The Detroit Pistons have to be watching the NBA Finals and wondering what might have been if they had drafted or traded differently, as they could have had several players from the Pacers’ roster.
The Pacers have a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals and have put on a masterclass of team building to get there. Not only have they drafted well, but they have made savvy trades in which they landed impact players without sending much out.
The Pascal Siakam trade turned out to be a stroke of genius, but the Pacers also had lesser moves for guys like Aaron Nesmith and Obi Toppin that have helped get them to where they are, which is two games away from a title.
Sadly, the Pistons could have had many of these players themselves, which somewhat explains the gap between the two teams, which isn’t that wide, but is enough to make the Pacers the better team.
Tyrese Haliburton
I’m torn on this one. If the Pistons had drafted Haliburton over Killian Hayes (one of their worst draft mistakes of all time), then they might not have Cade Cunningham, and given that Cade is an ascending All-NBA player who will have a shot at MVPs and is two years younger, I think the Pistons came out just fine in this one.
Haliburton has proven himself to be a big-game player, but it’s easy to argue that Cade had the better regular season and has just as bright a future.
Bennedict Mathurin
Mathurin has been up and down in the playoffs, but he’s averaging 11.2 points per game on 50 percent shooting and has won at least two games for Indiana off the bench, including last night when he dropped 27 points in 22 minutes.
The Pistons could have drafted Mathurin (and many thought they would), but instead chose Jaden Ivey, whose fit with Cade Cunningham wasn’t as clear.
Ivey was having the better regular season before he got hurt, and may be the superior player, but Mathurin is an impact 6th man for a Finals team and Ivey only played 30 games.
This is another one where it’s up to personal opinion, but Mathurin is currently providing the playoff production the Pistons didn’t get from Ivey.
Aaron Nesmith
The Pistons had multiple chances to land the sharpshooting Nesmith, who has been lights out in the playoffs this season, averaging 13.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 49.5 percent shooting from long range.
The Pistons could have just drafted Nesmith (a guy I loved) but needed a point guard and took Killian Hayes instead.
Detroit could have gotten involved in the trade that sent Nesmith to the Pacers but chose to pass even though they likely could have pieced together a better package for him and desperately needed shooting.
The Pacers have hit on a couple of guys like this which is how they were able to build quality depth with a balanced cap sheet.
Obi Toppin
Toppin is another guy the Pistons could have drafted over Killian Hayes, but it was even more egregious that they passed on the chance to trade for him.
Toppin is a guy I was lobbying for, and he’s providing impact minutes in the playoffs at the exact position where the Pistons have their greatest need, backup power forward. The Pacers were able to land a rotation four who is playing 20 minutes a game in the Finals for the cost of two second-round picks.
Drafting well matters but so does making the right trades at the right time and the Pacers have been the best in the league at it, which is why they have a 2-1 lead in the Finals.