Draft prospects if things go wrong, or if the Pistons reach their ceiling

Justin Edwards: 6-foot-7 SF, Kentucky, Freshman

One of the best high school prospects in the country, Justin Edwards is headed to Kentucky as an elite scoring, playmaking and creating small forward. He’s just about as much of an all-around player as you’ll see. Edwards can score at all levels, impact the floor defensively, and crash the boards with the best of them. Using his high basketball IQ, Justin takes what the defense gives him, pulling up from three, settling for a midrange jumper, or slashing and driving to the hole. He will need to use his expected lone season at Kentucky to build his frame and work on making his deep shot more consistent, but doing so would just be the cherry on top of his game.

Edwards would likely fill in at the three for Detroit, further increasing their insane athleticism. Justin would match Cade and Jaden’s ability to create, and then some. I project Edwards as an Ausar Thompson do-it-all type, but with a much more evolved offensive game. He can rebound, defend, score on the ball, off the ball, in isolation, whatever you need. He is a star in the making. Unfortunately, if Detroit were to draft Edwards, it’s likely that this upcoming year went as sideways as possible, as Edwards is projected to go top three in the 2024 NBA draft. If he were to end up in Detroit, though, he will likely continue Kentucky’s long lineage of successful wings in the NBA.