NBA Draft 2008: What Do the Detroit Pistons Need?

The NBA season is nearing an end, and the NBA Draft is coming up on our heels. So for all fans of the Bad Boys, what do the Pistons need to do in this draft? 

 

If I were looking at this team's biggest need they could address with their two picks at 29 and 59, I would look to pick a big guy, especially a center.

 

Right now, Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess are occupying those two spots normally in the starting lineup, and Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson have taken strides to becoming good pros.

 

That being said, McDyess is getting old and Rasheed is more of a finesse big guy, and the Pistons frontcourt is pretty good at the moment, so this is the most pressing need. 

 

Big guys who could be available late in the first round include Roy Hibbert from Georgetown, Kosta Koufos from Ohio State, Robin Lopez from Stanford, JJ Hickson from NC State, and a few others.

 

If all these guys fell to Pistons, I would be most ecstatic about Hibbert.

 

Honestly, I am very surprised he hasn't been mentioned to go in the lottery. Teams are always looking for big men, and none are bigger than Hibbert at 7'2" and 270 lbs. and has a great deal of ability. He is a little raw but has taken great strides in his college career from a freshmen to a senior.

 

I saw Georgetown play a few games in the Dance, and I saw nothing but good things. He should be a good pro.

 

I would rank the rest of the group above like this: Koufos, Lopez, and Hickson. And heres why:

 

I'm from the midwest and got to see Koufos on T.V. a lot this year. He has the best outside shot of any of these big men and looks like he could turn into a good offensive center.

 

Even though Lopez's twin Brook is projected to go in the top-five, he is not an exact duplicate of his brother. While he doesn't have the same offensive ability, he most likely will be able to contribute the most right away of these three guys because of his defensive rebounding and shot blocking ability.

 

Come to think of it, maybe the Pistons will draft Robin, then Brook and Robin will switch places just to have some fun being twins, and the Pistons will get Brook.

 

That could be pretty sweet (Looking off into space thinking of the possibilities).

 

Yes, this is my attempt at humor—forgive me. Back to reality. I rate Hickson last of these guys because he is very raw. 

 

Now, if the Pistons decide not to go the big man route, they might pull the trigger on K-State product Bill Walker.

 

Walker has had some problems with high school eligibility and did tear his ACL early in college, but seems to have recovered from that injury quite nicely and I'm not going to hold a high school eligibility issue against him.

 

With that out of the way, you are left with a 6'6", 235 pound SG/SF who was a high school teammate of O.J. Mayo and was nearly as celebrated and highly recruited as him. Without the ACL injury, he might have been a lottery pick, and the Pistons have the luxury of taking a risk here, so it seems to me that this is more of a low-risk, high-reward proposition, so if the Pistons go this way, they have my blessing. 

 

One final note of the hiring of Michael Curry. As some of you will probably have read my Flip article a week ago, I don't believe his firing was justified, but let's put that behind us.

 

I'm not sure what to think of this hiring, only because I have NO idea how this guy is going to be as a head coach because he has no experience. Everyone associated with the organization, however, has said the man has leader written all over him, so I can only say I am cautiously optimistic.

 

Let's bring it on.