Isaiah Stewart has become Detroit Pistons best prospect

Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart already in rare company

It is worth noting here that Isaiah Stewart has already taken double the number of threes as Jarret Allen on the previous list.

Also, remember that 10 rebounds and 1 block per 36 minutes is far from an elite number, it hardly even crosses above mediocre. There’s over 60 guys in the league who average 10 boards per 36 minutes. There’s more than 100 who average 1 block per 36 minutes. As stated, in the Bey section, 37% from deep is basically league-average at this point.

However, to even be league-average in all three categories is incredibly rare.  So, even though Stewart is not likely to ever be an elite-level defender due to his lack of size and leaping, he only needs to be decent. Stewart may get less rebounds while further away from the hoop on offense, and needs to bulk up a bit more in his hind-quarters to improve on the defensive glass. But he only needs to be decent there. He may not be Dirk Nowitzki from deep, but he only has to be post-injuries Reggie Jackson from deep to be effective.

Go back to the above list and take away the number requirements. Christian Wood and KAT both make your team actively worse on defense, and while Stewart has real limitations as a defender, he definitely projects to be at least solid on that end.

Think of big-men who bring all three aspects to the table in the NBA?

There are plenty of good shooters who can rebound, but all of those guys are negative defenders, i.e. the Kevin Love’s of the world. There are guys who can shoot and defend, but none of them can rebound, Myles Turner has the rebound percentage of a guard.

Some have compared Stewart to late-career Serge Ibaka, but Ibaka has always been a mediocre rebounder as well. As a 19-year-old, Stewart is already matching Ibaka’s career-best in rebounding percentage. You simply don’t find big men who can stretch the floor without sacrificing on the glass or on defense. Stewart suddenly appears to be that guy.

As such, Stewart has suddenly propelled himself to the forefront of the Pistons rebuild. He may not be a guy to build the franchise around, but he is their most valuable and unique talent at least until we get to the draft.

"Now, some might say: You may be over-reacting here man, he hasn’t even taken 30 shots from deep yet."

Don’t be a kill-joy.