The Detroit Pistons were hoping that having another ‘Goin’ to Work’ star from the 2004 NBA championship team would work as well as last year. Not quite as well, as it turned out.
Detroit, which had the third-worst record in the NBA, moved back two slots and will pick No. 5 in the NBA Draft, to be held on June 23. The Pistons theoretically could have moved back as far as seventh, so it was not the worst case result.
The Pistons lottery bad luck streak starts again. Except for 2021, Detroit has never moved up with its own pick in the history of the lottery.
Ben Wallace was Detroit’s official representative at the Draft Lottery last year, and, for the first time in 51 years, the Pistons got the No. 1 pick in the draft (which they used the last time, back in 1970, for the recently passed away Bob Lanier)
This time, RIchard ‘Rip’ Hamilton was there for the Pistons at the Barclays Center for the draw (actually the real drawing is done behind closed doors right before the TV show, Pistons assistant GM George David was present for that).
Former Detroit Shock player Swin Cash represented the New Orleans Pelicans at the drawing. She is a vice president for the club.
With the trio of Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Auburn’s Jabara Smith Jr. and Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren the consensus top three, Detroit, if it remains in that position, are probably looking at the next tier of prospects: Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe and Iowa’s Keegan Murray.
ESPN projected in a mock draft afterwards that the Pistons would take Murray.
With Jerami Grant up for an extension, and now the best power forward possibilities most likely out of reach, there will be a lot of speculation what Detroit will do with the fifth pick.