NBA Draft Lottery primer: What is at stake for the Detroit Pistons?

NBA Draft Lottery primer: What is at stake for the Detroit Pistons?

Troy Weaver’s job

Troy Weaver is under some amount of pressure to put a competitive team on the floor after this season’s talkathon, and that job will be a whole lot easier if they land the #1 pick.

Suddenly the Pistons could be a hot free-agent destination as players try to attach their wagons to Wembanyama’s star. Weaver will look like a genius who masterminded a rebuild that yielded two #1 picks and now has the best young talent in the league.

However, if the Detroit Pistons do not get the #1 pick, Weaver’s job is going to be a lot tougher. If the Pistons dropped to 5th and then had a mediocre offseason in free agency and trades and don’t improve much next season, Weaver’s seat it going to start getting hot.

It’s not there yet, and his job is certainly not at stake based on the results of a lottery he has no control over, but if the worst-case scenario happens, making this team “great” as he has often talked about, won’t be nearly as easy.

Fair or not, Weaver is somewhat going to be judged by the results of a bunch of ping pong balls. Land the #1 pick and he’s got job security, get pick #4 or #5 and this becomes the most important offseason of his career in Detroit and he’ll be under pressure to nail every move.