wasn’t – for now.

On a night Tayshaun Prince (12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and a team-best plus-2) had his best game since the season opener, Jerebko was better.

Starting at power forward and playing 34 minutes while Charlie Villanueva sat with back spasms, Jerebko had 16 points and nine rebounds and made a mark with hustle.

He’s making his offensive game more diverse than grabbing offensive rebounds and setting screens, too. Jerebko has become a pretty good spot-up 3-point shooter, making 2-of-3 last night.

I still think he’s better as a small forward, but he definitely made an impact at power forward yesterday.

Ugly finish

On their final meaningful possession, the Pistons looked lost.

Trailing by three with nine seconds left, Detroit inbounded the ball to Ben Gordon. Gordon rose for what appeared to be a 3-point shot twice, only to pass to Prince both times. The second pass was intercepted by Matt Barnes.

Where was the fearless Gordon who torched the Celtics in the playoffs last year? I was counting on him to the Pistons’ go-to guy at the end of tight games.

Questionable defensive strategy

Orlando made 10-of-22 3-pointers, which is hardly surprising. The Magic have made the most 3-pointers in the NBA and done it with the ninth-best percentage.

But Orlando’s strong showing from the perimeter had a lot to do with the Pistons, too. Detroit allows its opponents to make 36.2 percent of their 3-pointers, seventh worst in the league.

Initially, I thought the Pistons had been slow to close out on outside shooters. But I’m starting to re-think that. Detroit might be sagging farther inside than most teams to prevent closer shots by design.

Of shots inside 10 feet but not at the rim, the Pistons opponents have made just 43 percent. Detroit’s defense ranks 13th-best in the league for that location, by far its best area in terms of defensive ranking, according to HoopData.

Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey

I’ve touched on it here before, but I wrote about Richard Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey playing well together for the Daily Dime (No. 8 ).