The Detroit Pistons currently have four players that were taken in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft and that is after trading away Saddiq Bey.
Detroit still has Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, James Wiseman and the recently signed RJ Hampton, but it’s safe to say that none of those players would be taken in the same spot that they were back in 2020.
We now have almost three full years of data on these players, and one thing is for certain: The 2020 NBA Draft was one of the worst in recent history. There were really only three players that could be considered stars and just about everyone after that has a big question mark next to their name.
While the very top of the draft would likely stay the same, there would be a whole lot of movement everywhere else, including the four Detroit Pistons, some of which would probably drop out of the first round altogether.
A quick look at the top eight shows just how much this draft would change if we did it again today.
2020 NBA Re-draft: The top-8
You can argue about a few of these, but if teams were to do this draft again, the top-8 would shake out something like this:
- 1: Anthony Edwards
- 2: Tyrese Haliburton
- 3: LaMelo Ball
- 4: Desmond Bane
- 5: Tyrese Maxey
- 6: Devin Vassell
- 7: Cole Anthony
- 8: Jaden McDaniels
You’ll notice that neither James Wisemen, who went second, or Killian Hayes, who went seventh, still remain in the top-8, as guys like Tyrese Haliburton, Desmond Bane, Tyrese Maxey and Jaden McDaniels all jump way up from their original draft spots.
You have to get to the next 10 before any Detroit Pistons would get their name called.
2020 NBA Re-draft: Detroit Pistons rise and fall
Although both Hayes and Wiseman would likely fall out of the top-10, one member of the Detroit Pistons would climb from his original draft spot if we had to do it again, though I am sure you could argue this as well.
- 9: Isaiah Stewart
- 10: Deni Avdija
- 11: James Wiseman
- 12: Saddiq Bey
- 13: Josh Green
- 14: Patrick Williams
- 15: Immanuel Quickley
- 16: Precious Achiuwa
- 17: Aleksej Pokusevski
- 18: Onyeka Okongwu
I think it’s safe to say that if the 2020 NBA Draft were done again today that Beef Stew an Wiseman would fall somewhere in the middle of the first round. You could definitely make an argument that Saddiq Bey would be higher, but I think teams would still take a flyer on Wiseman’s upside over Bey’s higher floor.
There really isn’t a sure thing in this group, certainly no stars yet, though you could easily argue that Wiseman has the most potential to reach that level, as the rest of these guys really profile as role players at best.
So what about Killian Hayes? Does he stay in the first round at all?
2020 NBA Re-draft: Is Killian Hayes still a 1st-round pick?
You could probably throw the rest of the names in a hat and choose whoever, as none of the rest of this draft has done much yet, though there are still some young players on this list who have plenty of time to reach their potential.
- 19: Tre Jones
- 20: Killian Hayes
- 21: Isaac Okoro
- 22: Obi Toppin
- 23: Jalen Smith
- 24: Aaron Nesmith
- 25: Kira Lewis Jr.
- 26: Payton Pritchard
- 27: Xavier Tillman
- 28: Nick Richards
- 29: Jordan Nwora
- 30: Isaiah Joe
I think Jones definitely has an argument to crack into the previous group but otherwise, this is a who’s who of disappointments from the 2020 NBA Draft. The good news is that guys ike Hayes, Toppin and Okoro still have time to improve, but so far, it’s safe to say that none of them would stay in their original lottery positions.
You can also see that RJ Hampton dropped out of the 1st-round altogether in favor of a few older players who are getting minutes on better teams.
The Detroit Pistons have staked part of their future on the 2020 NBA Draft, but so far it hasn’t really worked out, though Wiseman has been promising, and Stewart looks like he’ll be a solid role player for years to come.