Anthony Bennett falls to Pistons in ESPN’s post-lottery mock draft

Chad Ford of ESPN updated his mock draft after last night’s lottery, and he has the Pistons taking Anthony Bennett at No. 8:

"The Pistons’ biggest need is at the three, and if Bennett falls this far, I could see Detroit convincing themselves that Bennett could make the transition. While Bennett looks like a power forward, he can really shoot and handle the basketball. He has enough talent to be the No. 1 pick, but his recent rotator cuff surgery has caused his stock to slide just a tad. He’d be a great fit in Detroit and give the Pistons, along with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, one of the best young front lines in basketball."

I didn’t like Bennett relative to the other five typically touted players – a group also comprised of Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter, Trey Burke and Victor Oladipo.

But at No. 8? Heck yeah.

I definitely believe Bennett’s is better suited to play power forward long term, but there’s no harm in the Pistons spending a little time trying to make him a small forward, a position that presents a bigger need in Detroit. Even if that experiment is a likely failure, Bennett as a power forward would be great value at No. 8.