Detroit Pistons: A top-3 draft pick could force a trade
The Detroit Pistons’ offseason course will somewhat be decided by what happens in the NBA Draft Lottery less than two weeks from now.
With a potential generational talent at the top of every big board in Victor Wembanyama, some franchise is going to get an instant injection of attention and the financial benefits that come with it, not to mention a guy who could push a team to the next level.
The Detroit Pistons obviously hope they are the franchise, but they are guaranteed to have a top-5 pick, and depending on who it is, it could force Troy Weaver to make some trades this summer.
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Here are three picks that could make some players on the Pistons unnecessary and have the team active on the trade market.
Detroit Pistons: The 2023 draft pick could force trades
#1 pick, Victor Wembanyama
If the Detroit Pistons land the #1 pick and Victor Wembanyama, they will be most of the way towards having their dream offseason.
The whole goal of tanking is to get the chance to draft superstars and Wembanyama has an opportunity to be one.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman is likely to start his career at power forward, where his shooting, playing and shot blocking will be more effective. He’d be a perfect fit with Jalen Duren in the staring five, as Duren could do the muscle work, handle the other team’s center and let Wembanyama float around and block everything.
But what about the other Pistons’ bigs? They have too many already, and adding Wembanyama just makes it even more crowded. Troy Weaver has talked a lot about using two bigs together and if one of them is Wembanyama, great. But we’ve already seen that James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III are a disaster together, so adding Wembanyama would make one of them superfluous.
The Pistons should probably be looking for trades for Marvin Bagley III anyway, but if the dream happens, he is almost certainly going to be on the trade block.