The Detroit Pistons fell to 5th in the NBA Draft Lottery, and though that wasn’t ideal, they should still be able to land an impact player who fits their roster.
Luckily for Detroit, most of the best wing players should still be on the board when they choose, so they will have their pick from a group of very talented players.
We’ve ranked the players that are likely to be available when the Pistons choose, and it’s very likely that Detroit could walk away from the 2023 NBA Draft with one of these guys.
For the purposes of this, I am going to assume that Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson are already off the board.
Ranking the top 5 prospects for the Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft
#5: Ausar Thompson
Count me as one who is not completely sold on the Thompson Twins. While they are both exciting athletes, some scouts are leery about the level of competition they’ve played against in Overtime Elite, which contains kids that are just 16-20 years old. Ausar is the more defensive minded of the two, and he’ll be a demon in transition, but his ceiling will be defined by whether or not he can ever learn to shoot. He reminds me of Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans, a guy whose defense will play right away but will have to get better at the corner 3 to keep him on the floor.
#4: Amen Thompson
He’s not as clear a fit as his brother, but his ability to make plays and pass puts him on another level. I love that both of the Thompsons talk about being defensive stoppers, and Amen is right there with his brother when it comes to D. He’s an explosive athlete who can make plays with the ball, so his skillset doesn’t exactly jive with a team that already has Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, but if he can start knocking down 3’s, having another playmaker who can defend the wing would definitely help Detroit.