Pistons were prepared to target Kevin Love if Griffin deal fell through

It has been widely reported in NBA circles that the Detroit Pistons were one of the more aggressive teams on the trade market, and they finally landed their big fish in Blake Griffin.

In a fascinating breakdown of the path that led the Pistons to Blake, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated unfurls some juicy truth nuggets including the fact that if the Griffin deal had fallen apart Detroit was prepared to move on to a pursuit of Kevin Love.

Ironically, the Griffin deal went through and in the first game after the trade Love broke his hand in a loss against the Pistons and is now out 6-to-8 weeks.

Other choice bits of information offered up by Fischer:

• Detroit nearly swapped Drummond in a deal with the Kings in the summer
• The Pistons “came within inches” of a three-team deal with the Suns and Bucks that would have sent Jackson to New Orleans and Bledsoe to Detroit
• Detroit looked into Danny Green, Jordan Clarkson, Tyreke Evans, Rodney Hood and Courtney Lee and are still open to adding a wing (probably on a smaller scale).
• The Pistons were deep in research and talks on Griffin when news broke that the Hornets were willing to deal Kemba Walker, but no deal emerged
• Only five Pistons’ brass, including SVG and Bower, even knew about a potential Griffin deal, while Doc Rivers only found out about it on the day of the trade.
• SVG and his small crew analyzed game film of Griffin going back to 2013-14, paying particular attention to how Griffin has remade his game into one of “finesse and shooting.”

The whole piece is fascinating so read it, tweet it, cherish it.