Report: Pistons trade up to draft well-seasoned guard

The Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons are swapping draft picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Detroit is moving up from No. 31 to No. 25 in order to select Houston guard Marcus Sasser.

Technically, the No. 25 pick is still held by the Grizzlies, but it is being sent to Boston as part of the three-team Marcus Smart trade that was agreed to on Wednesday night. The Celtics will reroute the pick to the Pistons.

In return, Boston is set to receive both the first pick in the second round and multiple future second-round selections from Detroit, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). This could be a tactical money-saving move for the Celtics, in the short term.

Sasser, a 6-foot-1 combo guard, will join a talented young backcourt in Detroit. He will be fighting for bench minutes behind backcourt starters Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, two recent top-five lottery picks.

During his four-year NCAA career with the Cougars, Sasser was a two-time All-AAC selection and a consensus 2023 First Team All-American. In 2022/23, the 22-year-old averaged 16.8 PPG on .438/.384/.848 shooting splits. He also chipped in 3.1 APG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.6 SPG across 36 contests, all starts.

Luke Adams contributed to this report