Pistons draft: Some surprises in the NBA Draft green room

The Detroit Pistons are just over a week away from adding another top-5 draft pick to their roster.

The 2023 NBA Draft should be an interesting one, as there is no consensus outside of the top pick and we could see a flurry of trades as teams like Portland and Dallas try to improve their rosters with win-now talent.

We can usually get at least some idea of how prospects are perceived by who gets invited to the NBA green room for the Draft.

If you are not familiar, the NBA generally invites the prospects that are likely to be chosen in the lottery so that they can film their live reactions to being drafted. It’s certainly not an exact science, as there are often players who get the invite, but then don’t get picked, and there are always guys taken in the first round who weren’t in the green room.

There weren’t any surprises in the first batch of invites, as these 10 players represent as close to a consensus top-10 as you are going to get in a very divisive draft.

But the second group had a couple of surprising names and omissions.

Pistons draft: Some surprises in the NBA Draft green room

Here is the second group the NBA has invited to the green room for the 2023 NBA Draft:

It was somewhat surprising to see prospect Bilal Coulibaly, though he is one of several prospects who has made big leaps on draft boards recently due to his strong play for the Metropolitans 92 alongside Victor Wembanyama.

Derek Lively is another guy who has only recently entered the conversation as a possible lottery pick and Jordan Hawkins definitely made a leap into this group after a strong showing in NCAA tournament.

There were also some interesting omissions, as most draft boards have Brice Sensabaugh as a possible lottery pick, but concerns about a knee injury may have hurt his stock. G-Leaguer Sidy Cissoko is another player some thought would be on this list, but he too was left off.

There are likely to be some quality players that fall into the second round, so the Detroit Pistons should be able to find talent with the 31st pick.