Tyrese Maxey clone falls into Pistons lap in latest Mock Draft

Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, the Detroit Pistons’ biggest need in the offseason is to land a second creator and scorer, and that’s exactly what happens in a recent mock draft. 

Bleacher Report had the Pistons selecting Labaron Philon from Alabama with their first-round pick, a sophomore combo guard averaging nearly 22 points per game this season. 

Philon is a quick lead guard who isn’t really a point guard, more of the type of creator and scorer in the Tyrese Maxey mold, which is a guy Philon often gets compared to. 

Labaron Philon has blown up in his second season, more than doubling his scoring average, and his numbers are looking more like Maxey’s from the NBA, as Philon is shooting 51 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range, so he’s efficient even though he puts up a lot of shots. 

Philon is not at the stage where you’d want to turn an offense over to him, as he still needs work in the pick-and-roll, but the Pistons won’t need to do that anyway, as they already have this guy called Cade Cunningham who is pretty good. 

A secondary creator who can score efficiently from all three levels would be the ideal running mate for Cade Cunningham, but there are some challenges. 

This would be a best-case scenario for the Pistons 

I’ve looked at a lot of big boards over the last few days, and Labaron Philon is in the lottery in most of them, so it would be a stroke of luck for him to fall to the Pistons, who are currently in a 3-way tie for the 21st pick. 

As we’ve seen recently, that can change in a heartbeat, as the Pistons were at the 26th pick just a few days ago. 

The other issue is that Labaron Philon is only 6-foot-3, and the Pistons already have undersized guards on the roster in Daniss Jenkins and Marcus Sasser. They also just gave up on Jaden Ivey, whose player profile is different from Philon’s, but who at least had more size at the position. 

Detroit also has needs elsewhere, especially at power forward, and there happen to be several intriguing prospects ranked around where the Pistons are going to be selecting. 

But getting Cunningham help in the backcourt has to be a priority, especially if they can land a high-level scorer in the mold of Tyrese Maxey. Interestingly enough, Maxey was taken with the 21st pick in the 2020 draft, which is the spot the Pistons are currently in. 

Maxey also slipped because of concerns about his size and now he’s about to make All-NBA for the first time after making his second All-Star team earlier this season. 

This is a deep draft, so the Pistons do have a chance to find someone who can make an instant impact, and if they are lucky, could get exactly what they need.