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NBA Trade Rumors: Jonas Jerebko a good 'buy-low' candidate

Swedish forward languishes on the bench but other teams might see value in energetic forward that is both moderately productive and moderately paid for the next couple years.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

It's been painfully slow around here so how about another trade rumor crumb. This one isn't so much a rumor as an acknowledgement of reality -- If I was an NBA organization I would be trying to pry Jonas Jerebko from the Detroit Pistons for pennies on the dollar because he doesn't seem like he has much of a future here.

Or, in the words of Kevin Pelton at ESPN Insider, Jerebko is a great "buy-low" candidate.

Jonas Jerebko, Detroit Pistons

Like Blair, Jerebko has been the odd man out of the Pistons' frontcourt rotation with Charlie Villanueva playing well. He saw just six minutes of action during a span of more than two months before the Tayshaun Prince trade created a spot for him. Jerebko is still playing out of position at small forward -- Detroit has been more effective with him at power forward throughout his career -- and behind rookie Kyle Singler on the depth chart.

A team in need of a face-up 4 (like, say, the Los Angeles Lakers) ought to inquire about whether Jerebko could be had for expiring contracts and future draft picks. Jerebko is 25 and has a solid track record as a rotation player, and his poor shooting thus far looks like little more than a fluke.

And if I were the Pistons I would be asking myself some hard questions about the future roles of Jerebko and perhaps Rodney Stuckey.

I mean, Jerebko just doesn't seem like he's poised to get minutes here as long as Charlie Villanueva is on the team. So if Detroit is reasonably comfortable that CV isn't going anywhere then they need to ship out Jerebko now. The Swede just cannot spent three out of four seasons with nearly no time on the basketball court. It is unfair to Jerebko and obliterates any value he might have in the future anyway.

Could he be sent out for salary relief? Could he be packaged with an expiring contract in return for something of actual value? I don't know but Detroit should probably find out.