For the first time in five years, fans of the Detroit Pistons will not be glued to NBA mock drafts as the season winds down.
The Pistons find themselves in the midst of an unlikely and surprising resurgence, sitting alone in the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference with 27 games to play.
A lot could happen between now and the end of the season, especially with a tough remaining schedule, but the Pistons have defied all expectations
Coming into the season, most expected modest improvements from the Pistons that would still result in them keeping their top-13 protected pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Now that looks less certain, and if the season ended now, that pick would get shipped to Minnesota, an outcome fans should welcome.
But Detroit still has a pick in the second round, an area where Trajan Langdon has a history of finding impact players, as he did several times in New Orleans.
With a very deep draft approaching, the Pistons will still have a chance to land a good player, which is what happens in the most recent ESPN mock draft.
Detroit Pistons draft: Maxime Raynaud
ESPN has the Pistons selecting Maxime Raynaud in the second round, a skilled seven-footer currently playing out his senior season at Stanford.
He’s putting up monster numbers, scoring 19.9 points per game and adding over 11 rebounds and a block.
He’s shooting 32.6 percent from long range on over five attempts per game, so he projects to be a stretch-five in the NBA.
Raynaud is certainly not a traditional center who is going to bang down low or push guys around in the post, but he’s effective in the pick-and-pop, has nice shooting touch and has shown that he can at least be a passable rim protector.
The second-round of the draft is an even larger crap shoot than the first, but teams tend to go for guys who are raw with high upside talent to develop (a Bobi Klintman type) or a more experienced player who might be able to fill a need cheaply.
Raynaud would fall into the second category, as he’s a 4th-year player who is already 21-years-old who could fill a need for the Pistons.
Given that Paul Reed is on an expiring deal, the Pistons may be looking for a cheap 3rd center next offseason and getting one who can shoot would be a bonus, as neither Jalen Duren or Isaiah Stewart are providing much in that department.
It will be interesting to see if Trajan Langdon can find a hidden talent in this range (something the previous front office failed at) or if he uses the pick to try and package to move up in the draft, which is also a possibility.