2020 NBA Draft: Detroit Pistons got it right, but many teams screwed up

So were NBA personnel people basically blithering idiots in 2020 NBA Draft?

They always say a draft can not be fairly evaluated for a few years. That may be true. However, in the unfair evaluation of one season, a lot of teams simply, it appears ,screwed up.

One of the old bromides is that rookies can not help contending teams. Since teams that are very good tend to draft near the end of the first round, it is kind of a chicken and the egg kind of deal.

Do good teams not use rookies because they already have so many good experienced players, or they don’t draft good players because they select so low so they do not play.?

Well, since a lot of talented players  slid down in this draft, it seems some really good teams found playing time for their draft picks. We are not saying they will became stars, but certainly contributed immediately.

For the No. 4 seeded in the Eastern Conference, New York Knicks, their No. 8 overall selection, Obi Toppin, did not have a big year. However, Quickley, selected 17 slots after Toppin, became an instant contributor with his ballhandling and shooting skills.

The Philadelphia 76ers are the No. 1 seed in the East. They have received a boost from guard Tyrese Maxey (No. 21 overall). He has had two games in which he scored 30 points or more.

Payton Pritchard, selected right after Quickley at No. 26, has been a steady contributor to the Boston Celtics all year.

Out West, Desmond Bane, the last pick in the first round, started 17 games for Memphis, which made the play-in tournament.

Although not a draft pick, 5-10 rookie point guard Facundo Campazzo has been a major help to the No. 3 seeded Denver Nuggets since Jamal Murray got hurt.

So a lot of very good teams are getting help from some very young players who were not lottery picks. Imagine that?

The Detroit Pistons might be the biggest beneficiaries of the mistakes of the higher-picking teams.