Detroit Pistons: Was the 2020 Draft a bust for Troy Weaver?

Detroit Pistons: Was the 2020 Draft a bust?

Isaiah Stewart

It was a shame that Stewart got injured and will only play 50 games this season, as he really hadn’t settled into his new role as a power forward and could have used the additional reps.

After a hot start, he ended his season only shooting 32 percent from long range on just over four attempts per game, not terrible, but hardly inspiring. Stewart was taken 16th in the 2020 NBA Draft and it cost the Pistons a first-round draft pick and Christian Wood to obtain him, a deal that now looks questionable in retrospect.

With the way Wood has improved, it now seems an overpay to toss in a first-round pick just to get one outside of the lottery, and that pick is currently hampering Troy Weaver this offseason, as it is still owed to the Knicks.

But none of that is Stewart’s fault. If you just look at the pick in a vacuum, you’d be happy to get an  NBA rotation player with the 16th pick and Stewart has improved every year he’s been in the league.

He too is eligible for an extension, and if he signs a team-friendly one this summer, he could end up being a steal, as he has already shown a pretty high floor even if his ceiling is probably not star level or maybe even starting level.

You can argue about whether it was worth giving up a heavily protected first-round pick to get him, but Stewart would probably go higher if the draft were done again today, so this looks like a solid selection for Troy Weaver.

Verdict: Not a bust