The Detroit Pistons have been looking for a stretch big and could have one fall into their lap after Maxime Raynaud and Rasheer Fleming were bypassed in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft.
With no first-round pick at their disposal, the Pistons will look to add a prospect who can be a potential rotation player, which may mean dipping into a talented group of upperclassmen that includes Raynaud and Fleming.
I wrote about Maxime Raynaud, who has drawn favorable comparisons to Pistons’ great Rasheed Wallace, but Fleming also fits the mold of what Detroit ultimately needs, which is a power forward to complement/replace Tobias Harris, who is on an expiring deal.
Fleming is a junior out of St. Joe’s who stands at 6-foot-9 and has an incredible 7-foot-4 wingspan that he uses to affect shots to the tune of 1.5 blocks per game. He’s the type of forward who could be a small-ball center at times, especially with his ability to spread the floor.
Fleming hit 39 percent of his 4.5 attempts from long range per game and also showed touch from the line, hitting 75 percent.
Either of these players would potentially be able to play off the bench right away and might represent a steal if they drop to the Pistons. Unfortunately, that’s a big if.
The Detroit Pistons may have to trade up to get Raynaud or Fleming
The Pistons will have the 7th selection in the 2nd round and by that time, these two players are likely to be gone, as most draft experts have them rated near the top of the remaining prospects.
The Hornets have picks 33 and 34 and may be willing to part with one of them to trade down and grab an extra pick, an option the Pistons will have to explore if they like one of these two stretch bigs.
Detroit has also repeatedly been connected to Chaz Lanier, who could be the backup option if neither Raynaud or Fleming fall and the Pistons are unable to find a partner with which to trade up.
Noah Penda, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Tyrese Proctor are three more prospects to watch for the Pistons, as all had high rankings but managed to slip out of the first round.
Today is the day we could see the Pistons get their offseason started for real with a trade to move up or simply by selecting the best player that falls to them, but even if they can’t move up, it does feel like at least one of the prospects named above should be available.