The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement includes several finicky rules about matching incoming salaries in trades, but there is no rule that stipulates both teams must have an equal number of guys named Brandon involved in a deal.
Just in case, the Pistons and Bucks appear to be playing it safe.
The Pistons have acquired point guard Brandon Jennings in a sign-and-trade deal for Brandon Knight and two second-year players, the Detroit Free Press reports. The deal bumps Detroit, which also added forward Josh Smith and coach Mo Cheeks this offseason, into the Eastern Conference playoff conversation for the coming season. It also maintains each team’s “Brandon quota,” an imaginary item in the CBA’s fine print that could be related to “Bird rights” or the “Stepien rule.”
Jennings, 23, will receive $24 million over the next three years as a product of the deal. That is less than the $40 million over four years he was reportedly seeking as a restricted free agent, but evidently, he wanted to be out of Milwaukee at all costs. Knight, 21 is entering his third year in the NBA and has not shown signs of reaching the potential he flashed at Kentucky. Forward Khris Middleton and Slava Kravstov were also sent to Milwaukee, according to the Freep.
Jennings can be a maddening player despite averaging 17.0 points in four NBA seasons. He is prone to swings in scoring and passing production, he shoots less than 40 percent from the field and he suffers from turnover fits.
