Unlike last year, when they had the first pick, the Detroit Pistons had to wait a bit this time before making their selection in the NBA draft. They ended up taking Purdue guard Jaden Ivey with the No. 5 overall selection on Thursday night at the Barclays Center.
Leading up to the start of the draft, there was major speculation on who the Pistons would go for. Selecting fifth, general manager Troy Weaver had said he and his staff were gaming all kinds of scenarios, since he had no say on what four players got taken before Detroit, so he had to be ready for anything.
Keegan Murray, Jaden Ivey, Bennedict Mathurin and Shaedon Sharpe were the more prominent names bandied about in mock drafts for Detroit. Weaver had said he did not put much stock in mocks, as you never know what a team is really going to do.
Murray was taken at No. 4 by the Sacramento Kings, so he was out of the picture by the time Detroit was on the clock.
Each of the players thought to be in the running to go to Detroit, had specific qualities going for them:
- Mathurin is thought to be the best fit .
- Murray was the most NBA ready and had the highest floor (i.e. least likely to be a bust)
- Sharpe, who did not play college basketball, was a wild card who might have the biggest upside.
- Ivey was the most athletic and targeted as a future star.
It looks like general manager Troy Weaver decided to inject some elite athleticism into a team that is sorely lacking it.
Looking at the stats, Ivey averaged 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season for the Boilermakers.
Why Ivey over Sharpe and Mathurin, did Detroit Pistons do right thing?
Sharpe might end up being the best player in the entire draft in five years, and Mathurin is a better fit in the backcourt with Cade Cunningham as a pure shooting guard, but Ivey was simply the best available player.
Ivey is super-athletic with a decent outside shot, making 35.8% of his threes as a sophomore at Purdue.
For a guy with a reputation as a wheeler-dealer, Weaver usually goes chalk in the first round. He usually takes his gambles in the second round.
He also has Michigan roots, as his mother, Niele Ivey, played for the Detroit Shock in the WNBA, so for part of his childhood grew up in the Motor City. His grandfather, James Hunter, played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.
Did the Pistons do the right thing? They did the obvious thing. Like most drafts, no one knows for sure until a few years go by.
Sometimes the obvious pick (like Cade Cunningham last year) is the right pick. We’ll see.