AUBURN HILLS -- Joe Dumars said last week he won't make any trade that inhibits the Detroit Pistons' financial freedom going into the summer free-agency period.

That isn't quite the same as saying he won't make a trade. And to be sure, Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations, will be a seller in a buyers' market as the Feb. 21 NBA trade deadline draws closer.

Charlie Villanueva? Untradeable a few weeks ago, he suddenly is playing like the Pistons envisioned when they signed him to a long-term deal. Whether the Pistons keep him or trade him, he is providing value.

Austin Daye? Two Western Conference scouts have told me in the last few days that their teams still have interest in him. A reclamation project that looked headed for the NBA scrap heap, or the end of someone's bench, or maybe a really good career in Turkey, suddenly is back to being a bright-faced prospect who might be ready to succeed elsewhere, which either makes this the best or worst time to trade him, depending on perspective.

The Pistons won't trade Andre Drummond. We can say that with certainty.

They aren't likely to trade Greg Monroe, either. What, give up on the broad vision of Monroe and Drummond, who are roughly a Ben Wallace in combined age, before they even start a game together? Great plan.

They also probably won't trade Brandon Knight. That isn't to say they won't try to upgrade at point guard before next season. But Knight is viewed as part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Everyone else is available. Come one, come all.

And for a variety of reasons, Dumars' phone will ring incessantly in an effort to consummate one of those offers.

It's a position the Pistons haven't enjoyed during their recent seasons as a virtual NBA afterthought, stuck with some players they didn't want to deal, stuck with others whose bad contracts rival teams didn't want, stuck in an ownership-limbo trade prohibition before Tom Gores bought the team.

Many of those issues have cleared and the Pistons already made one significant trade during the Gores era, a salary-cap move in which they sent Ben Gordon and a future first-round draft pick to Charlotte for Corey Maggette's expiring contract, as opposed to Maggette himself, who has slipped out of the rotation and is making plans for his front-office future.

Dumars' umbrella plan is to preserve financial flexibility this summer regardless what happens at the trade deadline. That's not to say his direction is so firm that the right offer wouldn't prompt a quick detour. But that's that plan.

Within any framework, what would the Pistons have to offer in trade?

Plenty, actually.

They can't deal a first-round pick without some complex contingencies because of the conditional first-round pick they must send to Charlotte by 2016.

But if you're the contender hovering over the Pistons' roster like a buzzard eyeing roadkill, there's plenty to like.

Jason Maxiell has started every game this season at power forward but he has an expiring contract. Nothing's certain but he figures to be somewhere else next season, with Monroe shifting to power forward. His effort and toughness could help a contending team looking for a short-term fix. The Pistons could deal him rather than lose him for nothing.

Tayshaun Prince has two years remaining on his contract after this season. He also continues to play at a high level and quietly is having a very good year. He could be a little harder to deal than some others because he signed a four-year deal before last season rather than a three-year deal -- he took a little less money to assure himself of an extra year's guarantee -- but if you need a small forward, you might accept the realities of that contract and transition him to the bench over time.

Will Bynum has an expiring contract and he can help the right team as long as he's working more in playmaking mode than volume-scoring mode. He also has value and probably doesn't fit the Pistons' future plans. He's squarely on the block if anyone needs a backup point.

A lot of people wonder why Jonas Jerebko isn't playing. The answer is Villanueva. The broader answer is Jerebko should be playing somewhere and someone will find his $4.5 million annual contract manageable. If the Pistons plan to move Monroe to power forward, they don't need both Jerebko and Villanueva.

Another advantage the Pistons have with their financial flexibility this summer is they already know they don't need all 15 players currently under contract. They might not be able to trade a first-round draft pick but they certainly could accept one if it meant getting the right kind of future considerations for a veteran.

It's the kind of strong position before the trade deadline that the Pistons haven't enjoyed in years.

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