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Detroit's Ongoing POBO Search and Trae Young Rumors | The Weekly Drive

A new weekly newsletter, the Pistons hiring a President, and trading for Trae Young

Mike Anguilano

Apr 29

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Welcome to the first edition of the new Palace of Pistons newsletter, the Weekly Drive. Every Monday morning, expect a short article recapping news and noteworthy events about the Pistons and the NBA at large.

Be sure to check out the rest of our Substack posts here, and subscribe to the Palace of Pistons podcast to hear some combination of Aaron Johnson, Jasper Apollonia, and me talk about basketball in the Motor City. Without further adieu, let’s get started with the inaugural Weekly Drive.

The Pistons are Hiring a President of Basketball Operations

Going back a few weeks here, but it’s worth mentioning again. The Pistons are going to hire a President of Basketball Operations, affectionately shortened to POBO for this article, to oversee the organization. That means the onus to fire everybody involved in this past season’s failures no longer falls on owner Tom Gores, instead shifting to the incoming POBO.

As it stands the POBO would be slotted just above General Manager Troy Weaver, giving them free rein to clean house and bring in all new people from the coaching staff to the video interns. That mass exodus very well could (and should) happen, but there is no timeline to make a POBO hire.

So who could Detroit go after? Some basketball stalwarts like John Hammond (Orlando) and Jon Horst (Milwaukee) have been linked, as well as a young up-and-comer in Bryson Graham (New Orleans). It’s not clear which way Gores will go, but flipping the table by hiring a POBO to reshape the organization is a bold move.

A New “Trae”de Target?

This one is quick: maybe. Bleacher Report said the Pistons could be a wild card team because executives around the league feel they “need to do something”. While it is true that they need to get creative in revitalizing the roster, it’s entirely too early to think about what the Pistons could do this offseason until the front office situation is clear.

But let’s speculate a bit. Detroit has young players like Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson that they can dangle in a trade. The problem is that right now none of those players are playoff-caliber rotation pieces. If Atlanta is looking to trade Young and keep Dejounte Murray, they probably want playoff-ready guys, not unfinished products like what Detroit can offer. The Pistons also don’t have nearly the draft capital that other teams like the Los Angeles Lakers do with their potential three first-round selections and playoff-ready players like D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura. Getting Young seems like a long shot for the Pistons, but that is the type of move that should be explored.

That’s all for this week, as the NBA playoffs roll on. Thanks for reading, and see you next Monday.

- Mike

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