The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on July 29. As the it approaches, The Game Haus will be doing draft profiles for each NBA team. Each NBA squad will be analyzed, team needs will be addressed and potential targets will be discussed.
The Detroit Pistons are the subject of today’s 2021 NBA Draft Profile.
Summary
The Pistons finished the 2020-2021 season with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. They narrowly missed owning the worst record in the entire league, by just three games. Despite this, former NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey was retained. This was also the first season under general manager Troy Weaver, who was also retained.
The 2021 season saw the likes of Brandon Knight, Dewayne Dedmon, Jon Henson and Blake Griffin all leave the team, either through trades, free agency or waivers. Detroit had the second-best odds of landing the first overall pick in the draft through the lottery. They earned it over the Houston Rockets, who had the best odds in the league.
Now, the team looks to be going through a re-tooling, if not a complete rebuild. Owning four picks in the 2021 Draft could expedite that process. Rumors are floating around regarding the Pistons possibly trading one or more picks in the second round to trade back up into the first. This profile will assume the team stays where they are, however.
2021 Draft Picks
The Pistons have four picks in the 2021 NBA Draft.
First Round (one pick):
Pick No. 1
Second Round (three picks):
Pick Nos. 37, 42, and 51
Team Needs
Scoring: The Pistons simply do not have enough talent to fill it up. They finished the season fourth-to-last in points per game, at 106.6. More shooters are necessary to get the team back to the playoffs.
Rebounding: Detroit finished 25th of 30 in rebounds per game. With Blake Griffin and Jon Henson gone, the team needs more length to control more boards. More rebounds means more posessions, which creates more opportunities for the scoreres the Pistons will hopefully draft.
Star power: Aside from Cade Cunningham, who assuredly will go number one, the Pistons have absolutely zero star power on the roster. They need some transcendent talent to rebuild this roster and make it back to the playoffs.
Projected Targets
Pick No. 1: Cade Cunningham, SG, Oklahoma St.
The 6-foot-8 shooting guard Cade Cunningham has been almost universally praised as the best prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft. He averaged 20.2 points, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 2020 for the Cowboys.
Cunningham scores on every level of offense and plays great defense. His passing is almost totally polished and NBA-ready. Given that the Pistons need a scorer and have consistently built their brand on good defense throughout the past 30 years, he fits the team perfectly.
All of Cunningham’s talent and upside essentially mean that there is not much to debate or talk about here. He can and should and most probably will be Detroit’s pick at number one. The only controversy surrounding this selection is if the Pistons do not select him with the first pick.
Pick No. 37: Day-Ron Sharpe, PF/C, UNC
Sharpe is not the longest or most defensively talented center in the draft, but he should be available at the 37th selection.
He can play either the four or the five, which is valuable in the age of positional basketball. Also, if a team is looking for talent it may be hard to pass up on a player that will be one of the last Roy Williams-coached players in NBA history.
There will be a run on centers at some point, most likely earlier than the beginning of the second round, so the Pistons should pick one ASAP.
Pick No. 42: Herb Jones, SF, Alabama
Herb Jones may not even be a potential draft selection if the bright lights of March Madness did not shine on Alabama this year. But his stage has given him some national attention.
Jones is a defensive specialist with some clear and present shooting problems. That does not necessarily jive with the needs of the team, but, again, Detroit basketball prides itself on defense.
Being that Ben Simmons of the Sixers was exposed for his incapability to shoot, that could cause the Pistons to hesitate, but the team needs a wing player and Jones may be the best available this late in the draft. Plus, if Cunningham lives up to his hype, that could mask some of Jones’ shortcomings.
Pick No. 51: Luka Garza, C, Iowa
Garza is inexplicably falling down draft boards, despite his consistently excellent play in college. Some mock drafts even have him falling out of the draft completely.
The 7-foot-1, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year is big and slow, yes, but his potential is through the roof on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He could be the rebounding superstar the Pistons are looking for. If they grab him at pick 51, it could end up looking like a reach that turns into a huge bargain, depending on his fit with the team.
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