Kevin Huerter arrived in Detroit at the trade deadline with a simple job: help fix the Pistons' 3-point shooting. Entering the playoffs, he is still trying to prove he can do it.
In the trade, Detroit sent 2022 No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls in a three-team deal that also included the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Pistons made the move because they wanted more consistent shooting from deep, but Huerter has not fully delivered that yet. Since joining Detroit, he has averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 29.4 percent from 3-point range.
That number matters because Detroit's concern is not about one cold week. It is about whether the team can trust its spacing in a first-round series against the Orlando Magic, where every missed outside shot tightens the floor and makes the offense easier to defend. Huerter was supposed to bring a steadier perimeter threat, and his track record is part of why the Pistons were willing to make the deal.
Before arriving in Detroit, Huerter had spent 44 games with the Bulls, where he shot 31.4 percent from 3-point range and averaged 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. His best playoff run came with the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, when he averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists as Atlanta reached the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Milwaukee Bucks.
That is the version of Huerter the Pistons are betting they can still find. The question now is whether he can get close to it when Detroit needs it most, or whether the deadline trade ends up looking like a move made for a problem the team still does not have solved.
