The Detroit Pistons selected Dash Daniels in a recent NBA mock draft, which would be somewhat surprising, as many expect them to trade their pick for an upgrade at the deadline.
The Pistons didn’t have a 1st-round pick in the 2025 draft after a long-owed pick finally came due, and it wouldn’t be shocking if that were the case again next year, as the Pistons have been included in just about every trade rumor and would likely be giving up draft assets if they are acquiring an impact player.
The Pistons are already loaded with young talent, so would probably prefer to trade the earliest possible future picks, as they are likely to be a playoff team for the foreseeable future, but that also makes those picks less valuable in a trade.
Bleacher Report assumed the Pistons keep their pick in their recent mock draft, which would currently be the 29th in the first round, but still has Detroit managing to find the exact type of talent they’ll be looking for.
Dash Daniels represents the type of player the Pistons will take if they keep their pick
It’s far too early to predict whether the Pistons will even have a pick in the next draft, much less who they would actually select if they do, but Dash Daniels would represent the type of project they’ll likely target.
Dash Daniels, who is the younger brother of Dyson Daniels, is an 18-year-old playing in Australia who has many of the same traits as his brother, which is why Bleacher Reports lists Dyson as his closest comp.
Dash is not quite as tall as Dyson, but he’s a combo guard who is a tenacious defender and can do some things on offense. The Pelicans clearly gave up on Dyson too early, and he’s morphed into one of the best defenders in the league while scoring over 11 points per game.
Dash actually projects to be a better 3-point shooter, so he’s the type of 3-and-D guard the Pistons would love to add with the group they already have.
Whoever they pick isn’t likely to come in and play right away, so it makes sense to take a younger project like Daniels, who might need more seasoning before he’s ready to join the rotation of a good NBA team.
As the Pistons roster gets more expensive, they will have to continue to add project players into the pipeline who can eventually make an impact at a lower salary range.
Predicting any draft pick this far out is a fool’s gambit, but I do think this particular mock gives some insight into how the Pistons will approach the draft if they still have a pick in the first round.