Does Hunter Dickinson returning to Michigan help the Pistons?

Hunter Dickinson recently announced he will be returning to the University of Michigan for his junior year. Does this development help, or hinder, his chances of playing for the Detroit Pistons?

Dickinson, a 7-foot-1, 255-pound center, had a good year for the Michigan basketball team, helping the Wolverines reach the Elite Eight. Dickinson averaged 18.4 points and 8.6 rebounds and also played well down the stretch.

Dickinson might have a home in the NBA, or at least a nice deal to play overseas, but, with income now available through NIL to college players, particularly well-known ones like him, that helped make him decide to stay. Plus, the Wolverines run to the regional finals, where they lost to VIllanova in coach Jay Wright’s final victory, whetted Dickinson’s appetite for another chance at making a run for the title.

DIckinson explained to the ‘Defend the Block Podcast’, about his decision:

“I just didn’t feel like I was done with college basketball yet. I still had more out there to prove, and more to work on,” said Dickinson. “I feel like when I go to the NBA eventually … I feel like I could have went last year and could have went this year. I think the biggest thing for me is that when I get there, I want to be as ready as possible for the next level.

“… Being so close my freshman year, and then making that really fun run last year just adds to wanting to come back and hopefully try to break through and get to that Final Four and National Championship game. I feel like we’re really close. Basketball is a game of inches, especially in the tournament.

“That legacy part does mean something to me.”

The Pistons having players from local colleges is always a bit special. It is nice to see players basketball fans followed in college, move on to the home state team.

Did Dickinson have a chance to join Pistons for next NBA season?

As of now, the Pistons have two picks in this year’s NBA Draft. They have one in the first round, guaranteed to be no worse than seventh, and another in the second round, courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets, that is 46th overall.

No one is projecting Dickinson to go in the top seven of the draft. However, he did have a chance of being selected in the second round.

Most scouting serviced had Dickinson, despite his size and stats in the tough Big 10 Conference, rated as a second rounder to free agent.

With Marvin Bailey III a restricted free agent, rookie Luka Garza having spent a lot of the season in the G-League and starter Isaiah Stewart foul prone (and maybe better off at power forward long-term), Detroit could certainly be in the market for a center.

Size in the middle is certainly something Detroit does not currently have (no 7-footers were on the current roster).

Of course, that is now a moot point. The Pistons, nor any other NBA team, can draft Dickinson this year.

What are the chances of Hunter Dickinson going to the Detroit Pistons next year?

Not as good as if he declared this year, is the short answer.

Currently, the Detroit Pistons do not have a second round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The trade for Marvin Bailey took the last second-rounder they had for that year (it was from the Golden State Warriors, so probably not very high anyhow).

Due to the Saddiq Bey trade, if Detroit does well next season, they will not even have a first round pick.

Now, getting a second-rounder is not that hard to acquire. Heck, the 76ers simply wrote a check out for $2 million to get the No. 51 pick (Charles Bassey, who was not happy about it, was selected) in the 2021 draft.

Knowing general manager Troy Weaver’s love of trading, there is a good chance Detroit does not sit out the second round next year. But nothing is guaranteed.

Dickinson himself says another year at Michigan will make himself more ready for the NBA.

Since the Pistons literally might not have any draft picks next year, the chances of Dickinson going from Ann Arbor, at the moment, are not high.