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.
Ranking the top 5 prospects for the Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft
#3: Taylor Hendricks
I absolutely love Hendricks and went back and forth between putting him higher, as he has as much two-way potential as anyone on the board. Considered one of the draft’s best defenders, Hendricks is a good athlete who also knocked down nearly 40 percent of his 3-point shots this season. The biggest beef with Hendricks is the same as the Thompson twins. He played for UCF, so was he just running up stats against bad teams that don’t have future NBA players on them? If he has impressive workouts, he could very well jump into the top-5, as 6-foot-9 wings who can defend and shoot don’t grow on trees.
#2: Jarace Walker
Some Pistons’ fans are down on this guy because he was compared to Isaiah Stewart early on in this process. I was tempted to put him below Hendricks, but after watching these playoffs and seeing how important versatile defensive forwards have been, Walker jumped up a bit in my estimation. He would be the perfect power forward to put next to Duren, as he is a very good defender who can spread the floor a little and figures to get better in that area. Teams are increasingly going small in the playoffs and not using traditional centers at all with a few exceptions, so big forwards like Walker who can hold their own against wings, power forwards and centers are going to be even more valuable. Fans freaked out about the comp, but Beef Stew with a 3-point shot would be a pretty damn good player and give the Pistons a lot of versatility defensively.
Ranking the top 5 prospects for the Pistons in the 2023 NBA Draft
#1: Cam Whitmore
I’ve heard a lot about Whitmore’s potential limitations, especially when it comes to passing. He had way more turnovers than assists in college with a high usage rate, which is not a great sign. However, he’s not going to asked to be the primary playmaker and will have much better players around him than he did in college, so this doesn’t concern me. What does concern me is that he is an athletic freak with massive two-way potential. He’s already very good at getting to the rim and finishing and if he can continue to improve from mid-range and the 3-point line, he could be one of the top-3 players in this draft. Watching his film reminds me a little of a young Donovan Mitchell. I’m not saying Whitmore will get to that level, but he has that type of powerful offensive game around the rim and is very good at using his athleticism to get there.
One thing I don’t hear mentioned much about Whitmore is that he is 1.5 years younger than the Thompson Twins (who have been playing against teenagers in meaningless games) and Brandon Miller, so Whitmore still has plenty of time to improve on his weaknesses. He was playing against much-better competition than the Thompsons, is a year and a half younger, just as athletic and already a better shooter, so what am I missing here? Whitmore comes from Villanova, a program, that preaches and teaches defense, so with his athleticism he may have the most two-way potential on the board.
He would give Detroit three plus athletes in the starting five and a guy who should fit well with Cade and Ivey, especially if he starts knocking down 3-point shots like he did in the NBA Combine.