We received the report from Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN:
Detroit’s 2027 runoff choice for OKC is via Houston, the sources say. Diallo will be a restricted free agent this summer and Pistons sees him as an important player in the future. Lu Dort’s emergence made Diallo expendable and Thunder increased his stock of picks. https://t.co/6JPHL8Y5VL
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 13, 2021
Hamidou Diallo has averaged 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season, but hasn’t played a game since February 24 due to groin pain. Svi Mykhailiuk averaged 6.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game for the Pistons, and was shooting at just 33% in three this season.
Hey! We have our first Troy Weaver TRADING case for one of “your guys”. Diallo was technically crafted by the Brooklyn Nets, but ended up in Oklahoma City after some post-draft negotiations. When we talked about the preseason about Troy Weaver Guys, Diallo was a great example – a raw and explosive athlete with great physical tools (6’5 with a 6’11 wingspan) who also had great concerns about his kicking ability. Three years in his career, shooting issues persist – Diallo has never shot better than 30% in three in an entire season – but he has won a role for himself in the NBA.
Svi Mykhailiuk, on the other hand, never had the shooting season that I personally expected him to come this year. Svi’s lucrative skill in the NBA was his kick, which seems to have abandoned him (for now), so he’s in Detroit. Svi was a low-cost bet for the Pistons (the Pistons got a second-round choice in addition to Svi in the Reggie Bullock deal), which was launched on another low-cost bet.
Other quick thoughts on trade:
- By launching another choice for the second round (granted, a very, very distant second future), Troy continues to show his disdain for red paper clippings on his way through a list
- Sekou Doumbouya is now the oldest Detroit Piston, and you could forgive him for looking around nervously and pulling on his collar
- This is probably just the first commercial domino (not Derrick Rose) to land in Detroit – I still hope to see Wayne Ellington, at the very least, on a flight out of Detroit before the March 25 negotiation deadline.
- As Woj points out, Diallo will be a restricted free agent in this off-season. That may answer the question of what, exactly, Troy Weaver was going to do with the space he could have had this season.
That’s basically it. I’m a little sad about Svi leaving – I really liked the player he was last year, but he wasn’t that guy this year under a new front office, and that’s all I need.
What do you think of the trade? Sound off in the comments!