If the Detroit Pistons can learn one thing from these NBA Playoffs, it’s that they have to nail the NBA Draft.
The 76ers, Bucks, Hawks, Jazz and Suns are all still battling in the playoffs with rosters they built around a star they landed in the draft.
The current Detroit Pistons are coming off a 20-win season and are hoping to finally get a chance at a top-3 pick in the NBA Draft though they will need some help from the lottery Gods next week.
Of all the teams remaining the playoffs, the Pistons remind me the most of the Atlanta Hawks, who weren’t much different from this year’s Pistons before they drafted Trae Young.
Detroit Pistons: How the Hawks built a winner
The Atlanta Hawks are just one game from the Eastern Conference Finals, and one win away from possibly ending “The Process” once and for all.
But if you look back to the 2017-18 Hawks, you wouldn’t think this was possible. That team won 24 games and ended up with the 5th pick in the NBA Draft.
They had a few promising young players like John Collins, a couple of veteran trade chips and a few solid role players, but just needed their star.
Sound familiar?
The current Detroit Pistons are pretty much the same, as they have a few promising rookies in Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, a few veteran trade chips and a couple of solid role players like Mason Plumlee and Frank Jackson.
The 2017-18 Hawks just needed a star and were able to get one when they took Trae Young in the draft.
They are now an up and coming team that has the right mixture of veterans and role players around their star and should be a mainstay in the NBA Playoffs for years to come.
If the Detroit Pistons can find their star in the 2021 NBA Draft, they could be the Hawks in a season or two, as they already have some young talent and quality role players.
The Pistons also have Jerami Grant, a luxury the Hawks did not have, so if Detroit nails this draft, they could be good very soon.
Teams like the Hawks and Suns should give Pistons’ fans hope that things can turnaround quickly and that yesterday’s lottery teams can soon be in the conference finals.