One hypothetical offseason scenario for the Detroit Pistons. Who could they draft to fill their needs before free agency?
Part 1
Over the next few weeks leading up to the draft, I will be posting a series of articles that give hypothetical scenarios for how the Detroit Pistons offseason could go depending on certain assumptions and constraints.
This isn’t meant to be predictive or even what I personally would like to see happen, but going through this process could demonstrate some of the situations Ed Stefanski and company find themselves in as well as the decisions that they need to think through.
Assumptions & Constraints of This Scenario:
- There will not be any trading of Andre Drummond or Blake Griffin in Scenario A.
- They decline their team option on Glenn Robinson III.
- They pick up their team option on Svi Mykhailiuk.
- No trades. Let’s assume that no reasonable trades involving players or draft picks are made.
- The luxury tax is projected to be at $132 million. We won’t be going over the tax.
- All cap holds are renounced.
- Including the money allotted for their 1st round selection, the Pistons entered the offseason at approximately $116.8 million.
- I will be making selections based off of who is available at each Pistons pick from Jeremy Woo’s NBA Mock Draft 7.0.
- The Pistons enter this offseason identifying their primary needs as perimeter shooting and a lack of size on the wing.
The Game Plan
The Pistons are looking to maximize Blake Griffin’s window as an all-star level player. One area that was especially lacking on last year’s roster was the size at the wing that had the ability to shoot the three. Fixing this will be a primary focus during this hypothetical offseason.
Another major hole has opened up at backup point guard with the renouncing of Ish Smith’s cap hold. Ideally, the Pistons would like someone who can be a change of pace guy like Smith was, but with an outside stroke that will require defenders to close out with haste.
Additionally, Detroit needs to fill open roster spots left at backup small forward, third-string point guard, and backup center. The Pistons have their work cut out for them this summer as an over-the-salary-cap team. They need to fill these five spots with only two draft picks, the mid-level exception (MLE), the bi-annual exception (BAE), and minimum exceptions.
The Draft
Through the draft, the Pistons are looking to add depth at the wing and point guard. They want to draft shooters at both spots, and if a wing is available, they’d like him to have some size seeing that all of their wings are sub-6’6” except for Mykhailiuk.
They aren’t looking to add a backup center in the draft with the hopes of finding one for the minimum in free agency. Ideally, the Pistons are looking for these selections to slot into the backup small forward role as well as the third point guard.
Hopefully, neither of these players would be forced into becoming the starting small forward or backup point guard. While it was nice to see Bruce Brown contribute in the starting lineup, the fact that he had to be a regular starter last season speaks to the state of that roster.
Obviously, Detroit would love to see their draft selections play well, with ambitions of making a deeper run at the playoffs. But with selections outside the lottery, the chances of finding a worthy starter are slim.
With the 15th Pick in the 2019 NBA Draft…
All of the top names are off the board, and no point guards worthy of this selection. The last few picks removed Nassir Little, Sekou Doumbouya, Kevin Porter Jr., and P.J. Washington from the board. This leaves the Pistons in a difficult position. While the Pistons may think about trading down from this spot to acquire more assets, no trades have presented themselves.
Detroit’s decision comes down to a wing player. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a little undersized for what the Pistons want at the wing at 6’5”, although he does have a 6’9” wingspan. His fit seems redundant with the rest of the two-guards on the roster. While he can bring perimeter shooting at a clip of 37.4% on nearly 5 attempts from three, the Pistons lack of size on the wing was exposed in playoffs, and they are looking for solutions to that problem.
Another option is Tyler Herro, but he is the same height as Alexander-Walker, but with a shorter wingspan. Frankly, he doesn’t provide a solution to the Pistons’ problem.
In order to address the need for a large wing who can shoot from downtown, the Pistons select Cameron Johnson, small forward from North Carolina. He provides the height (6’8”) and perimeter shooting that you look for if you are the Pistons. Johnson shot 45.7% from 3-point range while attempting nearly 6 shots per game from that distance. He averaged 16.9 points per game last season, shooting a hair above 50% from the field.
He can spread the floor with similar shots to ones that Wayne Ellington took for Detroit last season, shooting off of screens and knocking down catch-and-shoot opportunities that come from Blake Griffin in the post. Johnson would look to contribute right away as a wing off the bench, backing up whoever the Pistons get at that spot in free agency.
The knock on Johnson is his age (23) and potential on the defensive end. He isn’t the freak athlete you’d like to see in a larger wing, and he also underwent hip surgery last April. Nevertheless, Johnson is healthy now and checks the boxes of height, perimeter shooting, and a higher probability of contributing immediately than others still on the board.
With the 45th Pick in the 2019 NBA Draft…
The Pistons would like to address point guard depth. By this time, Purdue point guard Carsen Edwards has shot himself up to the draft boards with his performance in the NCAA Tournament. Luckily for the Pistons, Shamorie Ponds, the lefty point guard out of St. John’s is still on the board. Ponds is the classic second-round point guard who projects as a backup.
At 6’1” he is a bit undersized, which is what usually leads to someone who was as productive as he was in college sliding into the second round. Ponds shot 35.3% from three on 5.6 attempts per game, and he averaged 19.7 points per game last year. He averaged 5.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 steals, and 2.0 turnovers per game.
He’s the type of player that can bring a little bit of everything to the table. Ponds is probably not going to be starting at the point anytime soon, but he’ll make for a fine third point guard on the roster.
Draft Reflection
In this scenario, the Pistons added some depth pieces at important positions. While both selections are upperclassmen, they should be able to contribute sooner rather than later. This would be important for a team that is trying to maximize Blake Griffin’s all-star level window. The front office is banking on the assumption that improves upon the players that were let go, along with internal development of their young players, can push this team up from a team fighting to get into the playoffs to a team fighting to get home court advantage in the first round. The Pistons’ draft provided a solid start down that road.
In a follow-up article, I will continue this hypothetical scenario and take a look at how the Pistons might approach a free agency with the holes that remain in the roster.