The Detroit Pistons made a trade Tuesday that made me legitimately ask the question — has there ever been a trade of at least three players that all had at least a decade of NBA experience before? If not, then welcome to history, Caris LeVert, Taurean Prince, and Gary Harris!
The Pistons traded Caris LeVert, a significant offseason addition a year ago who never found his footing in during his one-year stay in Detroit, along with two second-round picks for veterans Taurean Prince and Gary Harris. The trio
have a combined 32 years of NBA experience under their respective belts.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to break the news of the trade. The second-round picks in the deal are from 2027, according to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons own their own 2nd, the least favorable between Brooklyn and Dallas, and a Milwaukee second. I wouldn’t be surprised if this trade gets Milwaukee its own pick back.
LeVert was set to make $14 million in the final year of his contract with the Pistons while Prince and Harris make $3.8 million each. The trade shaves more than $7 million off the team’s books and gives Detroit a $14.8 million trade exception, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan.
Prince is the more significant of the two additions as he fills the role of backup power forward with enough girth to man the position and more than enough shooting ability. Standing just 6-foot-6, he’s a stout 218 points. More importantly, he’s a career 38.7% 3-point shooter and has shot 43% and 41% the past two seasons. He doesn’t do much more than catch-and-shoot these days, but it’s a skill the Pistons can’t have enough of. Prince is coming off an injury-plagued season with the Bucks that saw him limited to just 26 games. But in both of the two previous seasons, Prince played more than 2,000 minutes.
Prince suffered a herniated disc in his neck in November of last season that kept him out until March. But when he returned, it was like he never missed a beat. He averaged 10.6 points and shot 43.8% from deep on more than six attempts per game in the season’s final 18 games.
Harris has been a part-time role player each of the past two seasons in Orlando and Milwaukee, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he were waived after the deal is finalized.
The LeVert stay in Detroit was a brief and disappointing tenure. He seemingly completely forgot how to shoot the ball from deep and had the worst turnover percentage in his 10-year career. He also wasn’t a good defender. There’s not much you can point to that went right for Caris in Detroit, and he seemed like he was entering the season where he might find himself on the outside looking into a crowded backcourt rotation.
The Pistons have Cade Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins to take the lion’s share of the point guard minutes, drafted a 6-foot-1 drive-and-score rookie in Ebuka Okorie, traded for Isaiah Joe and return Duncan Robinson as the primary shooters.
They also had a significant need at the backup power forward spot. The team added John Collins this offseason but lost Tobias Harris to the San Antonio Spurs. They were staring at a season with Ron Holland as the only legitimate backup power forward. With the trade for Prince, the roster feels much more balanced.
This deal might be a signal that the Pistons are done making moves this offseason. LeVert’s $14 million salary was one of the only significant moveable salaries on Detroit’s payroll. Unless the team moves one or both of Ron Holland, Duncan Robinson and all of the future firsts, there isn’t really an avenue to a significant upgrade remaining.
