Could the Pistons make sense as an Eric Bledsoe trade destination?

Eric Bledsoe stole the show on NBA Twitter this weekend by making it about as clear as possible that he doesn’t want to be where he currently is.

That set off a flurry of trade speculation, culminating with Bledsoe being sent home today after the morning shoot around and made inactive for tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings. Suns GM Ryan McDonough has been equally clear that we’ve seen about the last of Bledsoe in a Suns uniform.

I’m just really hoping that the part left out in the ellipsis was “He didn’t even have a fresh haircut.” Bonus trolling points to Bledsoe if he manages to get the Suns’ Talking Stick Resort Arena renamed to Great Clips Arena. Hey hey, do you think this is his way of telling McDonough that he wanted to be cut? Ok, I’ll stop.

While it’s easy to paint Bledsoe as the bad guy here, publicly airing his grievances with the team, it also wouldn’t be accurate. He’s been unhappy for quite a while in Phoenix, starting with the front office shutting him down during the stretch of last season in order to tank. He also requested a trade in the preseason.

So doing things privately didn’t work. And doing it publicly seems to finally get Bledsoe the trade traction he’s been looking for.

Looking around the league, there aren’t a lot of teams that immediately make sense as a trade partner with Phoenix. The Denver Nuggets are the most obvious and a Kenneth Faried and Emmanuel Mudiay for Bledsoe deal seems to make plenty of sense for both sides.

But that’s about it. Any other team looking to compete has a point guard in place. Perhaps the Los Angeles Clippers would look bring Bledsoe back, but Patrick Beverly has been effective as the starter. Perhaps the Houston Rockets with Chris Paul battling a knee injury, but what happens when Paul returns?

So far none of the reports have indicated any specific trade talks currently underway. But the Pistons have been opportunistic in the past in similar situations.

If that obvious match between the Nuggets and Suns isn’t able to work out, perhaps the Pistons could come calling. If the team isn’t buying the Reggiessance of the first three games, the Pistons could look to move Reggie Jackson after starting off the season looking mostly promising.

Jackson is under contract for three years while Bledsoe is locked up for just two. With the Suns taking on the extra salary and health risk that Jackson represents, the Pistons would likely have to sweeten the pot with either a pick or one of their young players.

The two match up reasonably similarly for their career. Bledsoe has been a slightly more efficient scorer thanks to a more accurate three point shot and more trips to the line. He’s also a far superior defensive player. Jackson just has the edge in avoiding turnovers.

Bledsoe has long been on the rumor mill and the Pistons have talked about as a destination. You can go back to this DBB post from the trade deadline (which is also worth checking out for the clips with how Bledsoe might look in a Pistons uniform). Or all the way back to the summer of 2013 when the Pistons were interested in him when he left the Clippers.

It’s also worth noting this:

Well, Reggie Jackson isn’t exactly Chauncey Billups, but still it’s interesting to note just the same.

So let’s say the Pistons offer Jackson and their 2018 first round pick with a lottery protection for Eric Bledsoe. Is that enough for the Suns to detox their locker room? Is Bledsoe enough of an upgrade over Jackson to warrant giving up a draft pick?

What say you DBB?