NBA Draft 2023: Analyzing top 8 teams for protected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama
1. Detroit Pistons – 14% chance of landing No. 1 pick in NBA Draft
Right next to the Rockets when it comes to the ineptitude of the past three years is Detroit. They’ve been over .500 just one season since 2007-08, the last year of a great run that includes an NBA championship. They’ve struggled to land a franchise player and are now hoping its last two top-5 picks (Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey), can be pieces to help lead them to the playoffs.
The frontcourt for the Pistons is non-existent when it comes to high-level production. After some trades and recent draft picks, the team has James Wiseman, Marvin Bagley III, and Jalen Duren getting most of the minutes at the five-spot. If they have Wembanyama play at the four, they would just need one of them to break out in order to help create a quality starting lineup, as leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic can play the wing if needed.
That being said, it’s hard to tell if Detroit will be ready to develop Wembanyama. They fired head coach Dwane Casey and a case can be made that they need someone known for development. Coach Jerry Stackhouse of Vanderbilt in college has been a candidate, along with Michigan’s Juwan Howard.
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If the Pistons don’t get the No. 1 pick, they may have to either take one of the guards and see if a three-guard lineup with say, Scott Henderson, Cunningham, and Ivey can work in the NBA, or make a trade to gather up more assets. They’re in a very interesting spot no matter what but based on the past decade, might be in the most need of landing the French super-prospect of anyone at the top of the lottery standings.