NBA Draft: #1 pick options, would any of them help save the Pistons?
Raise your hand if you are not ready to see "Detroit Pistons" and "NBA Draft" in the same sentence.
I've been covering the Pistons for just over four years now and have never written about the NBA Draft on the first day of December. But with the Pistons amid a historic losing streak, the present is too depressing, so we may as well look at some possible futures.
The Pistons once again have the worst record in the NBA and it's hard to see that changing, though the Spurs and Wizards are giving it their best shot. Hopefully, Detroit will surge at some point, but as of right now, the Pistons would be guaranteed a top-5 pick. YAY!
Since there is not a generational prospect, or even a consensus on the top guy, this will almost certainly be another year in which the Pistons land the #1 pick.
3 draft busts who are destined to be Detroit Pistons. dark. Related story. 3 draft busts who are destined to be Detroit Pistons
The bad news is that no one has any clue who that is going to be. The good news is that of the top 15 guys as ranked by ESPN (SUBSCRIPTION) eight of them are some type of forward, which is the Pistons' biggest position of need.
But even if the Pistons were to get the #1 pick, are any of these guys really going to help them out of this mess? Let's look at ESPN's top-5 players as of right now.
Possible #1 picks for the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 NBA Draft
Isaiah Collier: PG, USC
These rankings can and will change over the course of the season, but through the first seven games, ESPN has Collier as the projected #1 pick going to the Spurs. Collier is a shoot-first point guard with great shooting splits who turns the ball over nearly five times per game. It seems extremely unlikely that the Pistons would draft another guard in this mold, though when you are on pace to win seven games in a season, you can't be worried about fit.
Collier is big, strong and can score from all three levels, though he doesn't take many from long range. It's hard to see him actually going number one overall whilst leading college basketball in turnovers, but the 2024 NBA Draft is as wide open as it has ever been.