Palace Picks: Draft Talk
By Joe Dexter
Every Morning, Pistons Palace brings you the reading material you need before you start your day at the office. We bring you the morning’s Palace Picks — Detroit Pistons Links from across the web to get you ready for the day.
Draft week is nearly upon us. Today with our Palace Picks, we attempt to get you ready for Thursday by bringing you the latest draft news. The Pistons draft pick at #38, which isn’t a premium pick, but there is a good possibility true NBA talent will be available at that selection.
We also take a look across the league with today’s Palace Picks.
Let’s start today’s picks with the great staff at Basketball Insiders, who talk about the biggest sleepers in the NBA Draft.
Detroit Sports 105.1’s Matt Dery talked a lot of NBA Draft on Friday during his show. Dery talked to Sporting News’ NBA Writer Sean Devaney about this year’s draft. This also discuss Greg Monroe’s impending free agency. Devany says that no matter what Van Gundy says to the public, the team is still searching for the best sign and trade opportunities across the league. Devaney says that he’d be surprised if Greg Monroe would be back next season.
From Greg Monroe, to the value of the Pistons bench next season. Mlive’s David Mayo put out another mailbag on Friday. One of the major topics was Detroit’s bench and where Peyton Siva, Jorts, Will Bynum and Tony Mitchell fit into the picture.
"I don’t know that the Grand Rapids Drive, the new D-League team, has much to do with any of the three players you cited in your first question. Mitchell has a guaranteed contract, so he’ll be here, regardless how much he does or doesn’t play in Grand Rapids. Siva and Harrellson both have non-guaranteed contracts and the Pistons can waive them until July 20, after which their contracts would be guaranteed for the rest of next season. The Pistons are likely to use most of that time, since it allows them to see where they stand after the first 10 days of free agency. Even so, there are enough open roster spots that both players have good chances of sticking.The Pistons have eight players with guaranteed contracts next season. Jonas Jerebko has until June 29 to exercise his player option but has indicated through Swedish media that he will do so. Greg Monroe could be the 10th player if he re-signs, or his roster spot taken by one or more others if a sign-and-trade package is worked out. The Pistons also have a team option on Chauncey Billups, which it would have to exercise by June 29.Even if Billups, Jerebko and Monroe all return, that leaves four open roster spots. There’s a second-round draft pick, No. 38 overall, to consider. There also are the early days of free agency, during which the Pistons can see how they fare on the open market. All of that goes into the final decisions on Siva and Harrellson. But Siva proved late last season that there is no such thing as garbage time, when he took advantage of a precious chance to play after all hope for the season was lost. Harrellson, before his knee injury, made perimeter shots — and was one of the few Pistons who could — so on a team lacking that characteristic, a bench big man with a keen eye could have value.How many point guards will the Pistons have? Will Harrellson be the fifth or sixth big — or seventh? It’s always a numbers game if you don’t have a guaranteed deal. It worked against Kim English at this time last year. This time, it could work for Siva and Harrellson."
One of our scouting favorites in preparation of the draft is Ed Isaacson. He takes a look at a potential Pistons draft target on his Draft Blog. Baylor center Isaiah Austin was expected to be a lottery pick before last season, and has fallen into the second round of the draft. Here’s a sneak peek:
"Austin is an average offensive post player, though you would hope for a lot more out of a 7-footer. He does a good job using his body to establish position in the post area, though he needs to work on building his strength and using his lower body to seal off defenders. He sets a good target for passers and has very good hands, though he doesn’t have any real go-to back-to-the-basket post moves. He will try to make moves over either shoulder, and he will often try to take a few dribbles into the lane for a short hook shot. Austin needs on being able to use his left hand to shoot when he is around the basket, especially when making a move over his right shoulder. He has shown a nice ability to hit a quick turnaround jumper out of the low post on either side, as well as the occasional face-up move or jumper. Austin needs to work on getting a better sense of where the defense is before he makes a move, often heading right into help defenders."