The NBA Draft numbers game favors the Pistons getting their guy

At his press conference yesterday, Trajan Langdon stated that he thought the Detroit Pistons could find an impact player with the 21st pick to help with their ball handling and shooting needs. 

Shooting has been the focus of most fans, but ball handling is the more urgent need, as the Pistons discovered the hard way in the playoffs. 

In a recent mock draft (subscription), Sam Vecenie has the Pistons addressing both needs with Labaron Philon from Alabama, who would be a dream pick for Detroit in that range considering most have him ranked far higher on their big boards. 

But you can throw big boards out the window, as there are a lot of guards and wings who fit the Pistons’ needs. 

Labaron Philon would be perfect, but will he fall? 

I wrote a longer draft profile on Philon earlier in the offseason, comparing him to Tyrese Maxey as a score-first guard who can also create. 

Like Maxey, Philon is a bucket-getter with efficient shooting splits (50/40/80) who can also create, as he averaged five assists per game in this year for Alabama and had an assist rate of over 31 percent. He was a lead guard in college but can play effectively off the ball as well, and those creation numbers line up with a guy who could be a secondary ball handler and initiator.

The Pistons have other needs of course, and there are questions about Philon’s size at the next level, so it’s still likely they end up with someone else, but there is a good chance that player will be a guard. 

One of the top guards will fall 

Because of the sheer number of quality guards in this draft, there is a good chance that one of them falls to the Pistons, according to Sam Vecenie. 

Depending on whose big board you are looking at, at least seven of the top ten players are guards, which means there is a good chance that one of Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, Brayden Burris, Mikel Brown Jr. or Labaron Philon will slide out of their projected draft slot. 

Even if one of them doesn’t slip to the Pistons, there is still Bennett Stirtz, Christian Anderson and Ebuka Okorie, so this is a draft that is loaded with guards who could help the Pistons with their ball handling and/or shooting. 

All it will take for one of the players in that first group to fall is a couple of teams reaching for need, so Trajan Langdon is probably right to think the Pistons can get an impact talent even though they are out of the lottery. 

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