The Pistons traded Maurice Evans to the Lakers for the for the draft rights to Cheick Samb, the 51st pick in the draft. The Rockets basically had 2 2nd round picks after they bought the 2nd one from the Magic. We should have traded one of those for Mo Evans. He is cheap, he will only make $1.5 million per year for the next 3 years, young, has quick feet and can really shoot. He would have provided depth and size in backcourt without going over the cap. CD blew another deal.
Man, I was shocked when I saw that trade go down. Why would Detroit give up Maurice Evans for the #51 pick??? Evans played pretty well for them and was in the rotation. Maybe they want to give Carlos Delfino more minutes next year. Or, maybe Detroit is dumping as much salary as possible in order to afford a new contract for Ben Wallace and an extension for Chauncey Billups. Remember, the luxury tax is 100%, so the Pistons may have just done this deal to avoid paying an extra $3M per year, especially if Delfino replaces Evans in the rotation.
Detroit made this trade for a couple of reasons. Evans' agent actually requested a trade because Dumars refused to say that Evans would get more minutes next year. Beyond that, Dumars was VERY upset with Flip for playing Evans the minutes he did at the expense of Delfino and this trade eliminates the possibility of that happening again. Finally, Mo is a fairly limited player. He hits the corner 3 pointer well when he's set and he gets some offensive boards and putbacks. He can't dribble, he can't hit a shot while moving, and his defense is subpar (by Pistons standards). He's a 9th or 10th man that is a great placeholder but doesn't alter the game in any way. Detroit is looking to add a guy who can make a difference in some fashion off their bench and they know Mo isn't it. They didn't get much for Mo, but most Detroit fans are happy they just got rid of him as Evans getting minutes over Delfino was a major complaint all season long.
