The Detroit Pistons are not looking to emulate the Los Angeles Lakers, and become an old folks home for veteran players. However, the Pistons did have a slight change in philosophy this season. They did not go purely for kids in the draft and undrafted free agents.
The Pistons are certainly a young team, fourth youngest in the NBA, according to HispanosNBA, but they could easily be even younger, if they had choosen to.
The previous two drafts featured Detroit getting kids. Taking literally the youngest player in the draft (18-year-old Sekou Doumbouya in 2019) and, in 2020 , the Pistons took Killian Hayes, just turned 19.
Even though Hayes has already been in the league for a year, rookie Cade Cunningham is the only player younger than him currently on the roster, and it is a difference of only a couple of months.
There is a reason to draft extremely young players.
Because their skill level has not fully developed, they usually are available later in the draft. The gamble is, with a couple of years or work on their skills, in the future, the 18-year-old will be as good as the 20-year-olds who were drafted much higher.
Sometimes it works (Kobe Bryant was the 13th overall pick), and sometimes you get traded for four second-round picks and a salary that needed dumping (Doumbouya).
However, it seems like the Pistons had a bit of a change in philosophy this off-season.
Are the Detroit Pistons looking for more mature players?
Cade Cunningham was the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft but he was not the consensus player with the most upside. In some draft experts opinion, Detroit-hater Jalen Green could emerge as the best player in the draft five or six years from now.
Others think, once he fills out physically, center Evan Mobley, could end with the most upside and become a dominant center.
But Detroit did not go for the player who might, repeat might, be the best player in 2027. Cunningham was the best player right now, no guesswork needed. His overall game also has a maturity beyond his years (he turns 20 in late September).
Being a 19- or 20-year-old is pretty much the standard nowadays for top draft picks. However, Cunningham will be the youngest rookie coming to Pistons training camp.
Detroit Pistons go old school with other rookies
In addition to Cunningham, Detroit had three picks in the second-round. None of the three were a ‘one and done’ situation. Two of them actually played four years of college basketball (a rare thing for today’s draftees).
Let’s take a look at their experience and how old they are (stats by basketball-reference.com):
- No. 42 Isaiah Livers – four years at Michigan and just turned 23-years-old
- No. 52 Luka Garza – four years at Iowa and will turn 23 in December.
- No. 57 Balsa Koprivica – two years at Florida State and is 21-years-old
All the second rounders can legally drink. The youngest, Koprivica, is playing in his native Serbia to get some seasoning. He probably will be around 23 when he comes back to try and make the Pistons.
Livers and Garza are certainly young enough to work on their game. Garza has famously dropped 30 pounds and worked hard on improving his three-point shot. But there is a ceiling when dealing with older draftees. After four years playing in the Big 10, Livers and Garza are pretty much who they are.
That could be good, in a way, as you know what you will be getting. One of the problems with Doumbouya was everything was based on potential, due to his youth. No one knows how his career will end up.
General Manager Troy Weaver even went for the more experienced college players with Exhibit 10 contracts. While Livers and Garza at least have the hope of playing on the NBA club, Exhibit 10’s are about the G-League, players just get paid more to play with a team’s G-League squad.
You can not get more developmental than a G-League deal, but here are the two players the Pistons signed to Exhibit 10s:
- Jamorko Pinkett – four years at Georgetown and one year of post-high school prep school. He turns 24 in December.
- Anthony Tarke – four years of college basketball and is 23 years old.
Pickett and Tarke are both older than Hamidou Diallo and Pickett is even older than Frank Jackson (!), as well. Both Diallo and Jackson have three years of NBA playing experience.
The average age of the rookies who will be at Pistons training camp, not counting Cunningham, will be 22.75 years old. They will be older than every 2020 Detroit draft pick,
Why this sudden turn toward older rookies by the Detroit Pistons?
The simplest answer, just liked why they used to draft really young guys, is the same: value.
While taking young players who might develop into something is kind of the ‘in’ thing among NBA teams, that means a lot of talented players who have had a full college career are being pushed aside for the potential of youth.
It is also a heck of a lot easier to evaluate a players career over four years, than an 18- or 19-year-old after one.
In Troy Weaver’s mind, the Pistons are getting what they pay for with older players.
Maybe one of them can buy Killian Hayes a beer.