Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver has a type in the 2nd round

The Detroit Pistons could go a lot of ways with the 5th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, with ample speculation about who the choice will be.

The most common names being thrown around are Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe and Bennedict Mathurin, but I don’t think anyone would be too shocked if Troy Weaver went outside the box for this pick, and it’s even possible that one of the “Big 3” will fall to the Pistons.

This year’s draft is wide open, with no real consensus at the top, and it is possible we will see some surprises in the top-five.

It gets even murkier when you get to the second round, where the Detroit Pistons will have the 46th pick. But if you look at Troy Weaver’s limited track record in the second round, he does seem to have a type, which might make it easier to predict what the Pistons will do.

Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver in the second round

So far, Troy Weaver has only made four picks in the second round for the Detroit Pistons, so we don’t have a huge sample size to look at, but there have been similarities among all of them.

Saben Lee (38th pick) was a three-year college player who was 21-years-old when the Pistons drafted him. Isaiah Livers (42) was a senior in college, as was Luka Garza (52). Balsa Koprivica (57) who the Pistons ended up drafting after a trade, was also 21-years-old.

This is a fairly common tactic in the second round, as one philosophy says take a high ceiling player that could never be good, or take a lower ceiling upperclassman who might be ready to contribute or already has one NBA-level skill.

Troy Weaver has chosen the latter so far and had mixed success. Saben Lee was a G-League standout this season, though it did not translate to the NBA. Same with Luka Garza, who also looks like a guy who could possibly work his way onto a roster in the future but isn’t there yet.

Balsa Koprivica is off playing in the Serbian league, where he’s had middling results.

The one real success has been Isaiah Livers, who played well in limited action for the Detroit Pistons down the stretch, hitting over 42 percent of his 3-point shots, acting as a connector on offense and playing with a high motor on the defensive end.

He looks like a part of the rotation for the future and is on a deal that pays him just $1.5 million next season with a team option at $1.8 million the following season. Getting a contributor in that salary slot is a huge win for the Pistons.

Hitting on second round picks isn’t easy, but I like this strategy of choosing college players that achieved a lot, are a little more prepared and know how to win. Hitting on even 25 percent of your second-round picks is pretty good, so it will be interesting to see if Troy Weaver employs this strategy again in the 2022 NBA Draft.

2022 NBA Draft: Top upperclassman options for the Detroit Pistons

Here are some names that could interest the Detroit Pistons if they follow this pattern of choosing older, more accomplished prospects in the second round.

• David Roddy (Colorado St.)
• Ismael Kamagate (Paris Basketball)
• Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest)
• Hugo Besson (New Zealand)
• Alondes Williams (Wake Forest)
• Keon Ellis (Alabama)- I really like him for the Pistons in the second round.
• Trevion Williams (Purdue)
• Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
• Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
• Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
• Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)

We’ve profiled many of these players already, and you can check out our draft coverage here.