The Detroit Pistons will head into the 2023 NBA Draft with the 5th and 31st picks to work with and they could use them in a number of ways.
There have been reports that the Pistons were actively and “aggressively” shopping the 5th pick, and the 31st could end up being a nice sweetener to the deal.
But the Pistons aren’t the only ones, and this is a draft that could see a lot of trades before it is all said and done. With that in mind, here is a 2023 NBA Mock Draft with some trade ideas thrown in, including one for the Pistons.
Past the top pick there is little certainty in the 2023 NBA Draft, which could end up being a wild one.
Detroit Pistons: 2023 NBA Mock Draft with trades
The only certainty in this draft is that the Spurs are going to take Victor Wembanyama, but there is growing consensus that the Charlotte Hornets will forego the awkward fit with Scoot Henderson and go with Brandon Miller, who is a natural alongside LaMelo Ball.
Miller would help offset the possible loss of PJ Washington and Kelly Oubre Jr. on the wing and give the Hornets a solid duo to build around along with veterans Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward.
2023 NBA Mock Draft with trades: The Portland/Boston blockbuster
The Portland Trail Blazers seem to be the most likely team to trade out of the top-5 of the 2023 NBA Draft, as they are looking to win with Damian Lillard right now and may not want to wait around for a rebuild. Lillard expressed unhappiness with all of the youth on the team last season and may want to add another star to complement Dame, whose window is closing rapidly.
There is one star they might be able to target, but would either team be interested?
The only way Boston would do this is if they think they’ve hit their ceiling with the Tatum/Brown pairing and don’t want to pay the two up to $600 million combined. This could be viewed as a step back for Boston, who made the Eastern Conference Finals and has plans to get back there regularly.
But it does give them their point guard of the future, a very good scoring guard in Simons and a high-ceiling prospect in Sharpe. That’s a lot to build around with Tatum, who is still only 25-years-old. It may set Boston back in the short term (depending on who else they obtained this summer) but would give them quite a young core to build around.
The Trail Blazers get their second start to pair with Lillard and they are now the ones stuck trying to figure out how to make the finances work.
Not sure either team would do this, but it is an interesting one that would change the immediate trajectory of both teams.
The Houston Rockets could go in a lot of directions here and in truth, the Detroit Pistons may be in a trade line behind them if they decide to make a move with their 4th pick. But in this mock, they take Amen Thompson to add another athletic playmaker to their young core.
2023 NBA Mock Draft: Pistons trade back with Pacers
The Detroit Pistons have a number of options with the 5th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, including trading back for additional assets.
This trade was suggested by our friends over at 8 Points 9 Seconds and I thought it was a good one for the Pistons:
In this trade, the Pistons move back two spots in exchange for Chris Duarte, Jordan Nwora and the 29th pick in the draft.
The Pistons would still get their choice of whatever wing was left from the group of Cam Whitmore, Jarace Walker, Ausar Thompson or Taylor Hendricks, plus grab a shooter in Duarte, who has had his injury woes but should be a knockdown 3-point shooter at some point. Nwora is a cheap, 3-and-D type for the bench, and the Pistons would pick up another late first-round pick that they could package with the 31st to move up or to grab another player.
Pacers’ fans seem to be worried that the Magic are going to take the guy they like, so this would allow them to move up and add a veteran shooter to their bench. Detroit would actually pick up some cap space in the deal and get two young players for their bench who fit their timeline perfectly.
The Pacers get an explosive wing to pair with their young backcourt and now have a pretty good young core to build around. If they decide to blow it up, there will be trades out there for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, or they could roll with this roster and potentially make the play-in with a mixture of young players and veterans.
2023 NBA Mock Draft: Pistons trade back to 7th
The Orlando Magic get one of the top defensive prospects in the draft in Ausar Thompson, who would fit perfectly with their young core. The Magic have their scorers in place, so adding a player who can be effective without the ball would be a smart move.
This could be the ideal situation for the Detroit Pistons, as Jarace Walker might be the guy they want anyway. He’s a big, tough defender with a high basketball IQ, who will be a great connector on offense who can also knock down 3-point shots.
He’s the type of player Monty Williams would love, as he is smart, plays hard on defense and keeps the ball moving, which is the foundation of Williams’ offense.
