A lot has been made about the possibility of the Detroit Pistons trading back from their 5th overall draft selection.
Every year, that is a common want amongst fans. If there is no one franchise changing, just trade back. While it’s never that easy, as there has to be interest from other teams and if we don’t like anyone in that range, it’s not likely they will either.
But with all the draft intel on guys available for Detroit at five, what if they do trade back? We’ve talked ad nauseam about guys like Matas Buzelis, Donovan Clingan, Cody Williams and Zaccharie Risacher. But who are some guys Detroit could select if they were to trade back in the draft?
Dalton Knecht, 6’6 Tennessee
Unlike some of the other guys on this list, Dalton has been discussed a few times thanks to his borderline top-5 talent. There are some scouts who have Detroit taking Knecht at fifth overall, but in my opinion, that would be a reach that Detroit doesn’t need to make.
Instead, if Detroit were to trade back to something in the range of 8-10, Dalton could be an excellent option. At 23, he is slated to be one of, if not the, oldest first-round selections in this draft. Knecht started at Northeastern Junior College, transferred to Northern Colorado, and then played his final year for the Vols at Tennessee. At each stop, he honed another skill and added it to his arsenal. Knecht now enters the draft as SEC Player of the Year, averaging 21.7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and a scorching 40 percent from deep.
Simply put, he is an absolute bucket. He’s a scorer, inside and out, that Detroit desperately needs. His defense is a work in progress and he doesn't excel tremendously at anything else, but his scoring makes up for that. The issue with taking him with their original selection at five is that while his floor is incredibly high, his ceiling is also relatively low. Still, adding a bucket like Dalton at 10 from a trade back would be a great deal. He would fit perfectly into the needed three position for Detroit.