We are just over two weeks away from the 2022 NBA Draft and there is still no consensus on what the Detroit Pistons will do with the 5th pick.
The Pistons have a lot of options, but they will most likely just take the best player available, hoping to get another star to add to Cade Cunningham and the rest of their young core.
There has been ample speculation about who that is going to be, but the most common names are Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray and Shaedon Sharpe. Of course, the teams in front of the Pistons will have a lot of say in this, and there is always a chance that one of the “Big 3” will fall.
The people who follow college basketball and the NBA Draft for a living can’t come to a consensus either, but you can get an idea from mock drafts what the “experts” think is going to happen.
Recently, Pistons’ beat writer Keith Langlois looked at 12 mock drafts from reputable sources to see where the draft gurus stand on the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons draft: What the experts think
Only four players were mentioned as possibilities in 12 different mock drafts. Here they are, along with the number of votes they received:
- Keegan Murray (5)
- Shaedon Sharpe (3)
- Jaden Ivey (3)
- AJ Griffin (1)
I don’t think there are any huge surprises here but AJ Griffin is a guy I’ve not heard mentioned much as a possibility.
Griffin seems like a bit of a reach here unless the Pistons think his elite 3-point shooting and high-upside talent (he’s still just 18-years-old) are too much to pass up.
There is a good chance that one of Jaden Ivey or Shaedon Sharpe will be gone by the time the Pistons choose, so Murray makes sense as the choice, especially if Ivey is not there. Sharpe has the enticing high-ceiling potential but he is largely unknown and could be a reach with the 5th pick.
A compelling case can be made for all of these players, but Troy Weaver will ultimately have the final say. After finding three All-Rookie players in the last two drafts, he has to like his chances to get his guy with the 5th pick.