Detroit Pistons: 2 Frenchmen would be ideal in the 2023 NBA Draft

The Detroit Pistons currently have the worst record in the NBA, which gives them maximum odds for the #1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, it still only gives them a 14 percent chance, but when you watch highlights from Victor Wembanyama (the presumed #1 pick) those long odds seem worth the risk, as he is a potentially franchise altering player.

Every team in the lottery is hoping to get lucky enough to draft Wembanyama, who is one of the most hyped prospects LeBron James, so ideally the Pistons buck the odds and land the top pick, which would send beleaguered fans into a state of pure bliss.

The Detroit Pistons already have a French connection with Killian Hayes, whose short career has been up and down, so adding Wembanyama would open up a whole new market for Detroit, whose city name came from French colonizers.

But Detroit has more than one pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and ideally could land another Frenchmen in addition to Wembanyama.

Detroit Pistons: Victor Wembanyama’s teammate in the 2023 NBA Draft

Obviously, Wembanyama would be the big get and if the Detroit Pistons get lucky enough to beat the odds, fans won’t care about what happens in the second round.

But Detroit would currently have the 31st pick, which is a spot where they could land an impact talent. Wembanyama’s teammate Bilal Coulibaly may be such a talent as the 18-year-old small forward is a very good athlete and profiles as a guy who could eventually make the NBA as a wing.

He’s averaging 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game for the Metropolitans 92 and will be one of the youngest players in the draft if he enters. He’s shooting over 53 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point line, but is mostly known as an athletic slasher who loves to get out and finish in transition. Here are some highlights from his best game of the season.

The Detroit Pistons need wing depth badly, and Coulibaly would give them a high-ceiling talent for a two-way contact next season, an area where they have failed miserably this year.

He won’t be ready for the NBA right away, but would be a perfect draft-and-stash option or a guy who could thrive in the G-League on a two-way deal.

Having another French-speaking teammate would help Wembanyama acclimate, and if the Detroit Pistons could become team France, he might be more willing to stick around. Of course, this is all a pipe dream at the moment, as there is an 86 percent chance that Wembanyama ends up somewhere else, but in an ideal world, he lands in Detroit with one of his current teammates in tow.