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

How the Detroit Pistons took advantage of chaotic NBA Draft system

Ordinarily, trading for the No. 16, 19 and 38th picks in a draft would not bring much of  an injection of talent. But is surely did for the Detroit Pistons this past draft.

We are not going into the value of the Pistons first draft choice, No. 7 overall Killian Hayes. He he has to be graded an ‘Incomplete’, having missed three-months of the season with a hip injury.

It can be pointed out that, when Hayes did make his return, he was a much improved player. If Hayes got that much better just rehabbing and watching games, imagine how he might have looked if he had not gotten hurt and had  those three additional months of playing time.

As for the three players selected by Detroit after Hayes, a lot has been written about their accomplishments already. All three could be important pieces of the Pistons future.

Center (and possibly future forward) Isaiah Stewart (No. 16 overall) has impressed everyone with his high motor and Ben Wallace-like (NOT saying he is next Ben Wallace) gritty style of play.

Saddiq Bey (No. 19 overall) has been a record-breaking three-point shooter.

He also improved his two-point shooting game as the season progressed. Not surprisingly, as a Villanova product, Bey also plays good defense and is fundamentally sound.

It will be a shock if Bey does not end up first team All-Rookie, and Stewart definitely has a chance as well.

Lee (No. 38 overall) really came into his own after Derrick Rose was traded, and there was more playing time available at point guard. He played the fourth-most minutes of any second-round draft pick this season, even with seeing little time early in the season.

His speed and athleticism were obvious. The reason he was available in the second round (Pistons had a first round grade on him) was that he was not a good outside shooter at Vanderbilt.

Lee shot a respectable 34.8% from three in his rookie season. If he can up that a few percentage points next year, Detroit will really have a find.

Conclusion

Due to unusual circumstances (we will be nice and say it was that, and not incompetence) a lot of players who look to have bright futures in the NBA were available after the lottery picks were over.

If the 2020 NBA Draft truly was weak, than the haul of talent the Detroit Pistons received in quite incredible.

If, as now seems likely, the pandemic caused a lot of evaluations that were off, the Pistons did a better job of doing their homework. Either way, Detroit fans should have increased confidence in the Pistons draft acumen after last season.