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Detroit Pistons 2020 NBA Draft Profile: LaMelo Ball

By Spyros Papadakos

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks looks on during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 30: LaMelo Ball of the Hawks looks on during the round 9 NBL match between the New Zealand Breakers and the Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena on November 30, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) /
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Lamelo Ball of the Hawks (Photo by Brent Lewin/Getty Images)
Lamelo Ball of the Hawks (Photo by Brent Lewin/Getty Images) /

How does LaMelo Ball fit with Detroit?

To draft LaMelo Ball a team has to be thinking about his upside. In the early part of their rebuild, the Detroit Pistons should be in search of potentially high impact players and that’s what Ball brings to the table. Potential.

His combination size, feel, IQ and skill level are unique in what is considered to be a weak draft class, which is why most sites have him really high on their board. Tankathon has him at number one and the Stepien at number two.

The Detroit Pistons are building for the future, so using a high draft pick on a player with a high ceiling seems reasonable. However, it won’t come without a significant downside as there are multiple red flags to be considered.

In Ball, the Pistons can find their primary ball-handler of the future, one that can make his teammates better with his vision and passing. They’ll have to have patience with him and try to instill good habits.

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They’ll have to teach him the intricacies of decision making as an NBA point guard and lecture him about consistency in effort and focus. They’ll have to help him with his physical development and fixing his shooting mechanics. They’ll have to transform him into a guard that always attacks the paint to fully take advantage of his skill set.

Right now, Sekou Doumbouya is the most important piece of the Pistons’ future and the fit of those two should be natural. Sekou lacks ball-handling ability right now and playing alongside a gifted play maker like Ball should help him.

In the future, those two could form a formidable duo that should synergize well on both ends if they both fulfill their potential. They both have great physical tools for their position and strong instincts.

Shooters like Luke Kennard and Svi Mykhailiuk should also fit well as backcourt partners with Ball, even if the defense is iffy at first. Again, the Pistons should not be thinking about the short term problems but the long term upside.

The fit with Bruce Brown is less ideal as they both project to be below average shooters. However, I could see a scenario where they both develop enough shooting to make it work. So far, Ball hasn’t been asked to play off the ball much, so it would be interesting to see him playing beside Brown.

Fortunately, he has the feel to read the defense and he’s a better shooter off the catch than pulling up. So, maybe that part of his game develops quicker than expected when given the opportunity.

It’s evident that Ball has the potential to become a great player in the NBA. So, the question becomes “Is he motivated and will he try hard enough to become the best player he can be?”.

Next. What's left to look forward to for the Detroit Pistons?. dark

That’s the question the Detroit Pistons have to answer about every prospect in the upcoming draft. We can only hope they answer correctly.