When the Detroit Pistons landed Saddiq Bey with the 19th pick, they ended up with one of the steals of the 2020 NBA Draft, as Bey went on to make first-team All-Rookie, setting several Pistons’ rookie records along the way.
Bey came into the league ready to play, as a tough, disciplined, two-way forward with a strong work ethic and fundamentals.
Bey went to college at Villanova, a school that has been cranking out these kinds of players since Kyle Lowry first entered the NBA.
Since then Villanova has sent guys like Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges to the league, all players with similar attributes to Bey, hard workers who give maximum effort on both ends.
Bridges is a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year and he and Bey were the only two players in the NBA to start all 82 games for their team this season.
You can also add young players like Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Eric Paschall and Donte DiVincenzo, who all profile as impact role players that came out of Villanova.
All of these players played at least two seasons in college and came into the NBA ready to contribute. They are well-coached and smart players who commit to defense, the exact kinds of players the Detroit Pistons are trying to add.
Troy Weaver definitely has a vision and the type of player he wants to build around, and the Pistons could add another Villanova guy this offseason who fits that mold.
The Detroit Pistons and Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson will be an unrestricted free agent after this season and is a guy the Detroit Pistons could target to bolster their backcourt around Cade Cunningham.
Brunson is going to get a huge raise after a breakout season for the Mavericks in which he scored 16.3 points per game, adding 4.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds.
The intriguing part about Brunson is that he is used to playing with a ball-dominant guard in Luka Doncic, so he should be a good fit with Cade.
Brunson has similar size and game to Kyle Lowry (another guy from Villanova), as he is efficient around the rim even though he is only 6-foot-1, plays tough and smart team defense and has a little dawg in him that Pistons’ fans would love.
Building a team with guys from Villanova doesn’t seem like the worst idea, as Brunson and Bey would give the Pistons two tough and hard working players who lace them up every night.
Give me a team full of guys like Bey, Bridges, Hart and Brunson around Cade Cunningham, as they are willing to do the dirty work and are the type of players every good team needs.