Pistons receive: Tobias Harris
Magic receives: Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
Initial Reaction: When Scott Skiles coached the Milwaukee Bucks, he benched Ersan Ilyasova for second-round rookie Luc Mbah a Moute, and Brandon Jennings became a committed and locked-in defender. Additionally, Tobias Harris was traded from the Bucks to the Magic in a deal that landed the Bucks J.J. Redick for half a season. The moved vaulted them into the eight seed and resulted in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Heat. It appears history has repeated itself with Harris getting swapped for pieces that can help the Magic sneak into the playoffs. Hennigan admitted as much when he confirmed the organization's committed to making the playoffs this season.
Orlando Magic
As of Tuesday, the Magic's guard depth consists of Elfrid Payton, Brandon Jennings, Victor Oladipo, and Evan Fournier. C.J. Watson (calf) will likely return soon, and Shabazz Napier is the last man on the totem pole. There aren't enough minutes for this cast, potentially signaling another trade. Instead of dwelling on conjecture, I'll focus on the Magic as they are presently constructed.
Payton is the starting point guard for the Magic. The starting designation is actually meaningless, and he may lose it to Jennings or Watson at some point this season if the Magic begin to flounder early in the second-half. But since the Magic reeled off a 2-1 record without Harris, I feel good about Payton's chances of keeping the starter title; I don't feel safe regarding his minutes. A 28/20 split with Jennings or any other guards would reduce Payton's potency in standard leagues, but I can't overlook his improvement from deep, shooting 36 percent on threes (five percent better than Jennings), and at the free-throw line, up to 61.5 percent. Jennings could see incremental improvement in playing time, but he's not an immediate target. Based on his history with Skiles, it wouldn't surprise me if Jennings was promoted to starting point guard, but as I've already written, it doesn't matter who starts. Both Payton and Jennings will cannibalize each other's minutes, and Skiles has proven he'll ride the hot hand. If Payton is playing better, he'll get the minutes. The same applies to Jennings. Since you can't predict who'll perform better on a nightly basis, choose the incumbent starter who didn't tear his Achilles last season until further notice.
Prior to the deal, Harris missed three games with a sore left ankle. The Magic defeated the Hawks twice and lost the Spurs by two points on a Kawhi Leonard isolation jumper. Fournier moved into the starting lineup for those contests and led the team with 42.3 minutes per game. Nikola Vucevic, Oladipo, and Payton all averaged 38 minutes per game and Aaron Gordon, the starting power forward, played 31 minutes a game with Mario Hezonja receiving the most minutes off the bench at 20.4 per game.
The addition of Ilyasova could signal the end of Channing Frye in Orlando. Ilyasova provides a fraction of Frye's three-point proficiency with the added bonus of superior rebounding skills. Moving Harris creates upwards of 20 minutes a night for Hezonja, but he's not proficient in any category to garner immediate fantasy consideration. It's time to consider alternatives if you own Ilyasova in a standard league. Gordon likely remains as the starting power forward, and that will cut into Ilyasova's average of 27.6 minutes per game this season. Fournier's stock improves unless coach Skiles decides to move Ilyasova into the starting lineup over Fournier, a situation I don't envision playing out immediately.
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons' starters average the most minutes in the league, but the trade doesn't translate to more minutes for Reggie Jackson. Last season after the Pistons acquired Jackson, he averaged 32.2 minutes per game with Spencer Dinwiddie acting as his backup. This season before Jennings returned from his Achilles injury, Jackson averaged 31.5 minutes per game with Steve Blake as his primary backup. Jackson will hover around 32 minutes a night and Blake or Dinwiddie will act as his backup unless the Pistons acquire another guard or allow Stanley Johnson to fulfill point guard duties with the second unit, a role he crushed during the preseason.
Tobias Harris led the Magic with 32.9 minutes per game, but I would expect that to challenge 36 minutes a night on average, much like Marcus Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (groin), who promised to return immediately after the All-Star break. Harris will likely replace Ilyasova in the starting lineup, and Johnson's playing time will take a hit to accommodate the new addition. In the four games Caldwell-Pope sat due to injury, Johnson led the team with 38.1 minutes per game. If coach Van Gundy plays his cards right, he can have Johnson on the court when Morris, Harris, or Caldwell-Pope rest, a move that would net Johnson over 25 minutes a night, but that would revert him to late-round value in standard leagues.
The Pistons' depth remains a weakness. All five starters should be owned in standard leagues. Johnson offers fringe 12-team league value when Caldwell-Pope returns, but his minutes are just as secure as the starters.
Image provided by Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda of the Orlando Sentinel