A win-win deal helps the Pistons take off? US media trading vision: Cningham welcomes All-Star Helper Hero

Translator's note: The original text was published in Bleacher Report. The data in the article were as of the time of publication (September 1 local time). The dates and times involved were all local time

The 2025 NBA offseason brought many major changes to the basketball industry.

Hope there is at least a deal that can change destiny in the hands of the God of Basketball.

Eastern League now feels more competitive than ever. While the Cavaliers and the Knicks look powerful, and the Magic take huge risks by trading four first-round picks (and one draft pick swap), much of the East is still unclear.

Under so much uncertainty, midfield teams have a great opportunity to take radical measures. For example, the Pistons, who added 30 wins in the 2024-25 season, could have another huge leap if they can find a true second-in-command for Cad Cningham.

The following hypothetical deal may benefit both teams in reality. For the Pistons, this will give Cningham a vibrant new partner and may make the Pistons a truly competitive team in the East.

Trade details

Pistols get: Taylor Herro and Nikola Jovic

Jazz get: Tobias Harris, Ronald Holland, a 2026 first-round pick (lotto protection), a 2030 first-round pick and a 2031 first-round pick swap right (top three picks protected)

Why do the Pistons do this?

Head coach JB Bickstaff has made the Pistons a difficult playoff opponent, and his team building centers are tough and tough defense, as well as all Cningham's ability on the offensive end.

This approach became a problem in the playoffs, as the Knicks focused their defense on Cningham and forced the Pistons' role players to come forward.

Advers will take the same approach until the Pistons find a reliable threat point to partner with Cningham. The Pistons can't rely on Jayden Ivey or other young players to grow into stars now, either - this is not feasible when the Eastern Conference competition is so open.

Through this deal, they will not have to rely on the hope of filling this vacancy through internal potential. Herro is already a tried and tested offensive threat. While he may not be the best player to be the number one choice for a playoff team, he will do a great job as the number two choice. He has been the team's main attacker, averaging 23.9 points per game with three shooting percentages of 47.2%, 37.5% and 87.8%.

According to Dunks & Threes, in the past season, when Herro was clearly the top priority for his opponent's defense, his offensive estimates reached the top level, surpassing 93% of the league's players (at the same level as Kevin Durant).

Hiro is also one of the only eight players who averaged at least 23 points, 5 assists and made three three-pointers per game.

As a ball-holding creator, the 25-year-old combines practical ball-handling techniques with silky emergency stop jumpers and has enough vision to find a scout-strike inside or unseen spot-point shooter. And since he is also a top off-ball mobile shooter (39.7% of the 3-point shooting percentage on the catch), he can also play a role when Cningham takes control of the offense.

Pistons have poached sharpshooter Duncan Robinson from the Heat this offseason, and they can further strengthen their outside attack power by getting Jovic. Jovic is a 6-foot-10-inch (about 2.08 meters) scoring forward with a career three-point shooting percentage and solid (and underutilized) ball-holding skills.

has top scorers in the 2nd and 4th positions, and Cningham is also a reliable long-range threat point in the 1st position, the Pistons can better solve the problems brought by two other non-shooters in the roster - Osal Thompson and Jaylen Durham.

While Hiro and Jovic will soon need to negotiate the next contract – the latter will be restricted free agent next summer and the former is scheduled to be fully free agents in 2027 – the Pistons can at least play the playoffs with the pair before deciding whether one or both of them are worth the long-term investment.

Considering how well this combination looks on paper, the Pistons will most likely want to keep both of them.

Why did the Heat do this?

Although Eric Spoelstra's team is always competitive, the Heat's current roster cap is limited. With both Hero and Jovic facing early renewal this summer, the Heat may face increasing financial pressure.

The Heat seems to be less interested in this road. As soon as the calendar turned to 2025, the basketball industry heard about their grand vision for the free market in 2026.

Heat have basically admitted that they need more. After the season, team president Pat Riley told reporters: "There is no doubt that some changes must be made."

What Riley is referring to is more than just a discounted contract for Norman Powell. They need a player who can change the situation—a “big fish” in Riley’s terms—and Powell is not.

Perhaps the Heat thought that Hero had not reached that level, and likewise, they also thought that Jovic had not.

And perhaps the Heat went a step further, believing that providing the two with high salaries to the early renewal would hinder their efforts to find that top player in the future.

Then, a wise move will be to exchange trading chips now, hoping to achieve great success in the future.

This deal will provide multiple hopes for winning the grand prize. These draft picks — two future first-round picks (including one unprotected for 2030) — and a lightly protected draft pick swap will be the most obvious scratch-off lottery, whether the Heat are using these picks themselves or using them as a bonus to trade already-known stars.

The No. 5 Holland in 2024 will be another dart-like attempt. He still has a long way to go before becoming a star, but his fighting spirit will make him perfectly fit the Heat's culture, and his athleticism, ability to hit the basket and comprehensive defensiveness all show that he has huge room for improvement. And if the shooting progress he showed in the summer league can continue, his ceiling could go a few more steps.

As for Harris, his main attraction is his $26.6 million expiration contract, but as long as the Heat want to keep him, he can fill a starting frontcourt position.

If the team brings surprises again, he may play for the next season. But more likely, he will only stay until the trade deadline, during which he fully demonstrates himself to attract the right, eager buyers who are eager to score firepower.

Author: Zach Buckley

Translator: GWayNe