The Detroit Pistons are likely to have a high draft pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, as they are currently the league’s worst team and will be without their best player for the rest of the season.
Obviously, the biggest prize of next year’s draft is Victor Wembanyama, who looks like a franchise-altering player who is in a category all by himself on most team’s big boards.
Wembanyama is the dream, but there are other good prospects in this draft, who like Wembanyama, will not be coming from the NCAA.
Increasingly, some of the top prospects are choosing to go to the G-League or Overtime Elite rather than one year of college, and it is starting to pay off, as last draft there were three players from the G-League, including 8th pick Dyson Daniels, who is playing a key role on a very good Pelicans team.
We will see even more players from the G-League and Overtime Elite this season and could see as many as three of them go in the top-10 of the 2023 NBA Draft.
All three would happen to be great fits on the Detroit Pistons, who should be watching the G-League closely.
Detroit Pistons: 3 prospects from the G-League
The Thompson Twins
Both Amen and Ausar Thompson (who are twin brothers) play in the Overtime Elite league and are expected to be top-10 picks.
Amen is the higher rated of the two, mostly because of his playmaking ability, but both fit the profile of what the Detroit Pistons need, as they are 6-foot-7 small forwards who can score but really love to defend.
Amen is averaging 24.3 points, 8.6 assists, 8.1 rebounds a block and 2.9 steals for The City Reapers and his brother Ausar is putting up similar numbers, with 23.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.2 assists, two blocks and 3.8 steals.
Both guys need to improve their overall shooting, but they are tenacious defenders who should be able to make an NBA rotation right away with their defense. If the Pistons drop out of the top-2 picks this season, Amen Thompson is definitely an option, as he fits their need for a wing defender but is also a guy who has a lot of untapped potential on offense.
What I love about these two is that they care about defense and want to be great on that end, which is something the Pistons need.
Scoot Henderson
At this point, we’ve all heard about Scoot Henderson, as he is considered the #2 prospect in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Scoot plays for the G-League Ignite, and will likely be the the highest draft pick to ever come out of the G-League, which will probably encourage other top prospects to bypass college. Henderson is averaging 19.9 points, six assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting just over 40 percent from 3-point range.
He is an electric guard with otherworldly athleticism, but he’s also a savvy passer and a guy who can pull up from just about anywhere off the bounce, as you can see in these highlights:
After missing 6 weeks with a nose fracture, Scoot Henderson returned to Ignite with 20 points, 5 assists in OT win over Ontario. Went to signature mid-range separation + shot-making, float game in key moments. Still that burst off the bounce/dribble that creates such an advantage pic.twitter.com/EyP9sf9Hre
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) December 28, 2022
Obviously, the Detroit Pistons already have a lot of guards with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Killian Hayes, but it doesn’t matter. If they get the number two pick, they will take Henderson anyway, as he is one of the best point guard prospects in recent memory and you don’t pass up talent for fit in the top-3 of the draft.
Having two gifted playmakers is a good thing and I’d actually love to see Cade, Ivey and Henderson on the floor together.
The NCAA is no longer the only place to find elite NBA prospects, as the G-League and Overtime Elite are getting better every year and have three of the top guys in the 2023 Draft.