Detroit Pistons draft: A big center for the 2nd round

The Detroit Pistons have a lot of needs they could attempt to address with the 46th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

They obviously need scoring as one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA this season, but they also need to improve their size and big man depth.

There are some interesting bigs projected to fall to the second round, and the Pistons could use their second pick to grab one, especially if they don’t think there is a realistic chance of upgrading the center position in free agency.

Currently the Detroit Pistons have the undersized but tough and switchable Isaiah Stewart, the defensively challenged but offensively gifted Marvin Bagley III and Kelly Olynyk, who is pretty much a 3-point shooter at this point in his career.

The Pistons could look to improve their size and muscle in the paint, and there is an interesting prospect out of the Spanish league who could do just that.

Pistons draft: Khalifa Diop’s strengths and weaknesses

Khalifa Diop is a 6-foot-11, 231 lbs. center who is originally from Senegal but plays in the Spanish league.

He is projected to go in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft and could be available when the Pistons pick.

Diop has impressive size and strength and is a ton when he gets the ball near the rim. He doesn’t have much of a post game, but he can catch lobs and will finish offensive put backs with authority when he grabs an offensive rebound, something he is very good at doing.

He has little offensive game, but does shoot over 60 percent from the field, which is something the Pistons need, as they currently don’t have any bigs other than MBIII who are adept at finishing near the rim.

But if Diop gets drafted it will be because of his potential as a big rim running, shot blocker, as he has good quickness for his size, runs the floor well and knows how to finish.

He averaged 1.8 blocks per game, but will need to improve in that area in the NBA. I think that is a distinct possibility, as he is asked to do far more on both ends in the Spanish league than he ever would be in the NBA.

Diop would be the opposite of the Luka Garza pick in many ways, as Garza is a skilled offensive player without any athleticism and Diop is a big athlete without much offensive game.

But would that skillset play on the Detroit Pistons?

2022 NBA Draft: How Khalifa Diop fits on the Pistons

As I said, the Detroit Pistons were too small this season and could use a guy with real center size who is committed on the defensive end.

Diop would provide that size and potentially give Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes another lob threat and big man to dump it off to in the paint.

He’d also allow the Pistons to better match up with some of the giant teams in the Eastern Conference, though he is ability (or lack thereof) to switch on the perimeter will ultimately determine whether he can be a rotation player in the NBA.

The Pistons also just need an influx of big-man talent in their pipeline, so even if Diop played the season in the G-League, he would at least give the Pistons another developmental big with size for the future.

To see our entire second-round draft series, click here.