The Detroit Pistons have had players on the All-Rookie team in three of the last four seasons, but didn’t have a serious contender for Rookie of the Year.
Trajan Langdon chose Ron Holland II with his first draft pick as Pistons president, a surprising pick that swung for the fences on upside and didn’t take need into account.
Some questioned whether Holland was the right choice considering Detroit’s need for shooting, but when you are off a 14-win season and drafting in the top five, you can’t make your choice based on need, you have to go for elite talent.
The Pistons hope they got one in Ron Holland, who definitely has the confidence, as was revealed in a recent interview with Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. Ron Holland said that his goal is to win Rookie of the Year.
Of course, all rookies say that, but does Holland actually have a chance?
Ron Holland II”s Rookie of the Year odds
According to DraftKings, Holland is a +2000 longshot to win Rookie of the Year, with Zach Edey (+600), Reed Sheppard (+700), Zaccharie Risacher (+750), Alexandre Sarr (+900), Stephon Castle (+1000), Matas Buzelis (+1000), Dalton Knecht (+1000), Carlton Carrington (+1500), Donovan Clingan (+1600) and Rob Dillingham (+1700) ahead of him in the odds.
As you can see, Holland has plenty of competition and the Rookie of the Year chase should be fairly wide open even though Edey has the best odds.
But Holland won’t just be competing with his fellow rookies, he’ll have plenty of competition for minutes on his own team and may not even start the season in the rotation.
While some of the players with better RoY odds could have impact roles on good teams (Dillingham, Knecht, Edey), others could have big roles on bad ones (Buzelis, Carrington, Clingan).
It’s unclear if Holland falls into either of these categories, as the Pistons aren’t likely to be good, and even if they are not, Holland may not have a huge role right away.
This will make his quest for the Rookie of the Year a tough one, as he is competing against a group of evenly-matched rookies who may have a leg up in terms of roles and minutes.