Detroit Pistons: the Big 5 candidates to play Center this year

No. 3: Daniel Oturu

If you were describing the type of player the Detroit Pistons are looking for in the 2020 NBA Draft it would be: Young, athletic, hard worker and a big upside.

Daniel Oturu fits that description to a ‘T’.

Next to Wiseman, Oturu might be the best pure post player in the draft.

He is 6-foot-10, 240-pounds. Oturu had a breakout sophomore campaign at the University of Minnesota. Playing in the rugged Big 10, he averaged 20.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a game. He was second team All-Big 10 and on the All-Defensive team.

Michigan fans will remember him, as Oturu scored 30 points against the Wolverines in January.

Oturu has a 7-3 wingspan and has an athletic background. His father was a table tennis star back in his native Nigeria. At one point at Minnesota, he was averaging 6 blocks a game. Judging by the fact he almost doubled his scoring average from his freshman to his sophomore year, there seems a lot of upside to Oturu’s game.

He scored mostly in the post in college, but has been working on his outside shot. Reportedly, he is shooting from the three-point line very well in virtual workouts leading up to the draft.

Oturu grew up in Woodbury, Minnesota and turned down big name programs like Kansas to attend his home college. He probably would like a team in the Midwest.

Most mock drafts have Oturu going in the early second round.

There is one problem with the Pistons getting him, they have no second round draft picks. All they have right now is the seventh overall selection, and that is way too early to pick Oturu.

Of course, things can change swiftly when it comes to draft picks. It is hard to believe that in his first draft as the person in charge, GM Troy Weaver wants to simply take the best player available at 7 and go home.

Assuming James Wiseman is long gone, the Pistons still need to get a young center to develop. Oturu would be the perfect candidate.

There are deals to be made.

The Boston Celtics have a couple of late first-rounders, and they have neither the roster room or cap space to use both. The Philadelphia 76ers have four second-round picks and they usually sell a couple of them.

If they can find a way, Daniel Oturu would be a great addition to a position of need.