The Detroit Pistons are currently tied for the worst record in the NBA with just 21 games remaining in the 2023-24 season.
This has not been a fun campaign, and it's been made worse by the uncertainty of the 2024 NBA Draft, as there is no consensus superstar and not even a semblance of agreement about who the top five picks will be.
That doesn't mean there won't be great players in this draft, as there surely will be, but finding them will be much harder than picking 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama out of a crowd.
ESPN recently released their latest top-25 draft prospects (SUBSCRIPTION) and there were two new entries to the top five. We are in March, so this shows you just how big a crapshoot this draft is going to be, as usually by now we start to get some agreement.
One thing is for certain, the two new entries aren't going to help the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons draft: New names in the top five won't help
The Detroit Pistons have drafted guards four seasons in a row, with Killian Hayes in 2020, Cade Cunningham in 2021, Jaden Ivey in 2022 and Marcus Sasser last year. Three of them are under contract for next season, as is Quentin Grimes, so it seems unlikely that Detroit would take another guard, though I wouldn't rule anything out with this franchise.
Unfortunately, the two biggest risers on ESPN's big board are guards, as Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard of Kentucky leaped the top five for the first time this season. Both players are 6-foot-2 and come off the bench for Kentucky if you want to know just how bad this draft is. Two of the players currently ranked in ESPN's top five aren't even starters on their college team.
Both guys are offensive prospects, with Dillingham being the more well-rounded and Sheppard more of a 3-point sniper, as he is shooting nearly 52 percent from long range. It's a skill the Pistons need, but you'd expect a little more bang for your buck with what will likely be a top five or six pick.
Zaccharie Risacher held onto the top spot, followed by Alex Sarr, Dillingham, Nikola Topic and Sheppard, so three of ESPN's top five guys are guards, not ideal for the Pistons, who need wings and forwards more than anything.
This list can and will continue to change and I am certain this is not how the top five of the 2024 NBA Draft will go, but this amount of shuffling in March shows how little scouts know about this draft.