The Detroit Pistons reportedly had lots of love for Isaiah Stewart and were aware of his importance to the team.
Earlier this offseason, the Memphis Grizzlies struck a deal with the Detroit Pistons to acquire big man Isaiah Stewart in exchange for draft capital.
According to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, the move was "solely about finances" for the Pistons.
Patterson did also note that Stewart had a number of tense moments with Detroit's coaching staff during the postseason.
However, the Pistons reportedly had lots of love for Stewart and were aware of his importance to the team. In fact, the word is that they even wanted to trade him to a destination where he could compete for more minutes than he was getting with them.
"Detroit wanted to do right by both Stewart and Marcus Sasser by at least trading them to teams who should allow them to compete for more minutes than they were earning with the Pistons, said the source," wrote Patterson. "The source even described Sasser and Stewart as 'incredible humans.' Shipping Stewart also created a $15 million traded-player exception for Detroit."
If the Pistons truly did take Stewart's playing time into account when working to find his next home, that's an incredibly classy move. He will now get a chance to make an impact with a young Grizzlies team that is hoping to turn a corner.
Whether he will end up with more minutes than the 22.7 per game he averaged with the Pistons last season is unclear. But it should be noted that he averaged just 11.8 minutes per game in the 2026 postseason, a development that had to be frustrating for him.
Stewart started 194 games during his Pistons career, but he only got 17 starts over the last two seasons combined. While he probably shouldn't expect to start with the Grizzlies, he is a safe bet to be a core rotation piece, and he may be able to earn a role that doesn't diminish once the playoffs arrive (if and when the Grizzlies get there).
The former first-round pick averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game this past season while shooting 55.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. He finished seventh in the Sixth Man of the Year race.
An enforcer, Stewart is under contract for the 2026-27 season and then has a team option attached to his deal for the following season, so the upcoming campaign could serve as a bit of an audition for him in Memphis.
