If the Pistons win the lottery, Georgia guard Anthony Edwards would be their best hope of landing a potential superstar in this draft, according to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Edwards’ “power athleticism” gives him a slight edge over LaMelo Ball, another point guard who played in Australia this season. Edwards, who is already 225 pounds at 18 years old, can be elite offensively if he’s willing to put in the work, Vecenie adds. The Pistons currently have a 10.5% chance of landing the top pick, so Vecenie and The Athletic’s James Edwards III run through a variety of draft scenarios and prospects from 1-7.
We have more on the Pistons:
- Second-year guard Bruce Brown will be focused on continuing to develop his jumper and improving his other ball skills during this offseason, Keith Langlois of the team’s website writes. Brown has already established himself as a solid and versatile perimeter defender and coach Dwane Casey views him in a secondary ballhandler role going forward. The franchise values Brown as a vital part of the future while reshaping many other parts of its roster, Langlois adds.
- Casey has been spending extra time viewing film of not only NBA games but also draft prospects, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. The Pistons were one of the teams that went into self-isolation after the suspension of play. “Watching game film, trying to see what we can do differently defensively,” Casey said. “New ideas to experiment with for next year. Also watching a lot of draft film. Very unusual for this time of year.”
- While the Pistons and other teams are giving assistance to arena workers and staff members during the hiatus, the team’s broadcasting crew is seeking financial help, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports. Freelancers for Fox Sports Detroit — which also broadcast Red Wings and Tigers games — are not getting paid during the hiatus. FSD was one of the regional sports networks purchased by Sinclair Broadcast Group last year and haven’t been offered any assistance from Sinclair. Most FSD workers at Pistons home games, including stage managers, camera operators, audio technicians and editors, are freelancers.
Are teams seriously considering LaMelo Ball at number one? He’s all hype. Lonzo has been a total bust and LaMelo shoots just as poorly but shoots far more often. His stats in his small sample size of 12 games in Australia are pretty bad. 17 ppg on 17 shots per game, 37.5% from the field, 25% from 3. I wouldn’t draft him at all, much less with the #1 pick.
Lonzo is only 22 and was in the middle of his first healthy season. Shooting close to 40% from 3 even. By no means a “total bust”.
Lonzo is better than you claim, but I agree with the rest. Coming into this season, LaMelo was projected as a mid first round pick. Then, he has mediocre stats in the Australian League and all of a sudden his prospect shoots up to the top? It just doesn’t track.
He definitely out played RJ Hampton a lot and he was expected to be a top 5 pick
Just because Hampton sucked too shouldn’t push Ball up the charts.
That actually how it works….. when one guy sucks another guy moves up past him. This is a very weak draft overall. It’s a guessing game who will be the best PG out of lamelo, Hampton, hailiburton, Killian Hayes, niko mannion or Cole Anothony. They all should be top 10-12 picks and it’s a total shot in the dark as to who will end up being the best
I think it’ll ultimately be
1. Anthony
2. Mannion
3. Hayes
4. Ball
5. Halliburton
6. Hampton
Anthony has the X factor and I think will be similar to a score first John Wall. A all star player but a ball hog, that doesn’t succeed. Mannion is a great great all round player but just doesn’t have that X factor yet, I guess he makes a couple all stars. Hayes I think has great potential, as does Ball but I think Ball like his brother will need to find the right team and grow as a person before he gets better.
Weak field
Hampton n Ball are both overrated. Still young though. Lonzo is two way player. Can be elite D guy. Big PG I would not give up on him. Pistons get #1 pick. They should take Edwards or Wiseman. You can’t teach size. Wiseman should be #1 pick. Unless you already have your center.
1) Wiseman
2) Lamelo
3) Haliburton