The Washington Wizards should keep an eye on the Pistons next season

The Washington Wizards have put together a solid young core for the future. They have Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert, Patrick Baldwin Jr, and most recently Bilal Coulibaly. However, they are severely lacking in some areas.

Despite his size, Jordan Poole is best suited as a shooting guard for the time being. Until or unless he adds the ability to find teammates at an elite level, he will need a traditional point guard next to him to maximize his effectiveness. Unfortunately, they do not have a young point guard on the roster anymore.

They are also lacking young centers. While Daniel Gafford is great, he likely is already the best he will ever be. He is best suited in a bench role where he can offer some rim deterrence in 15-20 minutes off the bench. Tristan Vukcevic is a player with high potential at the center position, but his floor is scarily low.

The Wizards should look to add another young center and a young point guard that complements Poole’s weaknesses at the trade deadline. Interestingly enough, the Detroit Pistons have an excess of both positions on their roster.

If the Pistons are looking for a change at the deadline, the Wizards should be the first to call

As previously stated, the Washington Wizards need a young point guard and a young center. The Pistons have two or three young centers that they may be willing to trade if the right deal arises (although most are very unlikely) as well as Killian Hayes, a player who no longer fits the future rotation.

At the center position, they have James Wiseman, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, and Marvin Bagley III. However, three of these players seem very unlikely to be traded unless the Wizards overpay.

Jalen Duren is untouchable. He is only 19 years old and is the closest player to matching Shaquille O’Neal’s physical attributes since the legend was drafted 30 years ago. He also shows promise as a shooter and will be an elite shot blocker someday.

James Wiseman has been consistently praised by the Piston’s front office since they drafted him. They likely view him as a much better prospect on both ends of the floor than most fans give the former second overall pick credit for.

Isaiah Stewart is crucial to the culture that the Pistons have built in recent years. He has also started to transition into a stretch four and has had long stretches where he has looked good in that role.

If the Wizards hope to trade for one of those three players, a string of events favoring the team need to occur. First, one of the young centers has to underperform pretty badly. Second, the Wiz will have to overpay in a midseason trade.

If neither of those happen, they will have to settle for a trade featuring Marvin Bagley III if they make a deal with the Pistons.

Luckily, the Pistons are weaker at the forward positions, meaning they may be willing to hear out trades featuring those players a little bit more. This is an area where the Wiz are very deep. Not only do they have Kyle Kuzma, but they also have Corey Kispert, Deni Avdija, Danillo Gallinari, Patrick Baldwin Jr, Xavier Cooks, and Anthony Gill.

If all things go perfectly for the Wizards, they could dangle Kyle Kuzma for a package featuring James Wiseman and Killian Hayes. This is obviously not how a full trade would turn out as one or both sides would also need to move picks around to incentivize the other side to agree.

No matter what trade discussions may happen, one thing is clear: the Washington Wizards need to keep an eye on the Detroit Pistons this season as they could hold the key to the teams future.