The Detroit Pistons selected Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey in the 2020 NBA Draft and at the time it looked like they might form the core of their rebuild.
Things have been up and down for all three players since, with each of them going through some big struggles but also flashing potential.
Things have certainly changed since their first season, and you would probably get a variety of answers if you asked a fan which one of these players has the brightest future.
All three at least look like NBA rotation players, which is a good sign. None of them have looked like stars yet, but after the Pistons were able to draft Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, they may already have their stars of the future to build around.
The 2020 draft class is now in its third season and I think there is a strong argument that things have flipped flopped from where they were after season one.
Detroit Pistons: Which 2020 NBA Draft pick has the brightest future?
After season 1: Saddiq Bey
Killian Hayes lost most of his rookie season to an injury, and only appeared in 26 games, so we didn’t have much to evaluate. He showed some flashes in his brief run, especially as a defender, but his first season has to be given an incomplete.
Isaiah Stewart played in 68 games as a rookie, 14 as a starter and put up 7.9 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21 minutes per game. The 19-year-old looked the part of an NBA player right away, and showed exciting potential as a rebounder and defender. Stewart worked his way onto the second team All-Rookie squad and was drawing comparisons to some of the great Pistons’ defenders.
But it was Saddiq Bey who had everyone excited, as he averaged 12.2 points per game in his 70 appearances, 53 of which were as a starter. He hit 38 percent from long range and set several rookie records for 3-point shooting.
Bey made 1st team All-Rookie and went from a player who had solid role player potential to one that could be a star. We may have gotten a little ahead of ourselves with Bey, and things started to shift in season two.