NBA Draft Rumors: Pistons Eye Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley at No. 1
June 23, 2021
After securing the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA draft during Tuesday's lottery, the Detroit Pistons have a franchise-changing decision to make with three players reportedly generating serious interest.
Per The Athletic's Sam Vecenie, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green are both on Detroit's radar at this stage of the predraft process.
James Edwards III of The Athletic added USC forward Evan Mobley is also "in strong consideration" for the Pistons.
Vecenie did note that Cunningham is "by far the most likely pick" for the Pistons, but he heard from multiple sources that the team is "thought to be fans" of Green's potential.
Cunningham is the consensus No. 1 overall player in this year's class. He was named Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-American during his only season at Oklahoma State. The 19-year-old averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and shot 40 percent from three-point range in 27 appearances last season.
B/R's Jonathan Wasserman has Cunningham ranked as the best player in the 2021 draft on his most recent big board. Green and Evan Mobley "remain interchangeable at No. 2 and No. 3."
Green is something of an unknown to casual fans because he bypassed college basketball to play for the G League Ignite as part of the NBA G League's developmental program. The 6'6" combo guard was ranked as the second-best player in the 2020 college recruiting class by 247Sports composite rankings.
In 15 games with the Ignite, Green averaged 17.9 points on 46.1 percent shooting (36.5 percent from three) and 4.1 rebounds per contest.
Mobley was a standout for the Trojans during the 2020-21 season. He averaged 16.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 33 starts. The seven-footer became the first player since Anthony Davis at the University of Kentucky in 2011-12 to win his conference's Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards.
The Pistons should be doing their due diligence on every top prospect in this class before making a final decision. They don't have to make the actual pick until July 29, so there's no rush to settle on anything at this point.