There were multiple trades during round one of the NBA Draft yesterday, but it was only a warm-up for what followed. Tonight, in the second round, we learned to expect even more trade activity, and it delivered with plenty of action.
While the first few deals involved just picks and cash, the latest one saw the Detroit Pistons send one of their regular rotation players, center Isaiah Stewart, to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for three second-round picks. For the Pistons, the purpose is obvious: to clear Stewart’s $15 million salary off the books.
“The Detroit Pistons are trading C/F Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies for three future second-round picks,” reported Shams Charania on Wednesday. “Pistons clear Stewart’s salary and pick up assets while Grizzlies acquire a 25-year-old as a rugged frontcourt piece.”
The NBA’s new salary cap rules have made it harder than ever for good teams to stay together. That’s why we’re seeing so many salary dump moves before July, as teams gear up for free agency. As the top seed in the East in 2025-26, nobody would have blamed the Pistons for running it back, but losing a good player like Isaiah Stewart is not going to help their situation, unless they have a plan to bring in his replacement.
Stewart, drafted 16th overall in 2020, is a six-year NBA veteran with career averages of 8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game on 55.0% shooting and 33.3% shooting from three. He’d been in and out of the starting lineup for years, but the Pistons could always count on his defense and rim protection.
The 2025-26 campaign was one of his best to date, but the Pistons just don’t think he’s impactful enough to justify paying out the rest of his four-year, $64 million rookie extension (which includes a $15 million team option for 2027-28). Now, despite losing front-court depth, they gain roster flexibility and three second-round picks they can use in future trades. One has to imagine more trades will follow, and they’ve already been tied to several names, including Kyrie Irving, Zach LaVine, Coby White, and Isaiah Joe.
For the Grizzlies, this is a step in the right direction. For a team that’s been backsliding over the past few years, they desperately needed to add more pieces, and Stewart should fit right in as a fierce competitor and enforcer on the court. Even with Jaren Jackson Jr. gone, he can still help the Grizzlies to prominence in the West by being a bully in the paint and easing pressure off Ja Morant.
After going 25-57 this past season (13th in the standings), the Grizzlies are very much in a state of uncertainty, but trades like this can help them out of NBA purgatory. The important thing for Memphis is that they do not stop here. If they plan on keeping Morant and building around him for the foreseeable future, they must continue to turn whatever assets they can into win-now players.
As for Isaiah Stewart himself, he could consider this move a fresh start for his career. While he likely wanted to finish what he started in Detroit, he has a chance to remake himself on the Grizzlies, where he’ll have ample opportunity to develop his game.
