Pistons draft: 6 prospects who have made huge leaps on big boards

The Detroit Pistons are preparing their big board for the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft, hoping to maximize the 5th and 31st picks.

There have been rumblings that the Pistons will look to trade the 5th pick, but if not, they’ll likely select from a talented group of forwards.

The Pistons also need to start hitting on some of these later picks and outside of the draft, as the best teams are all able to find talent outside the top-5 to supplement their stars with cheap, impact contracts.

Hopefully that is what will happen with the 31st pick, as there are a number of intriguing prospects in that range, some of which have made even stronger cases for themselves in the Draft Combine or international play.

Here are six prospects that have moved up draft boards recently and could be on the Pistons’ radar, especially in the second round.

Pistons draft: 6 prospects who have made huge leaps on big boards

HoopsHype has been keeping track of aggregate Mock Drafts to see who has shifted over the past few weeks. While this is hardly scientific, it does give us an idea of which players have moved up or down according to draft “experts.”

Here are three prospects for the first round and three for the second who have all caught the attention of scouts.

1st round

Dereck Lively: The 7-foot-1 freshman from Duke has been impressive in pre-draft workouts and has risen in the Mock Draft aggregate from 21st to 16th overall. This could also be part of the Walker Kessler effect, as teams are going to be looking for the next great shot blocker and Lively averaged 2.4 per game for Duke.

Bilal Coulibaly: The other French prospect in this draft, Coulibaly is the teammate of Victor Wembanyama for Metropolitans 92 and has really come on strong as their season has progressed. The 18-year-old dropped 16 points in their last win against high-end professional competition and his athleticism stood out. He has moved up five spots from 25th to 20th and could end up being a late lottery pick.

Bradin Podziemski: One of the best pure shooters in the draft, he’s a guy that might interest the Detroit Pistons if he falls to the second round, which is now looking less likely after strong workouts with teams like the Warriors and Nets. He moved up from 33rd to 28th in the poll of mock drafts.

2nd round

Julian Phillips: Phillips made a six spot leap from 49th to 35th and is a guy I love for the Pistons in the 2nd round, as he has a chance to be an elite defender. He’s worked out for the Blazers, Kings and Hornets so far but could end up on Detroit’s radar.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper: No one made a bigger leap than O-Max, who went all the way from 51st to 39th after officially declaring for the NBA Draft and then dominating in Combine scrimmages.

Emoni Bates: The Michigan native shot the lights out in the Combine and reminded people why he was once considered the top prospect in his class. There are a lot of questions about Bates’ defense and whether he’s going to be strong enough to handle NBA forwards. But the kid can score and has recently risen in Mock Drafts from 53rd to 48th. Someone is going to take a risk on his upside, but 31 may still be a bit too high for Bates.