Jameer Nelson has had a wild season. He started off with the Nuggets, was waived before the season, then he signed with the Pelicans. He was then traded to the Bulls mid-season and now he has been traded again without playing a single game for Chicago.
Nelson will be heading to Detroit to re-unite with his former coach Stan Van Gundy. Now that this deal has gone through, the following questions are worth asking: Did the Bulls get proper value? Will Nelson help the Pistons?
Let's grade the trade:
Detroit Pistons (Grade: B+)
Detroit receives:
- Jameer Nelson
- Bulls' 2022 second-round pick
The Pistons did something they desperately needed to do by trading for Nelson, and that's add guard depth. With Reggie Jackson injured, Detroit has struggled to fill his production from the rest of its guard unit. The Pistons even traded away a capable ball handler, Avery Bradley, in the Blake Griffin deal. They simply needed a player that they know can handle the ball and run an offense.
Nelson is more than capable of this and it helps that he's very familiar with the type of offense Van Gundy is going to run. He won't make the Pistons a contender, but Nelsons is a steady veteran hand on their bench, and that's valuable as they try to re-tool around their new big man-centric core.
Chicago Bulls: (Grade: C)
Chicago receives:
- Willie Reed
- Pistons' 2022 second-round pick
The Bulls are currently in a rebuilding process and they didn't really have need for a player like Nelson. It wouldn't have been a surprise if they had bought out Nelson after the deadline had they not managed to find a deal for him. So in that sense, getting any kind of return for him is a benefit.
However, Willie Reid will reportedly be waived immediately, so the Bulls are really getting nothing out of this besides swapping second-round picks. They might be saving a little bit of money, so there's that, but this doesn't really move the needle in any direction for them. This feels like a benefit to Nelson more than anything else.
