The Pistons have a new small forward in Trevor Ariza and a center entering unrestricted free agency in Christian Wood.
So, Detroit is trading incumbent starting small forward Tony Snell to the Hawks for center Dewayne Dedmon.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
Detroit is trading Khyri Thomas and Tony Snell to Atlanta for Dewayne Dedmon, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2020
James Edwards of The Athletic:
I’m hearing Dedmon may be on the move again
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) November 19, 2020
Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
The Hawks will waive Khyri Thomas, per source.
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) November 19, 2020
I’m not sure why Detroit would make this trade unless keeping Dedmon. He earns more next season than Snell plus Thomas’ $744,684 guarantee. Dedmon also has $1 million guaranteed of his 13,333,333 salary for 2021-22 . Snell and Thomas have expiring contracts.
Perhaps, this will turn into a multi-team trade before being officially completed.
Or maybe the Pistons will keep Dedmon if Wood leaves. Dedmon could be a credible starting center.
This trade cuts slightly into Detroit’s ability to re-sign Wood. The Pistons now have $11,544,197 of cap room available – which could translate to a four-year, $51,718,003 contract for Wood. Is that enough?
Snell is a fine addition for Atlanta. The Hawks were already overloaded at center with Clint Capela, John Collins and No. 6 pick Onyeka Okongwu. Wings, especially those who can shoot like Snell, are generally more valuable than bigs. With plenty of cap room, Atlanta could incur the small cost of Khyri Thomas’ guarantee for the Dedmon-to-Snell upgrade.