In case you’re not up on the latest NBA rumors, the news broke pretty soon after the conclusion of this game that the Lakers and Pistons have agreed to a trade that will send Reggie Bullock to the Lakers for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. Let’s do an OFFICIAL DTB TRADE BREAKDOWN to determine the implications for both teams.
LAKER IMPLICATIONS: The Lakers get a shooter who was better last season but is still okay this season. Every team in the NBA wants more shooting and the Lakers just got it. I can give you my solemn guarantee that Bullock will be a way better former Pistons for the Lakers than Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is. Bullock is a real shooter who understands his role. KCP is a fake shooter who doesn’t always understand his role.
PISTONS IMPLICATIONS: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has a cool name and is from the Ukraine. He has the real potential to surpass Viacheslav Kravtsov as the best Ukrainian in Pistons history. Does the Detroit metro area have an especially large amount of Ukrainians is or is just a coincidence that the Pistons keep picking these dudes up? Svi doesn’t move the needle much right now, but give him a few years and I’m sure he’ll be ready to play ten minutes per game and never score any points.
DTB’S OFFICIAL TRADE VERDICT: Nobody won this trade because this trade doesn’t appreciably change the fortunes of either team. The Lakers will still be the “LeBron + Role Players + Young Guys” team and the Pistons will still be the “Try for the Eighth Seed Only to Get the Ninth Seed” team.