Pistons draft: Another Serbian unicorn in the second round?

The NBA has a strong recent history of great players coming out of the second round of the NBA Draft and the Detroit Pistons hope they find the next one.

Detroit has the 31st pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, a spot where they can almost certainly find an impact talent if they just make the right choice. This draft has a lot of parity outside of the lottery and the guy drafted at 31 could end up being better than the player taken with the 15th pick.

Former second-round pick Nikola Jokic from Serbia just won his first title, has already racked up two MVPs (and clearly should have won a third) and is widely considered the best player in the world even though he dropped all the way to the 41st pick in the Draft.

Picks like this are why the Nuggets are almost always good, and if the Pistons ever want that kind of sustainable success, they will have to start nailing their later draft picks and even finding some undrafted talent to compensate their eventual high-paid stars.

It’s safe to say that every team hopes to land the next Jokic, a giant unicorn who defies the eye test with immense skill, so Tristan Vukčević, a Serbian-Swedish prospect, will get a long look.

Detroit Pistons draft: Tristan Vukčević

Like Jokic, Tristan Vukčević is a skilled 7-footer who doesn’t play like a traditional big. He currently plays for Real Madrid B and averaged 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in limited minutes this past season.

If he makes the NBA, it will be because of his ability to shoot the ball, as he hit 38 percent of his 3-point shots this season and knocked down over 80 percent from the line.

As you can see from these highlights from the Draft Combine, Vukčević has some game off the bounce, though he sometimes settles for difficult shots instead of trying to go straight at defenders.

Vukčević is not considered a good shot blocker or rebounder, especially given his size, and profiles more as a stretch big who will thrive in pick-and-pop situations.

The Detroit Pistons have a glut of big men already, but none with this type of skillset, especially when it comes to shooting from range.

A skilled seven footer would be a nice addition to their pipeline of young talent, so the Pistons will give Vukčević a long look if he is there with the 31st pick.