New York Knicks receive: G Cory Joseph, 2025 First-Round Pick (Lottery Protected – DET)
Detroit Pistons Receive: F Obi Toppin
With that said, the value of draft capital is a fairly controversial subject.
Some see draft picks as something like “magic beans”. That holds especially true for pick swaps and protected picks. To be sure, they don’t have the same value as unprotected picks.
They’re still valuable. Pick swaps and protected picks are essentially gambles – they could pay off, and they might not. They’re still assets teams will trade for.
At the same time, if a rebuilding team would rather target young players in the league, that’s fair too.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Obi Toppin, New York Knicks & Detroit Pistons Updates
That’s what we’ve got the Pistons doing here – this would be similar to trading for Marvin Bagley III last year.
Is Toppin likely to pay off?