Pistons Reportedly Trade For Rockets' Donatas Motiejunas And Marcus Thornton
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Pistons general manager Jeff Bower said the team likely wasn't done shopping, after the team traded for Tobias Harris on Tuesday. And according to Yahoo, that shopping has yielded Houston forwards Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton, in exchange for Joel Anthony and a protected first-round pick.
Houston has traded Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton to the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
In deal, Detroit will send Joel Anthony and a protected 2016 first-round pick to the Rockets, league sources tell @TheVertical
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 18, 2016
The popular assumption was that the Pistons were looking for a backup point guard, in the lead-up to today's trade deadline at 3 p.m. Detroit sent Brandon Jennings to Orlando in the Harris deal, and their primary backup is 35-year-old Steve Blake.
Motiejunas has only played in 14 games for the Rockets this year, averaging 5.6 points and 2.1 rebounds. He was a former first-round draft pick in 2011, and has spent his whole career in Houston.
Thornton, who played college basketball at LSU, has been a bit of a nomad in the NBA, playing for New Orleans, Sacramento, Brooklyn, Boston and Phoenix, before landing with the Rockets this season.
New Pistons guard Marcus Thornton and Pistons GM Jeff Bower have ties dating back to New Orleans Hornets days and are still are very close.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 18, 2016
In Houston, Thornton is averaging 10 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists a game.
Anthony, meanwhile, has played in only 13 games for the Pistons this year. He's played 17 minutes total since January 1, and has played double-digit minutes only once this season (14 against the Bulls in December).