As the possibilities of what to do with the fifth pick grow by the day, one scenario gaining traction involves the Detroit Pistons acquiring an additional lottery pick inside the top ten.
Jerami Grant has cemented himself as an integral piece of Detroit’s current roster. It’s no secret, however, that Detroit has explored the possibility of trading him, particularly within the last year. Portland has remained a longstanding destination in trade rumors for Grant. With the Blazers currently holding the seventh pick, rumors continue to swirl around Grant’s departure.
While both sides would likely have to be crafty to directly pull the deal off, Detroit acquiring the Blazers’ lottery pick would give them significant leverage in this year’s draft.
Although there’s a chance Grant will stay put in Detroit, or be dealt to another franchise later in the summer, a trade with Portland centered around their seventh overall pick is intriguing. Not only would it give Detroit two picks within the top ten in a draft laden with talent, it could also entice teams selecting ahead to consider swapping with Detroit.
Here are three possible scenarios for the Pistons if they were to acquire the Blazers’ pick, and select fifth and seventh in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Detroit Pistons: Options for the 5th and 7th picks in the 2022 NBA Draft
Option #1
Keegan Murray at #5
Shaedon Sharpe at #7
In this scenario, the Detroit Pistons get a win-win inside the top ten, by picking a player with a high floor who can come in and contribute immediately, and a player with immense upside.
While many teams struggle to find a player with enough upside to gamble on, or enough skill to produce from day one, the Pistons would be able to acquire both within the first ten picks of this year’s draft.
Keegan Murray is the quintessential modern day forward, and should fit nicely alongside Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart in the Pistons’ frontcourt. With a great shooting stroke, smooth footwork in the post, and the ability to run the floor and play on the perimeter, Murray should bring tons of versatility to a lineup that already boasts plenty of length.
Although he’ll turn 22 before the start of the season, there’s a possibility that Murray is far from a finished product, and could possibly have a higher ceiling than what most scouts are projecting, particularly if he’s placed within the right system. With Murray exhibiting so many different skills at Iowa this past season, it’ll be intriguing to see what facets of his game can be unlocked at the NBA level, and how he’ll continue to evolve.
At the very least, Detroit would gain a young forward with one of the highest floors in the draft, along with a skillset that could be plugged into various lineups, and a new foundational piece to Detroit’s young frontcourt.
While it’s no secret that Sharpe is the draft’s biggest wild card, the former number one ranked high school star has had a meteoric rise from his senior year of high school to now, despite having never played a game in college.
At 6-foot-5, 215 pounds, Sharpe has the frame of a prototypical shooting guard, and boasts plenty of athleticism that he’s showcased in recent workouts. While there were mixed opinions about his pro day, Sharpe’s skillset, size, and athleticism should keep him inside the top ten, and could possibly vault him into the top five.
For the Detroit Pistons, selecting Sharpe would likely require bringing the guard along slowly, and remaining patient with the eighteen year old’s development over the next few seasons. However, with the recent success and development of the Pistons’ young players, drafting Sharpe could be worth the risk if the Pistons are confident enough in cultivating his game within their system.
Detroit Pistons: Options for the 5th and 7th picks in the 2022 NBA Draft
Option # 2
Jaden Ivey at #5
Benedict Mathurin at #7
In option two, the Detroit Pistons roll the dice on two guards, giving Cade Cunningham two wildly athletic wings as running mates for the foreseeable future. Jaden Ivey is arguably the most explosive athlete in this year’s draft, with jet-like speed in the open floor, and top-tier athleticism coupled with his phenomenal ability to finish at the rim.
The 6-foot-4 guard from Purdue was electrifying last season, averaging over seventeen points per game for the Boilermakers, and taking a massive leap in his sophomore season. In Detroit, Ivey could slide in the backcourt alongside Cunnigham, and immediately help generate offense in transition for a team that ranked thirteenth in pace last year. Ivey could also share on-ball duties with Cunningham for spurts, and produce more paint touches for Detroit’s offense, who averaged 22.1 paint touches per game last season, good for 16th in the NBA.
At seven, the Pistons take Benedict Mathurin, a 6-foot-7 guard/forward from Arizona. Much like Ivey, Mathurin is an incredible athlete, and showcased it during his breakout year for the Wildcats.
While some would probably question taking two guards with several similarities in the top ten, Mathurin’s game is tailor-made to fit, and thrive alongside multiple guards, as he did at Arizona. The former Wildcat was dynamite in Arizona’s three-guard motion offense, and created opportunities for himself by constantly moving without the ball, cutting, and running off of screens.
With great size and tons of explosiveness, those traits of Mathurin’s game should immediately translate, and enable him to get easy points within the flow of an NBA offense, regardless of whom he’s sharing the floor with.
Similar to what he did in college, Mathurin should find immediate success in back cutting for layups and dunks, running off of pin down screens for jumpers, and attacking or shooting with opposing defenders running out at him off of kick outs.
Scorers who can find opportunities within the flow of an offense are invaluable, and if Mathurin can develop into one for Detroit, the Pistons will take a substantial leap on the offensive end.
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.