The Detroit Pistons are apparently among a handful of teams that are interested in trading for former Sixers No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz according to SB Nation.
The notion of adding a guy like Fultz who still has upside despite the disastrous start to his NBA career comes after an injury to reserve guard Ish Smith and inconsistencies with starter Reggie Jackson.
The Detroit front office too also has Philadelphia connections.
Assistant general manager Malik Rose was a broadcaster for Philadelphia from 2011 to 2015 while Detroit’s other assistant GM Sachin Gupta was the orchestrator behind Sam Hinkle’s trades when he served as Sixers team president.
In any sense Detroit’s interest in Fultz comes at time when his price tag probably won’t sink any lower.
At this point, the former No. 1 overall pick is dealing with perhaps both physical and mental drawbacks to his game. Fultz was recently diagnosed with thorasic outlet syndrome which is a condition when your blood vessels and nerves are compressed between the collar bone and top rib. Fultz is also shooting just 41 percent from the field and 28 percent from downtown while the general thought has been that the guard is in a desperate need for a change of scenery to get his career back on track.
As far as what that price tag for Fultz may be is still unclear. The 20-year-old is currently making $8.3 million this season and is due $9.7 million next season so if both team are looking to try and match salaries Ish Smith, Langston Galloway or Jon Leuer could find themselves wrapped up in these rumors. Meanwhile players who recently signed with with the Pistons as free agents this past Sumer come (José Calderón, Glenn Robinson III, and Zaza Pachulia) will be eligible for trade on December 15th.
