Two teams firmly in the race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft reportedly pulled off a trade on Sunday morning. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, both Marvin Bagley and Isaiah Livers are on their way to the Washington Wizards, along with a pair of future second-round draft picks.
In exchange, the Pistons will get a pair of veteran players on expiring deals, as Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala will make their way to Detroit.
The Pistons and Wizards are finalizing a deal to trade Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers, and two second-round picks for forwards Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 14, 2024
Detroit moves Bagley’s contract ($12.5M in 2024-2025) for two future second-round picks. Livers ($1.8M), Gallinari ($6.8M) and Muscala ($3.5M) are on expiring contracts. https://t.co/qRnVfR6JbJ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 14, 2024
The Wizards will get 2025 and 2026 second-round picks in the trade, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 14, 2024
As Wojnarowski noted, this trade lets Detroit get off of Bagley’s salary moving forward — while it’s hardly a terrible deal, he’s the only player involved signed beyond this season, and he’s seen his role decrease this year under new Pistons coach Monty Williams. That, combined with a series of back and ankle injuries that limited him to 29 games played this year, have led to him putting up the fewest points and minutes per game of his tenure with the team. As for Livers, he’s struggled to consistently hit shots this season — he entered this year as a career 37.8 percent three-point shooter, but has only connected on 28.6 percent of his triples in 2023-24.
Gallinari, who is coming off of an ACL tear, has exclusively come off the bench for Washington this season, while Muscala has started two of the 24 games in which he’s appeared.