Detroit Pistons draft: 3 options for the 5th and 7th pick

Detroit Pistons: Options for the 5th and 7th picks in the 2022 NBA Draft

Option #3

Keegan Murray at #5

AJ Griffin at #7

In option number three, the Detroit Pistons once again bet on upside in AJ Griffin, while taking a player who can immediately come in and contribute in Keegan Murray. The aforementioned Murray is a player the Pistons will immediately reap the benefits of, and fits with Detroit’s currently constructed roster, along with the players primed to be a part of its future, such as Saddiq Bey and Cade Cunningham.

Griffin, a freshman from Duke, is another player who possesses the intangibles to fit nicely within Detroit’s frontcourt. At 18 years old, he’s likely to be more of a project, but one of his most translatable skills could lead to him seeing minutes as early as his rookie year.

At Duke last season, Griffin shot 44.7 percent from the three-point line, and showed flashes of putting the ball on the floor and creating inside the three point line. Outside of just being a catch and shoot guy, Griffin often made threes off-the-dribble, and occasionally used his ball-handling and shooting abilities to bait defenders on the perimeter, with head fakes and hesitation moves.

On a Duke team loaded with talent, Griffin was a steady presence all year, averaging around 10 points per game, and shooting at an elite level. With good size at 6-foot-8, shooting ability, and Griffin being only eighteen years old, his trajectory will likely depend on what his future franchise envisions his role to be.

Regardless, Griffin should find minutes with his ability to shoot and defend, and could be far more if he’s able to build upon what he flashed at Duke.

At five and seven, both Murray and Griffin would immediately help address the Pistons’ shooting woes, and give Detroit more options from behind the arc. After finishing the season second to last in the NBA in three point percentage, it’s safe to say that acquiring more shooters is a necessity, and there’s no better place to start than the draft.