Former Orlando Magic small forward Tobias Harris. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Detroit Pistons have traded point guard Brandon Jennings and power forward Ersan Ilyasova to the Orlando Magic in exchange for small forward Tobias Harris, Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Harris, who is considered as one of the best young wingmen today, averages 13.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in almost 33 minutes of playing time a night in 49 games so far for the Magic before he was traded.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Jennings has been one of the most prolific scoring point guards in recent years. He was sidelined by an Achilles injury this season, though, and had just come back for the Pistons on Dec. 29.
The 10th overall pick of the 2009 draft had played 23 games, starting one, for Detroit this season before the swap and had averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 boards, and 3.0 assists in limited minutes.
Ilyasova, 28, was a second round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005 and is a reliable stretch four. He played seven seasons for the Bucks before he was traded to the Pistons last summer for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams.
The Turkish national had averaged 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in 52 games as a starting power forward for Detroit, shooting 36.3 percent from beyond the three-point line.
Detroit and Orlando are both out of the playoff picture at the moment, currently occupying the ninth and 11th spots of the Eastern Conference standings respectively. The Pistons don a 27-27 record, a half-game behind eighth seed Charlotte Hornets, while the Magic has a 23-29 slate, three and a half games behind.
With the transaction, both teams have improved their lineups and now has a better chance of entering the playoffs with less than 30 games left in their schedules.
"This is a move that can be looked at as a long-term move, as one that will fit with our core group of players, and we'll be able to keep them together," said Pistons GM Jeff Bower, via ESPN.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan was also optimistic about deal, saying "we see Brandon and Ersan as really good fits, both short-term and long-term for us".
