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?
Detroit Pistons: The biggest what-if of the 2020 NBA Draft
Tyrese Haliburton had a solid rookie season for the Sacramento Kings, averaging 13 points, 5.3 assists, three rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and over 40 percent from 3-point range.
He was traded to Indiana and just kept improving, averaging 20 points 10.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals last season with even better shooting splits, which is what led him to being an All-Star.
Hayes, in contrast, has yet to even shoot 40 percent from the field overall and has been one of the worst 3-point shooters in the league in his short career.
So what if Detroit had taken Haliburton instead of Hayes?
The first permutation could have been that the Pistons were too good in 2020-21 to not land the #1 pick. It’s possible that Haliburton would have pushed them to a few more wins, which might have cost them that pick and potentially Cade Cunningham.
But let’s assume for a minute that Detroit did still get that pick. Would they still have drafted Cade?
Detroit Pistons: The biggest what-if of the 2020 NBA Draft
It’s possible that the Detroit Pistons would have drafted Cade Cunningham even if they already had Haliburton on board even though the two do have some similarities as big guards who can create or get their own buckets.
But it’s very possible that the Pistons would still have just taken the best player available in Cade and figured out how the two fit together. Both are versatile team players who can fit into just about any lineup, so it’s possible that Detroit would have a Haliburton/Cunningham backcourt right now instead of Cunningham/Ivey.
Detroit also could have viewed Haliburton as their point guard of the future and went another direction in the 2021 NBA Draft, selected either Jalen Green or Evan Mobley. I suspect it would have been Mobley, which is an interesting hypothetical.
I think most Pistons’ fans would choose Cunningham as the best player of that group, but both Haliburton and Mobley have had better careers so far just because of the injury that cost Cade most of last season.
Would you rather be building around Haliburton and Mobley or Cunningham and Ivey?
Every draft has a ripple effect and this one will continue to impact the Detroit Pistons for years to come and brings up some interesting hypothetical situations.