There are a lot of questions hanging over the Detroit Pistons with the 2023 NBA Draft less than a month away.
They are still looking for a head coach, a decision you’d like to see made soon so that person can take part in the draft process.
There is also no certainty around what they will do with the 5th pick, as they could choose from one of the talented forwards that will be available or try to package that pick in a trade, a possibility that has been reported.
One thing that’s been lost in all of that talk is that the Pistons also have the 31st pick, which may end up being valuable if the right player falls or they need a sweetener in a trade.
We’ve looked at a wide range of possibilities for the 31st pick in the NBA Draft, but there are plenty of worthy prospects in that range, including Julian Strawther from Gonzaga.
Detroit Pistons draft: Julian Strawther
Strawther is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard from Gonzaga who does one thing very well that the Detroit Pistons need, which is shoot the 3-ball.
Strawther hit over 40 percent of his 3-point shots last season on 5.3 attempts per game, numbers that will turn heads given his size at the position.
He averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in his junior season at Gonzaga, so he can get buckets, but is also a very good rebounder for the position who is not afraid to mix it up. He’s a willing defender, but doesn’t have great length or athleticism, so it would be his shooting efficiency and ability to play both guard and wing that would intrigue the Pistons.
When Strawther got hot, he was one of the best shooters in college basketball, as we saw this season when he dropped 40 on Portland:
Strawther is not an elite athlete, but projects more as a Danny Green type, a solid 3-and-D role player who can come off the bench and knock down shots off the catch.
The big concern about Strawther as a scorer is that he has a weird shooting style that starts rather low, but he gets it off quickly and his size still allows him to shoot over a lot of guards.
Strawther is a smart player who has been on a winning team, and has the potential as a 3-and-D guard/wing to eventually be the type of rotation role player the Pistons are hoping to land in the second round.