The Detroit Pistons have the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, which is widely considered to have a top-3 and plenty of argument beyond that.
Orlando, Oklahoma City and Houston have the top three picks and will likely take Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith and Paolo Banchero in some order. Of the three, I’d guess that the Thunder have the highest chance of trading down, but are most likely to just take the best player available of those three.
Beyond that, it is anyone’s guess, as the 4th pick is owned by the Sacramento Kings, one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the NBA, and one that has no clear plan.
It looked like they had found their guard of the future in Tyrese Haliburton, but they unexpectedly traded him to the Pacers midseason for a package based around All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis, apparently choosing to build around De’Aaron Fox instead.
The Kangz still stunk after the trade (actually got worse) and went just 9-17 with Sabonis. They now have a roster with two complementary guards in Fox and Davion Mitchell, a good big man in Sabonis, Harrison Barnes on an expiring contract and not much else.
Given the Kings lack of a coherent plan, it’s hard to predict what they will do with the 4th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but whoever they take will likely dictate who ends up on the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons draft: Options for the Kings and the ripple effect
After the consensus top-3, you have three guys who are 4-6 on most draft boards in Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe and Keegan Murray.
Of the three, Murray is probably the best fit with the Kings, but they may not see him as having the highest ceiling and may just take one of the guards even though they already have two good ones.
Here are some of their options and how they affect the Detroit Pistons.
- Sacramento chooses Keegan Murray with the 4th pick
In this scenario, the Detroit Pistons would likely just take whoever they thought was better out of Jaden Ivey and Shaedon Sharpe. My bet would be on Ivey here, as he is a better fit with Cade Cunningham defensively since he can guard most point guards. I think the Pistons would be very happy with this scenario, as it would give them a big boost to the offense and the backcourt of the future.
- Kings choose Shaedon Sharpe with the 4th pick
I think this would be somewhat surprising given the Kings’ stated desire to win next season, as Sharpe is the biggest mystery and also the least-likely of the three to contribute right away. But it does make some sense, as Harrison Barnes is on an expiring deal and they will need his eventual replacement on the wing. This would again give the Pistons the chance to draft Jaden Ivey, but it also opens up another possibility.
The Indiana Pacers would probably love to grab Jaden Ivey to pair with Tyrese Haliburton, especially considering Ivey is local and played for Purdue. Would the Pacers want to trade up to get him if they thought the Pistons were going to grab him first? In this scenario, the Pistons would trade back one spot, grab a future 1st-round pick for their troubles, and take Keegan Murray with the 6th pick.
- Kings choose Jaden Ivey with the 4th pick
The Kings may envision a 3-guard offense with Ivey, Fox and Mitchell, and even though it doesn’t make a ton of sense given Ivey and Fox’s overlapping skills, you can’t go by common sense when you are talking about the Kings.
In this case, the Pistons would just take Sharpe or Murray (my guess is Murray) or whoever they thought was the best player available if not one of those two.
- Kings trade the 4th pick
I could see the Pacers or someone else trying to trade with Sacramento, since there is not a clear choice for them and the Kings have said they would trade the pick for a guy who will help them win now.
I imagine that any team trading up to the 4th pick would do so to take Jaden Ivey, so this once again leaves the Detroit Pistons their pick of either Sharpe or Murray if you think they are the best two left.
It’s hard to guess what the Kings will do, but whoever they choose will have a ripple effect on the 2022 NBA Draft for the Detroit Pistons.