Detroit Pistons Potential Draft Picks: Who's Bound For the Motor City?

The Detroit Pistons fans find themselves in a strange environment these days, sitting at home during late April and early May without a horse in this race called the NBA Playoffs.

Strangely, it is reminiscent of Dr. Manhatten in Watchmen . Basically, Stones Nation (I'm hoping this catches on) is walking amongst ravenous basketball fans as they passionately exude team pride and we couldn't be more apathetic.

It's not as though we are completely alien to these fans—rather, we remember caring, but we just can't quite identify with it now.

Who do we root for?

Seeing as many Pistons fans have been forced from their state due to economic reasons, some are trying to catch the playoff bug in their adoptive cities.

Personally, I tried this tact here in Portland, but Nate McMillan's inability to coach his way out of a wet paper bag has left a bad taste in my mouth.

Some I talked with are trying to root for San Antonio since the Spurs are the only team left that plays like our beloved Pistons once did, and they represent somewhat of a kindred spirit.

More still have decided to root against specific teams, such as Cleveland or Los Angeles due to either past rivalries or a hatred for superstars.

At the end of the day, however, we are all still Pistons fans.

Therefore we need to figure out exactly what our team needs to get back to playing in the late spring, thus allowing us to get out of this strange, bizarre world where we don't care about playoff basketball.

The Draft

In past articles, I have chosen to look at potential free agents and/or trade partners. While I believe this is truly the only way for us to immediately improve, this article will focus on the draft.

As of today, we know quite a bit more about our draft position than we did at the end of March, but we still don't exactly where we will be picking.

In a little less than two weeks, the NBA will hold its Draft Lottery to determine the order Lottery teams will pick.

If the ping-pong balls fall the way they should statistically, we will be picking seventh.

However, statistics really don't matter much when it comes to the lottery.

In the last 20 years, the last place team (team with the best chance of getting the top pick statistically) has only won the lottery three times.

As of now, Detroit has a 4.5 percent chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick.

Sound impossible?

In the past 20 years, three teams with a worse chance have earned the top pick.

That's right, the same amount of teams with the best chance of winning have won as those with the Pistons' chances this year or worse.

Kind of seems random, doesn't it? Like a lottery?

Detroit also has about a six percent chance of getting the third overall pick. However, they much more likely to draft between seven and nine. 

Let's take a look at some possibilities.

John Wall

If Detroit gets the first pick, they likely will draft Kentucky point guard John Wall.

Obviously, the Rodney Stuckey experiment would be scrapped in this case as Wall is the most complete point guard to come along since Derrick Rose (and arguably more talented).

Wall would be the most electric point guard to play for Detroit since Isiah Thomas.

He has excellent court vision, a high basketball IQ and a surprising nose for the ball (over four rebounds per game despite playing with a very big frontcourt).

He is not perfect, as evidenced by his dreadful shooting in Kentucky's loss to West Virginia in the NCAA tournament. However, he has very good mechanics on his jump shot, and with some practice he could develop this part of his game.

He also seems to have a level of arrogance to him. While having confidence is vital to a court general, excessive swagger could potentially get in the way of valuable coaching.

The most important thing about Wall is that he knows how to get to the hoop, and he gets his teammates involved. He is a true point guard that would immediately make Detroit better.

However, he will likely go No. 1, so Detroit will need to get very lucky in the lottery for this one.

DeMarcus Cousins

Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins has without a doubt the most NBA ready body amongst front court talent in this draft.

During his one year stay in college, Cousins averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game despite playing in a very up-tempo offense. He is very strong and has the beginnings of a solid offensive post game.

However, I keep seeing warning signs in his play.

He strikes me as a potential bust. Too often he appeared to vanish in games, despite having top notch distributors in Wall and Eric Bledsoe.

Obviously, the college game is more about perimeter play than the post, but this should be a red flag.

Also, Cousins tended to shrink (especially on the defensive end) in big games, most notably in the NCAA Tournament.

In his four tourney games, he never grabbed more than eight rebounds, and other than his four blocks against the outclassed Eastern Tennessee State, he only had one other block the entire tournament.

Not exactly a strong stat considering his NBA size.

He also had trouble with his concentration, especially on the free throw line where he converted on a weak 60 percent of his tries.

Obviously I could be wrong, but he just feels too much like Kwame Brown to me.

Derrick Favors

Despite looking like a Tracy McGrady clone, Georgia Tech power forward Derrick Favors' game actually looks a lot like Amar'e Stoudamire's, to whom he is compared quite often.

Personally, he reminds me of Antonio McDyess when he first came into the league out of Alabama in 1995.

However, it doesn't appear likely that he will have the same type of immediate impact. He does, however, have the same type of upside (before McDyess' injury, of course).

Favors has a huge wingspan (as evidenced by the picture above), incredible athleticism and great shot blocking ability.

However, the annals of NBA mediocrity are littered by long big men with shaky offensive skill despite athleticism (Darius Miles, anyone?).

He will need to work immediately in order to develop his post game. Does he have the tools to be a stud? Absolutely, but he is far from a finished product.

Personally, I think that Detroit's half court system would be a terrible place for him to land, bringing to mind a certain Amir Johnson who never panned out in Motown.

For his sake, I hope he ends up in Golden State where he could immediately get into an up-tempo offense.

Evan Turner

Alright, before you start saying "but he's a guard, aren't we kind of set there?", remember, the draft should be about best player available, not necessarily about drafting for need.

Think back to 2003 when we were on the clock with the second pick. Pistons president Joe Dumars went with the "Serbian Gangster" Darko Milicic because conventional wisdom states that, all things being equal, you draft size first.

