Pistons deal Gordon, 1st-rounder to Bobcats for Maggette

By Joe Shermetaro

CREATED Jun. 27, 2012

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Detroit Pistons General Manager Joe Dumars moved guard Ben Gordon and a 1st round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Corey Maggette.

Maggette’s contract expires at the end of next season.  The 32-year-old is due $10.9 million this season.  Gordon was due $25.6 million over the next two years.  In the long run, this will save the Pistons about $14 million.

The draft pick is lottery protected in 2013, top 8 protected in 2014, first pick overall protected in 2015 and unprotected in 2016.  So what this means is that eventually the Pistons will lose this first-round pick, it just depends on how good or bad the Pistons are the next few seasons.

The Pistons will now be expected to use amnesty on Charlie Villanueva, which would get him also off the books.  Amnesty is that each team will be permitted to waive one player currently under contract and have his salary not count for cap and tax purposes. The team will still have to pay the waived player.

In the long run

The Pistons are clearly in the rebuilding process and this could either turn out to be a great move for Detroit, or a bad one. 

Either way you look at it, finding a team to take on Ben Gordon’s $25.6 million contract is a huge plus.  (Thank you, Michael Jordan) 

But it will come down to how Dumars uses this money.  Piston fans will remember a few summers ago when Detroit had money to spend and it was wasted on Gordon and Villanueva.  Dumars realized his mistakes and it will come at the cost of a 1st-round pick.

Expect the Pistons to move Maggette next season around the trade deadline, or just let him go at the end of the season. 

This would give the Pistons around $20 million to spend on a big name free agent or any help they need.

Time will only tell if this trade is good for the Detroit Pistons.