The Detroit Pistons walked away from the NBA Draft Lottery with the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, not the worst-case scenario, but still somewhat disappointing after a 23-win season.
Everyone has an opinion on who they should take with the 5th pick, with names like Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Keegan Murray and Bennedict Mathurin among the names most commonly mentioned by fans.
There has also been ample speculation that the Detroit Pistons may try to trade Jerami Grant for the Portland Trail Blazers’ pick (#7), giving them two picks in the top ten.
While this does make some sense for both teams, it would somewhat contradict something that Troy Weaver said about having too many young players:
#Pistons Troy Weaver on keeping 27-year-old Jerami Grant: "You need really good players who are really good people to lead these young guys ... you can't have a (bunch of young guys) ... they'll eat each other."
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) February 13, 2022
I can see the logic in this, but I can also see the logic in giving a guy who has had three All-Rookie selections in two seasons the chance to pick twice in the top-10, potentially setting the Detroit Pistons up with their entire team of the future.
Detroit Pistons: The All-Youth approach
I still have no Earthly idea if the Detroit Pistons are going to trade Jerami Grant or give him an extension. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.
If they do trade him, the Pistons would almost certainly be bad again for the short-term, but potentially setting themselves up for sustained success.
- Cade Cunningham
- Bennedict Mathurin (pick 7)
- Saddiq Bey
- Keegan Murray (pick 5)
- Isaiah Stewart
This assumes that the Pistons fail in their reported pursuit of Deandre Ayton, but even if they landed Ayton they’d have a starting five whose oldest player was 23-years-old.
Don’t like Murray? Take Shaedon Sharpe/Jaden Ivey and someone like Jalen Duren with the 7th pick. There are a lot of options, so Weaver would almost certainly be able to find two players that he liked.
It’s a tempting proposition, as the Pistons would have five guys who could grow together, a fairly deep bench (with Killian Hayes desperate to show he belongs in the starting five) and plenty of hope for the future.
But they’d likely be near the bottom of the league again, and now betting on unproven rookies over a guy who has already proven he can be a productive player in the league. The counter argument is that they won 23 games with Grant this season, so how much worse can they be?
The safer move would be to take Ivey/Sharpe (or whoever Troy Weaver likes), keep Jerami Grant and have a lineup more balanced with youth and experience, so they can avoid “eating each other” as Troy Weaver warned.
What do you think? Would you take a risk on two young guys to have the core of the future? Or would you try to keep Jerami Grant and grab the best guard with the 5th pick?