The argument was that Detroit needed frontcourt size and they were technically set at guard and forward, therefore they did not need Carmelo Anthony or Dwayne Wade.

We all know how well that worked out.

Think it's a fluke?

Check with Portland, who twice now has been bit by a superstar swing man that they could have taken (Kevin Durant as well as Mr. Michael Jeffrey Jordan) but didn't due to not having an immediate need.

Therefore, if Ohio State shooting guard Evan Turner is available when Detroit picks, they need to take him.

Turner is probably the most complete scorer in this draft, and he could be the odds-on favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award if he lands in the right spot.

Turner can play all backcourt positions, plus he rebounds incredibly well considering his somewhat slight frame.

While his jumper still needs work and he may get pushed around on defense, he could easily develop into a Vince Carter-type scorer.

Chances are Detroit will need to have a top-three pick in order to take him.

Wesley Johnson

Syracuse guard/forward Wesley Johnson is basically a poor man's Turner, but with a better jumper. Both are good rebounders, solid defenders and great scorers, but Johnson is a little thinner and has the tendency to disappear at times.

I watched quite a few Syracuse games this season (I typically am a Big Ten guy, but I am still nostalgic for the hey day of the old Big East), and Johnson didn't always jump out at me like Turner or Wall.

ESPN is comparing Johnson to Joe Johnson, but I see him more like a John Salmons. Either way, he could be a nice pick for Detroit at seven.

Ed Davis

Much like Johnson is a poor man's version of Turner, North Carolina power forward Ed Davis is kind of like a poor man's version of Favors.

He has good size and athleticism, but he is even more limited offensively than Favors. He also took a big step back this season in Chapel Hill (mainly due to injury), despite a very promising freshman year.

Davis is a little bit better defender than he is offensive player, owing mainly to his huge wingspan. As a result, he blocked nearly three shots per game as a sophomore, and projects as a very good defender at the next level.

Davis also appears to have a solid mental make-up that could make him a worker at the pro level. The question is whether or not he has the talent to become a stud on the offensive end.

Personally, I think Davis will develop into a Tyson Chandler type of player. While his athleticism would make Detroit better, he will need to bulk up and work on his offensive game before he truly makes a difference at the pro level.

Cole Aldrich

While it would be tempting to compare Kansas center Cole Aldrich to Greg Ostertag or Eric Montross, a better similarity would be Chris Kaman or Kevin Love.

Aldrich definitely took a step back last year, scoring over three points less per game than in his sophomore year, as well as one less board per contest.

Aldrich has good range on his jumper and is a solid defensive rebounder, but would Detroit fans really welcome a big man that hangs out on the 3-point line?

Besides, the game has moved away from nonathletic big men, and someone like Aldrich might struggle defensively against the likes of these new bigs.

It reminds me of watching Bill Laimbeer defend against a young Chris Webber, or Terry Mills trying to keep up with a young Shawn Kemp. It just wasn't pretty.

Greg Monroe

Personally, I think Georgetown center Greg Monroe might be the most underrated of all the potential lottery picks in this year's draft.

It is hard to say exactly why this is considering his excellent showing as a sophomore. The lefty big man averaged 16 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game while playing in the very competitive Big East.

Monroe is a more polished offensive player than Favors or Davis, and has a body that is similar to Cousins.

Like Cousins, Monroe has a tendency to disappear in some games, however, he did not have the same type of point guard play to feed him the ball and create space.

The one big red flag on Monroe is his lack of intensity. After the disastrous season this year by Charlie Villanueva, most Pistons fans would rather not have another laid back big man on the roster.

However, if Detroit finds itself drafting at No. 9, Monroe might be a steal.

Al-Farouq Aminu

If anyone in this draft has bust written all over him, it is this athletic, small forward out of Wake Forest. Al-Farouq Aminu is an athletic freak, boasting a ridiculous 7'4" wingspan despite being only 6'8" tall.

Scouting Aminu is kind of a good news/bad news experience.

Aminu is a very good rebounder and can block shots, but will play small forward in the pros, which makes those attributes a little less important.

He can score, but he isn't much of a shooter and is just an average ball handler. He also doesn't play particularly well when he isn't being set up by his guards.

Given that Detroit does not have very good distributors on offense, it is hard to tell how he would make this team better on offense.

Personally, he reminds me of a poor man's version of Gerald Wallace or maybe even Shawn Marion. Not bad, but better suited to an up-tempo offense with a good point guard.

Others

Kentucky center Daniel Orton is big, but an underwhelming athlete with limited skills. Personally, he reminds me of a shorter version of Brendan Haywood.

Baylor power forward Ekpe Udoh looked very good at times late last year, but was underwhelming as a freshman at Michigan. Detroit likely will have better options in the draft.

Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe reminds me a lot of Ty Lawson, and could be a nice consolation prize for Detroit if they are looking for a point guard.

But again, Detroit will have better options when it comes time to draft.

Bottom Line

Ideally, Detroit will win the lottery and grab Wall, then use a combination of trades to address the frontcourt. If they land the second or third pick, they will still have the potential to grab a game changing player like Turner.

However, if the Pistons fall to picks seven through nine, they should strongly consider pairing their pick with a combination of players to snag a top-notch star.

In the past, I have suggested a combo of Stuckey, Prince and the pick to grab Chris Paul and then trading Rip Hamilton for Tyson Chandler.

Regardless, outside of the top-five picks, there is talent but not a true game-changing talent that will make Detroit immediately better.