Report: Celtics send Prince to Pistons for Jerebko and Datome

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Tayshaun Prince is a member of the Detroit Pistons once more.

The Boston Celtics traded the veteran to the Pistons at the trade deadline for Luigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko, according to a report from Marc Stein of ESPN. 

The Pistons have moved some chips toward the middle of the table as they push for a playoff spot, acquiring Reggie Jackson from the Oklahoma City Thunder and adding the veteran Prince for additional wing depth. 

In 35 games split between Boston and the Memphis Grizzlies this season, Prince has averaged 7.6 points and 3.2 rebounds while hitting 48.8 percent of his triples in an admittedly small sample.

Drafted by Detroit 23rd overall in 2002, Prince spent 10-and-a-half seasons with the team, appearing in 769 games and averaging 12.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists while playing some of the best perimeter defense in the league at that time.

While he's not the player he was when he won an NBA Championship with the Pistons in 2004, he remains a capable and versatile defender who can knock down a corner three, a must in head coach Stan Van Gundy's system.

The Celtics had been trying to find a landing spot for Prince to secure some type of return for him instead of buying him out after the deadline. While head coach Brad Stevens was fond of Prince, he was only on the roster for the purposes of making salaries match when the Celtics dealt Jeff Green to the Grizzlies in January.

Neither Datome or Jerebko really move the needle in the long term for Boston, but it theoretically gives them a close look at two impending free agents.

The 27-year-old Datome has played little in his two seasons since joining Detroit out of Italy, averaging 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 37 games. Jerebko, also 27, has shown a bit more utility in five seasons out of Sweden, averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds while flashing an improved 3-point stroke in his two most recent seasons.