Every team in the NBA has some questionable draft picks and that definitely includes the Detroit Pistons.
The primary reason the Pistons have been bad for so long is that they continually passed over future stars for busts. Detroit’s draft record is spotty at best, something they hope has changed with the additions of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart.
Drafting is an imperfect science at best and even those lauded for being experts often get it wrong.
No draft has affected the current Pistons’ roster more than the 2020 NBA Draft, as two of the three players they selected are still on the team and the other was traded for yet another player from the same class.
It’s also the draft that featured Troy Weaver’s most controversial choice so far in Killian Hayes. It had a ripple effect that could have been good or bad for the Detroit Pistons depending on your point of view.
Detroit Pistons: The biggest what-if of the 2020 NBA Draft
If you asked most fans of the Detroit Pistons to name Troy Weaver’s worst move, the majority of them would say drafting Killian Hayes instead of Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton was good right away and last season had a breakout year that led to a spot on the All-Star team. Hayes has not had nearly as much success and even though his passing and defense have been as advertised, his shooting has been so bad that it hasn’t mattered.
It’s easy in retrospect to say that the Pistons should have taken Haliburton, but if they had, it would have potentially changed the roster drastically.
So what if Detroit had selected Tyrese Haliburton instead of Killian Hayes?