‘What about Scoot?’ discussions should start soon for Pistons

Fans talk a lot about how incredible it would be if the Detroit Pistons got wunderkind Victor Wembanyama, the consensus No 1 pick in the next NBA Draft. But what about the consensus No. 2, guard Scoot Henderson? Well, that could create some questions.

Pretty much all real basketball fans know by now about Victor Wembanyama. The 7-foot-4 French phenom is being hailed as the best player coming into the draft in years. A lot of NBA teams are plotting to be really bad at the end of the season just to have a chance at him.

Despite his size, Wembanyama can pretty much do anything. It is amazing as a 18-year-old at 7-4 what he does. Look at this:

However, while Wembanyama is hailed as a generational talent, the second-best rated player is no chopped liver: guard Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite.

In a battle between the Ignite and Wembenyama’s Metropolitan Club in October, in a specially arranged match in Nevada, Henderson led his team to victory with 28 points and nine assists (despite 37 points from Wembanyama).

Even the big guy from France was impressed:

“If I was never born, I think he’d deserve the first spot,” said Wembanyama.

If there was no ‘Unicorn’ like Wembanyama, Henderson would easily be the No. 1 pick..

As CBS Sports put it about the 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard in its latest mock draft:

"He’d be a pretty clear No. 1 pick contender in most years with the way he can explode by defenders with his speed, and his competitive spirit is unrivaled among guards in this class."

Sounds look a player any NBA team would love to have.

With the Detroit Pistons currently having one of the worst records in the NBA, if things do not turn around (and there is still plenty of time to do so), Detroit certainly might have a chance at scooping up Scoot.

And that might cause a major problem in the Pistons future backcourt.

How would Scoot Henderson fit with Detroit Pistons? Good question

In the three drafts that Troy Weaver has supervised as general manager, he has selected a guard with the Pistons first pick in the NBA Draft:

2020: Killian Hayes (No. 7 overall)

2021: Cade Cunningham (No. 1 overall)

2022: Jaden Ivey (No. 5 overall).

Detroit has obviously invested a lot in the guard position, having three top 7 draft picks. And high picks usually play a lot. If they don’t, it makes the GM look bad after. Expending a top seven pick on a role player, well, that is not a good optic.

So, let us say the Pistons still struggle to win games the rest of the season, and they do end up with the No. 2 pick in the draft. They would pretty much have to take Henderson, as the talent gap between him and anyone at No. 3 is vast.

Then what?

While Hayes, Cunningham and Ivey are all in the 6-foot-5 to 7 range, Henderson is 6-2. He probably has to play point guard in the NBA.

Hayes, who certainly can’t play shooting guard, moves to backup point guard, on a permanent basis (and his salary is a hefty $7.2 million in 2022-23).

Unless coach Dwane Casey wants to go with a three-guard starting lineup (which he could), Ivey is consigned to being a substitute, on a permanent basis. So you have No. 5 and 7 overall draft picks coming off the bench, with no path, barring injuries, of earning a spot in the starting lineup.

Obviously, Cunningham is starting. What position he plays can be debated, but he is starting.

Let’s say Casey does start Ivey, Henderson and Cunningham. Where does Saddiq Bey go?

Yes, he has been playing off the bench lately, but the Villanova product was a first team All-NBA Rookie team pick and made the USA Basketball Select Team. If you put Ivey and Henderson in the starting lineup, now he has no path to ever earning a spot.

And forget for a second the debate on whether any of these guards deserve to start. Considering the youth of all these highly drafted guards (Hayes at 21 is the oldest) to be classified as being part of the ‘bench mob’ could hurt their confidence, as well as the lack of playing time it brings impeding their development.

Fit is also an issue. All three do their best work with the ball in their hands. Having all three play together could bring up some chemistry issues. None of them is a good enough outside shooter to be a pure shooting guard.

And Bojan Bogdanovic, at least next season, would be a very undersized power forward. And what path is there for Jalen Duren to play a lot?

Could be kind of a mess.

Scoot for Sale?

The Detroit Pistons might have had a similar record to the Oklahoma City Thunder the past few years, but they do not have their vast trove of first and second round picks.

As soon as Detroit gets good enough to be out of the draft lottery, they lose their first round pick to the Knicks. They do not have a heckuva lot of second rounders either. How could they fix this lack of draft picks?

Trade Scoot Henderson.

Technically, you would be trading the No. 2 pick in the draft, but everyone knows who is getting selected.

If a team looking to make a big splash in the draft (usually a general manager afraid of losing his job), maybe gives Weaver a ‘Godfather’ offer, a fistful of first-rounders, a couple pick swaps and maybe a promising young player _ who is not a guard.

Yes, Henderson could turn into a perennial All-Star but one could argue Ivey and Bey combined might contribute more to the Pistons winning.

It would be an interesting situation for the Pistons, to say the least.

If Detroit gets No. 1 in the draft that is easy. However, coming in second brings all kinds of interesting factors into play with Scoot Henderson.