Recap of Detroit Pistons’ NBA draft picks

The Detroit Pistons started the night of the NBA Draft with one draft choice, they finished with four. Here is a brief recap of all their picks.

Troy Weaver Jr., the new general manager of the Detroit Pistons, wanted to make sure that everyone knew that this was his team.

That meant that he was making tough decisions, like trading away fan favorites Bruce Brown and Luke Kennard, and releasing Jordan Bone, who many Pistons followers were high on.

Weaver was able to go from one first round pick to three firsts, plus a second-round pick, and thus completely re-tooling the Pistons roster.

If the sheer amount of trades didn’t make you realize how different this Piston team is, realize that now the longest tenured Piston is… Blake Griffin, who has been on the team since 2018. Just because the draft is overdoes not mean there are not more moves from the Pistons to come, as free agency starts soon.

Detroit has plenty of cap space, and many one year expiring contracts, meaning the Pistons have a lot of flexibility in free agency, not only this season but in the future as well to cut multi-year deals.

At the end of the night the Pistons were trending on Twitter worldwide, and for good reason, as Troy Weaver and the Pistons might have won the draft. Draftkings rated their draft overall as an A+.

Here is a quick look at all four Pistons draft picks, in order of selection:

No. 7 Killian Hayes

Kilian Hayes, a 6-foot-5 point guard from France, was the pick that a majority of the Pistons twitter-verse has been seeking since late 2019.

The big left-handed guard will be the replacement for Reggie Jackson and has the potential to be a star in this league. Hayes ranged from being a top five pick  to the mid-teens on the mock draft board.

Hayes will fit right in with last year’s draft pick, another French teenager, Sekou Doumbouya. As we learned in Hayes’ talk with the media, Sekou and Killian have been friends for years and have wanted to be teammates for a long time now.

Hayes’ right hand needs some work and he’s not the most athletic of guards. However, his left hand is lethal, and he can perform the Harden step-back almost as effectively as the namesake. Expect Hayes to be in the rookie of the year mix this season.

No. 16 Isaiah Stewart

The Pistons second pick in the first round was Isaiah Stewart, a burly 6-foot-9 center out of Washington.

This pick was acquired from Houston who had gotten it  from Portland. The Pistons sent a heavily protected first round pick to Houston and received veteran forward Trevor Ariza and pick number 16 in return.

Stewart is a traditional center, but his 77% free throw percentage and limited shooting range with the Huskies suggest he could expand his range behind the arc, and become a modern center who can hit three-pointers at a fair rate.

Most mock drafts had Stewart going a bit lower in the first round.

While this pick was definitely a reach and caught me off-guard, as pointed out by Adrian Wojnarowski, “Detroit GM Troy Weaver worked with Stewart’s college coach –UW’s Mike Hopkins- Syracuse as an assistant coach before coming to the NBA.”  SoO Weaver might have some inside knowledge on Stewart’s potential.

At the moment, he has similar limitations to ex-Piston Andre Drummond, but Stewart should be a nice, energetic big to come off the bench, at least in the beginning. Weaver saw something to draft him higher than any mock draft and, based on his draft night, you have to  fully trust Weaver.

No. 19 Saddiq Bey

After the Isaiah Stewart pick, Pistons fans were left a little confused and then heart-breaking news came via a ‘Woj Bomb’, Luke Kennard was to be traded to the Clippers in a three-team deal that landed the Pistons with the 19th overall pick.

Kennard, the longest-tenured Piston at the time, was a fan favorite and had people legitimately in tears at his departure.

Basically, Saddiq Bey was drafted to replace Kennard. Bey is a 6-foot-8 small forward out of Villanova. Bey was Villanova’s best player last season, and really came on this year, not only as a leader on the defensive end, but a multi-level score. He showed he can bang in the post or drain a ‘three’ in your face.

Drawing comparisons to the likes of Khris Middleton, Jaylen Brown and Caris LeVert, Bey should be a prominent member of the Pistons this upcoming season. Bey was a guy that Pistons fans were dreaming of at pick 16, as most mock drafts had Bey gone before the 19th pick.

Weaver quickly won back the hearts of many Pistons fans who were  left puzzled by the drafting of Stewart and heart-broken by trading away Kennard. Bey will be the next in a line of studs from Villanova and, thankfully, will be on the Pistons.

No. 38 Saben Lee

Vanderbilt guard Saben Lee (0) drives down the court.Troy Weaver was not done after having three first-round picks, he came back and traded with the Utah Jazz for pick No. 38 (eighth in second round) plus center Tony Bradley for cash considerations.

The Pistons looked to shore up the point guard position by taking Saben Lee.

Lee is a 6-foot-2 guard who played for Vanderbilt Commodores, and is known for his explosive speed. With pro comparisons to Eric Bledsoe and Derrick Rose (not saying he is as good, just in style of play), Lee is a guard who relies on his athleticism and attacks the rim tearing through the defense.

Lee was another reach for the Pistons as no mock drafts had him going as high as No. 38. He does fit in with the traditional hard-nosed, grit and grind, defense-first style of basketball that is associated with the Pistons.