Detroit Pistons: No Victor Wembanyama
Fast forward to May 16, 2023, and one of the most highly anticipated NBA Draft Lotteries in league history was set to unfold. The lottery had also changed, many times in fact, and the odds of the worst team getting the best pick weren’t as good as they used to be. In 2012, for example, the Charlotte Bobcats were awarded a 1 in 4 shot at getting the #1 overall pick because of their league-worst record. They missed out on it, tumbling all the way to the #2 pick instead. Alas in 2023 as we now know, our Detroit Pistons tumbled much further, their bottom-of-the-standings 17-win campaign yielding just the 5th overall pick.
The Pistons are not going to draft Victor Wembanyama, the most-coveted kid to enter the draft since LeBron 20 years ago. They’re probably not drafting Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, either, as they are highly likely to be taken with the second and third picks. While this is discouraging, now is not the time to lose hope Pistons fans. The next great chapter in franchise history is about to begin.
It’s almost funny to think how quickly a fanbase can become greedy. Yes, the last fifteen years have been awfully bleak, but the fact is it takes time to build a winner. I’m talking about an honest-to-God, multiple division dominating, conference-champion-banner-hoisting, Larry O’Brien trophy contending winner. The Andre Drummond-era was our last true opportunity to really do that, and it was an effort that was snakebit from the start. Joe Dumars had lost the Midas touch. An ownership change stalled momentum. Then, rookie mistakes by the new ownership regime – like handing Stan Van Gundy unlimited power and making him the pot-bellied Thanos of Pistons Universe – further beleaguered the team. That’s all behind us now.