After posting a 20-52 regular season record in the 2020/21 season, the worst in the East (and the second-worst in the league), the Pistons were rewarded with the No. 1 pick in what looks to be a loaded upcoming draft. There are several promising prospects from which Detroit may choose.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the Pistons haven’t yet made a final decision on what they’ll do with the No. 1 pick, but internal front office conversations have boiled down to the three players widely thought to be the cream of the crop: 6’8″ Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, 6’6″ NBAGL Ignite shooting guard Jalen Green, and 7’0″ USC center Evan Mobley.
The Pistons’ interest in Green and Mobley has been repeatedly reported since they landed the top overall pick in the lottery last month. However, Woj noted on Sunday that Cunningham, widely viewed as the “safe” selection, remains the most likely candidate to be chosen by Detroit in the draft on Thursday.
This lack of certainty surrounding the pick has apparently prompted other teams to attempt to pry away the selection from the Pistons. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report tweets that the Thunder, who have six selections in this year’s draft (including three within the top 20), made a serious trade proposal for the top pick that was summarily rejected.
The Thunder have several intriguing young players on their current roster, including guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, and would no doubt love to add a marquee young player with an All-NBA ceiling along the lines of Cunningham, Green or Mobley.
Cade Cunningham will be a Detroit Piston
Yep 110%. They do this every year
They didn’t do it Zion’s year. I don’t remember even a semblance of a trade rumor for #1 or #2 that year.
It’s gotta be Cade
Yeah I guess there’s profit in throwing out scenarios that suggest the pick can be had. Maybe if someone offers something crazy?
Would the Pistons want Ben Simmons and a boatload of cash?
No, former #1’s with massive contracts are never near as valuable as a 19 year old number 1. Besides, Detroit needs to score points. I don’t see Simmons helping them at this point in that regard
So you’d trade LeBron for the #1 pick? What about Anthony Davis? Serious question.
Since 2006, there have been 15 #1 picks, 8 have been All Stars or All NBA, 7 have not. Cade Cunningham is not a guarantee. He is a great prospect, but so was Andrew Wiggins.
And you know what? Wiggins was actually a win. If you can draft a guy at #1 and he has the career Wiggins has had that’s a win. Not every #1 has to be a HOF or bust.
I agree with you. I think Wiggins is a very underrated player. People focus too much on the money he makes instead he does on court. He is overpaid, but underrated.
Although I will say that if an overall #1 pick doesn’t make an All Star team, at the very least they are a disappointment. Much like Wiggins. He is not a bust by any means, but I don’t think even his biggest fans can say that his career has not been disappointing thus far.
Re: Blake Griffin
‘Cash’ as in like $200 million?
Monopoly Kind of Money
No chance the thunder trade sga
Probably only trade is with Rockets if Pistons prefer Green. They can take Rockets 2, 23, and 24. Or perhaps Rockets flip Gordon and 23rd to Indians and Rockets flip 2, 13,& 24 or Rockets trade Wood/Gordon/#23 to Warriors for Wiseman and #7 or #14 and Rockets flip back to Detroit.
Indians
Pistons aren’t taking Wood back.
Pistons aren’t getting Wood back.
Fugazi. Cade is a lock a 101.
And the Colts are still mulling over whether to draft Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf with the number one pick …
I might have drafted Leaf
Liked him in college and was always a big Washington State guy
Apples and oranges. Jalen Green is nothing like Ryan Leaf.
Besides, look at Tom Brady who was taken two years after and 198 picks later than Peyton.
Well yeah Greens a much better passer.
Leaf was a great passer, it was his attitude that killed his career.
Ryan Leaf was highly touted as a draft prospect, he just blew it as a pro.
You can’t say apples to oranges, more like Fugi’s to Gala’s.
Why does everyone always point out Tom Brady, but they never point out the hundreds of other QBs drafted in the late rounds that basically did nothing? Brady was one in a million, not a trend.
OKC has 22 from LAL if they want in their laps for 34 and 36
Don’t know if they want all those guaranteed contracts but if they traded something like 6/16/18 for just 3 they could get back to 22 rather easily if they liked someone in that range
Hell if they are over the moon on Scottie Barnes id even just tack on 18 to 6 to get to 5 ; then get back up to 22 again later
They can burn the draft pick value chart in OKC, it shouldn’t get in the way here. They should be player hunting not value hunting, put bullseyes out and pin them down