Reggie Jackson trade rumors have Pistons looking for a pick and a prospect

UPDATE: A deal didn’t get done.

The Pistons are looking to trade Reggie Jackson before the NBA trade deadline, reports The Vertical’s Chris Mannix. But the price appears to be awful high.

The point guard, who signed a five-year, $80 million contract with Detroit in the summer of 2015, has been tied to the Orlando Magic over the past few weeks, but USA Today’s Sam Amick reports that the Magic are no longer involved in pulling a deal for Jackson.

Mannix reports that the Pistons are seeking a draft pick, a young prospect, and expiring contracts. That is the package the Kings recently received for DeMarcus Cousins, an All-NBA center on a bargain deal.

Detroit has struggled since Jackson returned to the lineup. Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy (who doubles as the president of basketball operations) has openly discussed Jackson’s struggles to get the team on the same page. Coming in with high expectations after a hot finish to the 2015-16 season, the Pistons sit at 27-30, just barely in the East’s No. 8 seed.

Jackson is at the front end of his contract. Detroit felt good about how the team performed after picking up the point guard from Oklahoma City at the deadline two years ago, but he got injured in the offseason and missed a substantial chunk of time at the beginning of 2016-17. His return was expected to solve a lot of Detroit’s considerable issues. It hasn’t.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the better Pistons guard, and he’ll be a restricted free agent in July. With Andre Drummond soaking up a big chunk of salary and more cap space dedicated to Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, and Boban Marjanovic, something has to give. Caldwell-Pope’s upside as a two-way player is higher than that of Jackson.

That asking price is quite crazy. Jackson is nowhere near the level of Cousins, even after you account for the center’s unreliability due to discipline. While one imagines that a better-run team than the Kings could get more for Cousins, that is the deal that happened. That is the deal teams negotiating with Detroit will cite.

Teams will also remind Van Gundy he acquired Jackson for Kyle Singler and D.J. Augustin, and his value hasn’t exactly improved with a big contract, a big injury, and this season’s woes.

The Pistons have a much stronger chance of pulling a great package for Andre Drummond or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. If the return is what really matters, Jackson is likely to stay in Detroit. But if Van Gundy just wants to move on from Jackson and lowers the price, there are teams that could rationalize bringing Reggie in.

Probability: 2/10