Players who should be there when the Detroit Pistons pick

Henry Ellenson

Here’s your wild card folks. Ellenson is in the mold of Kevin Love in that he can do a lot of things well, but his ceiling is presumably low due to poor athleticism. What Ellenson is already doing better than Love coming into the NBA is his ability to dribble and drive–skills that will fit nicely both in the short and long-term for the Pistons.

Do I anticipate Ellenson falling clear down to 18? I don’t, but his draft stock–which is admittedly media driven and may not hold any weight–has fallen in the last few weeks due to the reasons listed above.

If Domantas Sabonis goes ahead of Ellenson, I could see a scenario where he slides. Particularly if we have some risers in the draft like Malachi Richardson (who’s stock is red hot at the moment) and Dejounte Murray (who we might be able to pencil in to the Bucks at 10 if their interest in him holds true).

Should Ellenson slip past the Nuggets at 16 the Pistons will almost assuredly be in a position to take him.

If he’s there, that is extremely hard to pass up.

One thing to note however–should Ellenson fall that far–is the Stan Van Gundy factor. Last year, it appeared to some, that Van Gundy got locked into Stanley Johnson going into the draft with Justise Winslow still on the board. That may actually happen again between he and another player who will be mentioned later on this list.

Next: Demetrius Jackson