Top 100 players list shows 2 major problems for the Pistons

The Detroit Pistons have passed on a lot of stars in the draft 

The NBA Draft is a roll of the dice, so every team in the NBA has plenty of misses, but Detroit has been particularly bad. 

In fact, if you want to know why the Pistons haven’t progressed past mediocre in more than a decade, just look at the draft and you’ll know why. 

It wasn’t just the superstars like Nikola Jokic (#1) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (#4), who a lot of teams passed on, but players like Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell and Tyrese Haliburton, who are all in the top-20. 

The Pistons passed on Tyrese Maxey (#21) three times in the 2020 draft to take Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, two of whom are no longer on the team. 

The Pistons could have had Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Desmond Bane or Austin Reaves, but instead the only two players they have on the list are a guy who they drafted #1 (and who might be overrated) and a player they just acquired in free agency who has yet to play a minute for Detroit. 

If you want to be good, you have to find stars in the draft and the Pistons simply haven’t. 

But it’s not just that they’ve missed on some picks, they haven’t done much with the guys they have picked.