Gonna be strange watching the draft without a 1st rounder. I know this team will be more involved with free agency than the draft.
What do you see the Pistons doing, if anything, in this draft?
Personally, i hope they trade up into the end of first round and draft Walter Clayton. Being a happy Gator, been watching him since he arrived, and he has “IT”. Clutch shooting, drive, great teammate, coachable, wants to win. Maybe the Nets can give up one of their numerous first round picks for cheap.
Backup would be Broome from Auburn. Early to mid 2nd, may be there at our pick.
Late 1st or any 2nd rounders making an impact are a crapshoot, but these two have a chance.
What about Kalkbrenner? Great rim protector. Outside shooting has improved to where he’s a reasonable threat when you want to empty the paint on offense.
Brea is probably going to always be a liability on defense but he’s a 10/10 marksman.
He would just be a Korver type. But a useful specialist at 37 doesn’t sound like a bad investment even if it’s a safe play. Nothing else in his game is NBA caliber but his perimeter shooting ability is rare.
The top teams are dealing with a ton of injuries next season. Jayson Tatum (BOS), Haliburton (IND), and Dame Lillard (MIL) will be out most of, if not all, of next season. New York fired their coach after their ECF loss and has no idea who’s going to replace him. Cleveland got exposed in the playoffs and is statistically due to regress next season.
@DBend144 I wouldn’t put Orlando on a tier of their own yet. Paolo needs to take a step forward before they become a true contender. Bane is a good addition, but they’re not the best team in the conference yet.
I’d put them in the top tier with New York and Boston. I think we’re in the next tier with Cleveland and Indiana. Of course, who knows what happens with Milwaukee, Philly, and Miami next season. They’re all wild cards.
There’s also a good chance Boston trades away some of their supporting players for financial reasons. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis might both get dealt this offseason.
The new CBA that went into effect recently made the salary cap actually matter again.
The East is WIDE open next year, as others have stated. No reason why the Pistons cant seriously compete with a move or two. Its right there for the taking.
I would actually argue that Paolo is an elite player. I think he’s severely underrated because he plays for Orlando, but he’s got the potential to be a top 10 player in the league.
Bane is obviously very good, but who else are you referring to here? Wendell Carter Jr? Franz Wagner?
I think he’s viewed as a glue guy in which his impact exceeds the box score. But I do agree that you’d like to see more playmaking from that level of a scorer no matter how good his defense and leadership are.
If everything stays status quo as far as their draft position I would like to see the Pistons get Vlad Goldin, who is projected to be available to them at 37 at the mocks that I have seen
You guys are overrating the Pistons putting them in Cleveland’s tier, it’s not even close. Cleveland was a 60+ win team that will return most of the core, with Garland out for a while and they beat up the Pistons last year. The Pistons have a ways to go to get on that level.
Orlando is a team that I expected to bounce back before the Bane addition. Banchero and Wagner had significant injuries then struggled after returning from injury then Suggs got injured late in the year so assuming they’re healthy, I see them as better than the Pistons as well. Knicks are better also, Boston will still be good even with Tatum out (although they need to make some cap clearing moves so who knows what their roster will look like) and I still expect Indiana to be highly competitive without Hailburton.
Ivey will be back but how does he fit in with the group? It was a great story last year but I felt like the Pistons overachieved last year, I could see a step back to play-in next year although with the east so weakened they could be in the 4-6 seed range.
