Pistons deal first-rounder to Rockets for Marcus Thornton, Donatas Motiejunas

They give up a first round draft choice in the deal but otherwise swap an expiring contract of a non-contributor for two expiring contracts for players who can contribute. Motiejunas is capable of playing both forward spots and, once healthy, figures to slot in behind Harris and Anthony Tolliver on the depth chart at power forward.

Following Tuesday’s trade with the Orlando Magic, acquiring Tobias Harris for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, the Pistons have struck another deal today. The more Thornton and Motiejunas contribute, the lower the draft pick the Pistons end up sending to the Rockets.

Thornton, meanwhile, can provide some perimeter depth. Yet last season, he was valuable for the Rockets, averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game on 50% shooting, 37% from three.

None of these are particularly riveting names on the surface, but that belies the significance of what Stan Van Gundy – coach and GM of the Pistons – is building in Detroit.

Motiejunas has been hurt the majority of the season having missed 41 of the Rockets 55 game this season, as he recovered from back surgery. Thornton is averaging 10 points and 2.4 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per game. As ESPN’s Zach Lowe points out, that’s a pretty good haul for a restricted free agent like Motiejunas. The Pistons should hope his back issues chill the interest in him on the free-agent market, but even if another team floats a larger-than-expected offer his way, they’ll have the ability to retain him if so desired.