Pistons draft: The pros and cons of trading the number one pick

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

Detroit Pistons: Pros and Cons of trading the number one pick

Pro: Number one picks are put under a microscope in ways that no other player in the draft is. This can be a lot of pressure to put on a young player, especially one that is expected to pull a losing franchise out of the ashes. Any player who is going to be “that” guy should relish the pressure but not all guys do. People don’t put the same unrealistic expectations on the 3rd pick in the draft, so if the Pistons can get their guy and remove some of that external pressure, they are better setting that player up to succeed.

They also get out of the salary slot commanded by the first overall pick, which is currently around $10 million a year. This probably wouldn’t be a motivating factor but if the Detroit Pistons can get the best player, add future assets and retain more cap? They’d be crazy not to.

Con: The question is whether the Pistons really need more picks. You can only have so many young guys on the team at once, so grabbing a couple of extra picks might not be as appealing when you already have so many guys under 25 on the team.

The Pistons already have four rookies this season plus second year player Sekou Doumbouya. Add Hamidou Diallo, Frank Jackson and Tyler Cook and a whole lot of the Pistons roster would be guys who are 23 or younger.

That’s fine if the Pistons don’t mind their rebuild taking a little longer but if they want to win soon, adding more teenagers probably won’t help.

The Pistons might be better off just taking the guy they want with their pick and saving those roster spots for older players who are ready to contribute right away.