Pistons' pre-draft workouts show they're looking for the next Daniss Jenkins

Daniss Jenkins broke out as a two-way player for the Detroit Pistons, eventually earning himself a full-time deal and an important role in the playoffs, and the Pistons hope to strike gold again in the ranks of undrafted free agents. 

The Pistons have had pre-draft workouts with a long list of players at this point, and they all have one thing in common, which is that they might not be drafted at all. These are not the players Detroit is scouting for their 21st pick, but ones they might take outside of the draft, as they did when they signed Jenkins to a two-way contract back in 2024. 

Teams aren’t going to tip their hand about their top picks, so usually bring in players who are second-round prospects or on the fringes, guys like Rafael Castro, Nick Boyd, Nate Johnson and Xavian Lee. 

There are always gems that fall out of the first round or even out of the draft altogether, and the Pistons need to keep finding ways to add cheap NBA talent. 

The Pistons only have one pick 

Detroit didn’t even have a first-round pick in last year’s draft and has just one pick overall in this one, so for the second year in a row, the Pistons will be relying on alternative ways to add young talent into the pipeline. 

They will either use their first-round pick to select a guy they like or package it in a trade, but hopefully the Pistons will get some kind of talent out of the first round. 

But Detroit doesn’t have a second-round pick in the 2026 draft, so will have to wait until the dust settles to see who is left. This could eventually be a good thing for Detroit. 

The Pistons have to keep developing talent 

The Pistons can take a chance on a number of these players in Summer League to see if anyone sticks, and there is almost always someone who helps their cause. Detroit can get a fair look at players against fringe NBA competition before making any kind of commitment. 

Even with NIL money keeping some of the better fringe prospects in college longer, the pool of talent is deep, and there are always guys who get overlooked just like Daniss Jenkins did. 

And the Pistons need to keep finding them, as hitting on cheap talent is the best defense against the oncoming cap problems that every team is facing under the new CBA which penalizes going way into the tax aprons. 

These pre-draft workouts hope to reveal an overlooked gem that the Pistons can develop, just as they did with Jenkins. 

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