Detroit Pistons: Biggest sleeper and other 2022 NBA Draft predictions
Detroit Pistons: Predictions for the 2022 NBA Draft
Best unknown player in the 2022 NBA Draft…
A guy I don’t hear mentioned much is Dalen Terry from Arizona, as his teammate Bennedict Mathurin is getting all of the hype.
Terry is projected as a late first round or even second-round pick by some experts, which seems crazy given his makeup. He’s a 6-foot-6 combo guard who can handle the ball, make plays, rebound and has the length (7-foot wingspan) to be an elite defender on the perimeter.
He doesn’t put up flashy scoring numbers, but has a very good motor, steal rate and is a guy who could thrive even more in the space of the NBA, especially as a playmaker.
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He’s a wing who will do all of the little things to help teams win and I think he’ll be a great addition to some lucky playoff team that grabs him late in the first round.
Best player in the 2nd round…
Last season, the New Orleans Pelicans took Herbert Jones in the second round and he ended up in their starting lineup, playing huge minutes in the playoffs, on the All-Rookie team and on the fringes of All-Defense.
I don’t know if there is a guy in the second round of this draft who will make that kind of impact in year one, but one guy with first round talent who could fall is Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Consider that this guy was a top-5 recruit coming out of high school, but chose to play for his coach father at mid-major Milwaukee instead, the highest rated recruit to ever join the Horizon League.
He was toiling in relative obscurity with bad teammates and then got hurt 11 games into the season, but he still has elite upside, especially as a shooter. He’s a legit 6-foot-9 (unlike some of the other Draft Combine measurement fibbers) with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and a smooth shooting stroke with no wasted motion.
I think he’s going to be better in the NBA, will have a massive chip on his shoulder (he went from a sure-fire top-10 pick to possibly out of the first round) and will be eager to prove he is still that guy.
I doubt he will fall to the Detroit Pistons with the 46th pick, but if he is around that spot, they should consider trying to trade up, as Baldwin Jr. is the forgotten lottery talent with more upside than any of the players who will be taken around him.