How the NBA’s suspension impacts the Detroit Pistons draft selection

With the NBA season currently on hold due to growing concerns with COVID-19, there will undoubtedly be large ramifications moving forward. How could it impact the Detroit Pistons

After Wednesday’s announcement that the NBA season will be suspended for the foreseeable future, the Detroit Pistons may have played their final game of the year.

This decision has created a multitude of questions moving forward, but was ultimately made in order to ensure the safety and health of players, team personnel, arena staff, and the fans.

Eventually though, the show will go on and basketball will resume. Whether the league decides to jump straight to the playoffs or play out the remainder of each team’s schedule remains to be seen.

There’s also the lingering possibility of a total cancellation of the year altogether.

With around 16-18 game left for every team, having them play out their games would be beneficial for teams like New Orleans, San Antonio, and Sacramento who were in the midst of a playoff push.

It would also allow for the teams at the bottom of the standings to solidify their chances at a top selection. This is where Detroit would find themselves.

Regardless of what conclusion the NBA comes to, the draft will happen eventually.

What if there’s a total cancellation or immediate jump to the playoffs?

If this were to happen, the Pistons currently find themselves with the fifth worst record in the league at 20-46. They’re currently on a five-game losing streak and have only won one game since trading Andre Drummond at the deadline.

This means that Detroit has a 10.5 percent chance at landing the top overall pick. So, while rolling the dice with these odds isn’t exactly ideal, it could also be infinitely worse. Those aren’t terrible odds relative to the rest of the field.

Even if they ended up selecting where they currently stand at fifth overall, that still gives them a pretty solid chance at landing any of the wide range of players they’ll likely have their eyes on.

What if teams end up playing out their schedules?

While it may not wind up being the most likely or practical option for the league, it’s one that could benefit Detroit the most.

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If after the NBA’s 30-day hiatus basketball is able to resume and teams are given the opportunity to finish their seasons, the Pistons could make a big jump.

With 16 games left on their schedule, Detroit would play Golden State, Minnesota, Atlanta and New York. Three of these four teams are currently ahead of the Pistons in terms of having a worse record, so if they were to lose to these teams, they could leap frog into a better position.

All they would need to do is have one of the top three worst records in the league in order to have some of the best odds at the number one overall pick.

With the new lottery structure, each of the three worst teams each posses a 14 percent chance at the top pick.

Wins have been pretty difficult to come by for Detroit as of late, so it’s entirely within the realm of possibility to think that they could potentially come close to losing out. Once again, they’ve only won one game in the last month of play.

So at the end of the day, regardless of what decision the league makes regarding the future of this current season, Detroit will have a quality shot at one of their top prospects.