The red-hot 17-4 Detroit Pistons have captured the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, placing their front office in a fantastic-yet-difficult position.
Detroit's general manager Trajan Langdon has taken a patient approach to this juncture due to the MVP-level ascension of Cade Cunningham (28.2 points, 9.3 assists) and Jalen Duren's (19.6 points, 11.8 rebounds) All-Star leap, but an all-in trade could further establish the quickly rising franchise as a truly threatening title contender.
If the Pistons were to seek out a deal to acquire a proven superstar in exchange for a few crucial young pieces and draft capital, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale believes that the Los Angeles Clippers could be a suitable trade partner in a blockbuster James Harden swap.
"The Clippers need to see a ton of value in testing out a healthy Jaden Ivey ahead of restricted free agency to bite here," Favale wrote Tuesday.
"Marcus Sasser could turn into a useful reserve. Tobias Harris still provides valuable combo-forward minutes and comes off the books this summer. A first-round pick is inbound, and L.A. Is getting out of the tax. But the centerpiece of this package is Ivey's ceiling."
"Losing him will be a difficult pill for the Pistons to swallow. He's only 23 and almost assuredly won't cost as much in his next deal as Harden."
In a massive hypothetical swap, Favale posits the concept of the Pistons acquiring Harden in exchange for Jaden Ivey, Tobias Harris, Marcus Sasser and a 2026 first-round draft selection.
At 36 years old, the 17-year veteran and 2018 NBA MVP has remained one of the league's most dominant individual offensive engines in 2025-26. Through 20 games with the Clippers, the ex-Houston Rockets superstar has contributed 26.9 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds while knocking down a respectable 36.9% of his 9.8 attempts from three-point range.
One could argue that a Cunningham-Harden backcourt might seem redundant, especially considering the fact that Detroit would lose a decent chunk of athleticism in the aftermath of dealing Ivey, but their combined play-making skill would be near-impossible to stop.
On the other hand, this deal could become a question of whether or not the Pistons would choose to make a defensive sacrifice to hopefully leap comfortably into the top-10 in offensive rating.
Detroit currently boasts a No. 2 ranked 110.6 defensive rating, but their offensive rating has stalled at a No. 12 ranked figure of 116.2.
Most championship teams strive to place within the top-10 in efficiency on both sides of the ball by season's end, and throwing Harden into the fold would certainly give the up-and-coming group a great chance at doing so.
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