The Wizards are another team that could make a move here depending on how they see their future. They could lose both Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma, in which case, adding a young player here makes sense. Black’s defense and ability to handle some of the playmaking would help Bradley Beal.
2023 NBA Mock Draft
The Utah Jazz grab two-way forward Taylor Hendricks who would give them some defense and toughness behind Lauri Markkanen and and Kelly Olynyk. The Jazz were a surprise team this past season but still need to add young talent to their rebuild. Hendricks would be a nice fit with what they already have.
The Mavericks are one of the hottest messes in the NBA, and there is a good chance they will try to trade this pick. It could even be with the Detroit Pistons, but now that Detroit moved on from Alec Burks, they lost one of the assets that Dallas might want. Instead, Dallas just goes the safe route and adds one of the draft’s best shooters, something they will always need around Luka Doncic.
The Magic got one of the best defenders with their first pick and one of the draft’s top scoring prospects with their second, so this would be a good result for Orlando. Hawkins is the type of floor spreader the Magic need around Banchero.
2023 NBA Mock Draft
Could this finally be the year that OKC loads up some of their future draft picks and makes a splashy trade? Maybe, but the 12th pick probably isn’t enough to move the needle much, so in this case, they just go with a defensive point guard who would add another tough, do-anything player to their promising roster.
Depending on what the Raptors do with their forwards and guards this summer, they could need an injection of young talent somewhere. It seems likely that one of Fred VanVleet or Gary Trent Jr. will be gone, in which case George makes sense for them.
The Pelicans are one of the teams around the NBA that could use a center, especially one who is a rim protector. They are probably going to lose Jaxson Hayes, so could use a young athlete who can block shots to give them some depth with Jonas Valanciuns and Larry Nance Jr.
2023 NBA Mock Draft
Coulibaly’s stock has risen after a strong season alongside Victor Wembanyama in France. He is an electric athlete with big-time defensive potential. He’ll run the floor and get hustle buckets right away.
The Jazz improve their guard depth with the potential loss of Kris Dunn. Smith Jr. could end up being a very good two-way guard who can give them defense right away and scoring punch down the road.
The Lakers pick up a big shooter to put next to LeBron and AD. This really all depends on what happens with LeBron. If he shocks everyone and retires or ends up on another team, LA would probably go for someone with more upside instead.
2023 NBA Mock Draft: Bulls and Heat make a blockbuster
The Heat are looking for another star to put with Butler and Adebayo and get their man here in LaVine, who would be a perfect fit with Miami.
The floundering Bulls, who are quietly one of the worst-run teams in the NBA, get a soft restart around Herro and the 18th pick and start what should be a rebuild in Chicago.
The Bulls take a flyer on a high-ceiling two-way forward in Miller who would give them a nice tandem of young forwards with Patrick Williams. The Bulls would likely then set their sites on trading DeMar DeRozan to make this complete. But being that they are the Bulls, they will probably add another mediocre player and try to run it back.
2023 NBA Mock Draft
Let’s go ahead and fly through these next ones to get to the Detroit Pistons, shall we?
19: Golden State Warriors-Kobe Bufkin
20: Houston Rockets-Rayan Rupert
21: Brooklyn Nets-Brice Sensabaugh
22: Brooklyn Nets-Jalen Hood-Schifino
23: Portland Trail Blazers-Colby Jones
24: Sacramento Kings-Kris Murray
24: Memphis Grizzlies-Noah Clowney
26: Indiana Pacers-Jaime Jaquez Jr.
27: Charlotte Hornets-Dariq Whitehead
28: Utah Jazz-Maxwell Lewis
Detroit Pistons: 2023 NBA Mock Draft
The Detroit Pistons add a big and tenacious defender with the pick they got from Indiana in Marquette’s Olivier-Maxence Prosper, aka “O-Max.”
He only recently declared for the 2023 NBA Draft after a strong showing in the combine and would give the Pistons another tough, big and versatile forward who can defend a couple of spots. Adding Jarace Walker and O-Max would help bolster the Pistons’ defense even though neither of them are a true wing.
Big, versatile forwards who can occasionally play center and allow teams to go small have been a big part of this year’s playoffs. If “O-Max” keeps improving from 3-point range, he could be a huge steal here.
It’s very possible that Jackson will be long gone by the time the Clippers choose, but if not, Jackson would give them some immediate depth at power forward where they are thin.