Detroit Pistons draft: A forward prospect no one is talking about

The Detroit Pistons will have a top-5 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft with a 14 percent chance that they land #1 overall.

If they do, Victor Wembanyama will be coming to Detroit, which is the hope of beleaguered fans who have waited a long time for a winner.

But beyond that the draft gets murky for the Pistons, especially if they were to drop all the way to 5th, which they have a 47.9 percent chance of doing. We are still basking in the hope of the NBA Draft Lottery, so no one wants to think about the 5th pick, but it has the highest odds of any one pick for the Pistons.

If the worst were to happen, the Thompson twins, Cam Whitmore, Jarace Walker and Anthony Black are all guys who get mentioned as possibilities.

One player we haven’t heard much about is Taylor Hendricks of the University of Central Florida, but he has all of the tools teams are looking for in a modern forward.

Detroit Pistons draft: Taylor Hendricks

Hendricks is a 6-foot-9 freshman forward out of UCF and that last detail is the main reason he hasn’t gotten more attention the national stage.

But Hendricks is a big, athletic forward who can shoot, defend, rebound and run the floor, all qualities the Pistons will be looking for from a forward.

He averaged 15 points and seven rebounds as a freshman while shooting 39.4 percent from long range on 4.6 attempts per game. He has an effortless release and is a guy who should be a very good shooter at the next level given his size.

But he can also defend several positions and is great around the rim, blocking 1.7 shots per game and adding just under a steal.

He’s not a great playmaker, but takes care of the ball and can get his own shot, which you can see in these highlights.

His numbers compare favorably to Brandon Miller’s offensively and Hendricks is already a better defender, though he wasn’t always playing elite competition at UCF.

He could slide into the Pistons’ rotation at either forward spot because of his ability to defend the perimeter as well as the post, and he already has an NBA frame at 6-foot-9, 210 lbs. and the athleticism to go with it.

If the Detroit Pistons fall to 5th, Hendricks could be an option depending on what other wings are already off the board. He’s not on a lot of people’s radars in that range, but he has what every team is looking for in a forward.