Kel'el Ware is not the trade chip here, but the same kind of roster pressure is: the Detroit Pistons may have to send out Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland to get Tyler Herro. The move would give Cade Cunningham a better scoring partner, while taking two of the rotation players who helped shape Detroit’s energy and defense.
That is the tradeoff Trajan Langdon is weighing. Cunningham is already a multitime All-Star and All-NBA player, and the Pistons want a second star next to him. Herro would address the missing secondary playmaking, ball handling, and shot making that showed up during the playoffs.
Stewart and Holland
Isaiah Stewart and Ron Holland are the names most likely to leave in the deal. Both are bench players, and league and franchise sources have treated them as the outgoing pieces most likely tied to a Herro move.
Detroit would not be moving just bodies. Stewart was one of only three players who held opponents to sub-50% shooting within 3 feet of the rim on three or more attempts per game. Holland has become the player most associated with Making Things Happen™ when the Pistons need a spark, which is part of why his inclusion would be felt beyond the box score.
Trajan Langdon and the core
Langdon already treats Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren as part of the core with Cunningham, so any deal for Herro has to fit around that structure. The Pistons could be sacrificing their fifth- and ninth-leading scorers to obtain a true No. 2 option, which makes the decision less about a single talent upgrade and more about which version of the roster they want to keep.
That is why the No. 21 pick matters in the background. Detroit may keep that selection and lose Holland instead, which would change the shape of the cost without changing the basic problem: the Pistons are trying to add shot creation without stripping away too much of the identity that got them here.
Detroit's next move
Over the last two seasons, the Detroit Pistons went from the league’s cellar to a 6o-win team, and that climb has made every rotation decision sharper. This is one of the few all-in adjacent moves the franchise is going to be able to make with this core, so the choice is not between a small tweak and a big one; it is between different kinds of pain.
If Detroit sends out Stewart and Holland for Tyler Herro, it gains a 20-25 point-per-game scorer and gives Cunningham a cleaner partner on the perimeter. If it keeps one of those bench pieces, the front office has to decide whether the No. 21 pick or Holland is the price it wants to pay for the upgrade.
