No more talk, the Detroit Pistons are swinging into action.
With the NBA Draft coming up soon, the players expected to be named at the top are arriving in Detroit, or already been here, for workouts this week with the Pistons, according to an ESPN report.
The Henry Ford Performance Center will have some very exclusive guests this week.
According to a report by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony, Cade Cunningham already worked out for the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Jalen Suggs and Jalen Green are also expected to work out at some point this week.
Story with @wojespn: The Detroit Pistons, owners of the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, are conducting individual workouts with some of the top picks in the NBA Draft this week, including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs. https://t.co/x7Dphz04sw
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) July 20, 2021
Cunningham, Green, Suggs as well as USC center Evan Mobley are seen by most draft experts as the best players in the 2021 NBA Draft, which will be held on July 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
According to the report, Detroit is trying to arrange a workout with Mobley as well, but no date has yet been scheduled.
Everyone knew Cade Cunningham was in Motor City
That Cade Cunningham was in Detroit was hardly a secret. He was at the Tigers game on Tuesday night.
Future Piston HOF Cade Cunningham has been located inside Comerica Park pic.twitter.com/jU6kGjarJN
— Jake Wolok (@JW4Detroit) July 20, 2021
And even had his picture taken with fans (and Saddiq Bey was there too, fresh off the plane from Las Vegas)
What does all this activity mean for the Detroit Pistons and the NBA Draft?
That Gonzaga guard Suggs and G-League Ignite wing Green are also coming to workout for the Pistons, and the team would like to get Mobley in as well, could mean they are seriously looking at those four for the No. 1 pick, or general manager Troy Weaver is simply doing his due diligence and getting a close look at all the top players while he can.
Weaver said from the moment Detroit was awarded the first selection in the NBA Draft for the first time since 1970, that they would look at five players for the position. The fact there has been no report of workouts for Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga or Florida State forward Scottie Barnes, seen as the main contenders to go fifth, might mean the Pistons are only considering four players.
Can anything be read into this about the chances of the Detroit Pistons making a trade?
That four players are targeted for workouts could mean, at the very least, that Detroit would not move down any lower than the No. 4 pick. Weaver would not want to use a high draft pick on someone he did not work out.
For those terrified at the thought Cade Cunningham will not be selected by the Pistons. The good news is the report said Cunningham had a ‘light’ workout at the Performance Center. If Weaver and the other Pistons brass had major questions about Cunningham’s ability, they would have insisted on a more strenuous workout.
Of course, until 8 p.m. on July 29 anything can happen.
In 2018, Boston held the No. 1 pick. Consensus No. 1 player Markelle Fultz had such a bad workout with the Celtics, general manager Danny Ainge traded down to No. 3 (where he got Jayson Tatum, who had a great workout with Boston).
The fact that Cunningham has been to Detroit and Suggs and Green are either on their way or there now (with Mobley still a possibility) means it is coming to a critical decision making point for the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons could be settled on Cunningham, but what if Green, Suggs or Mobley (if he works out) just knock their socks off in their workout? Answer: Drama, lots of drama.