Detroit Pistons: Why the Pistons can’t tank for Emoni Bates

This Summer has been a strange marriage between the University of Memphis, Detroit Pistons and state of Michigan.

After hiring former Pistons Larry Brown and Rasheed Wallace to be assistant coaches under Penny Hardaway, the University of Memphis landed one of the nation’s top recruits in Michigan-born Emoni Bates.

As a kid who grew up in Michigan and is one of the most hyped recruits of the last decade, Emoni Bates has long been on the radar of fans of the Detroit Pistons, especially after he committed, then de-committed to Michigan State.

Pistons’ fans immediately started thinking about 2022, and what it might be like to tank for one more season and potentially get a shot at Bates in the draft.

The idea of Bates, who is often compared to Kevin Durant, next to Cade Cunningham is pretty enticing, but here’s why it’s not going to happen.

Detroit Pistons: When is Emoni Bates eligible for the NBA Draft?

If you are hoping The Detroit Pistons can just be bad for one more season (they might not have a choice anyway) and get a shot at Bates, you’ll have to read the fine print.

Because he won’t turn 19-years-old until the 2023 calendar year, Bates is not eligible for the 2022  NBA draft. Rumor has it that he is going to petition the NBA to change the rules, but that is unlikely, so chances are we won’t see Bates in the NBA until 2023.

I hope The Detroit Pistons aren’t still at the bottom of the league by then, as it would mean some of their young guys took a step backward or even that Cunningham didn’t turn out to be the superstar we all think he can be.

As much as I love the idea of the Pistons adding another potential superstar to the mix, Bates isn’t likely to hit the NBA scene until 2023-24 and I hope Detroit is at least sniffing a play-in spot by then.