NYLion

Why would he declare if he's not yet eligible? It seems like something that is a formality at this point.

That's what I'm saying. If you're giving up two 1sts (the two Rams picks) or #32 and 34 for a receiver, you're putting a lot of belief in your QB by basically fast tracking this to more of a win now situation when in reality, the team is very far away from being in win now mode. Also, giving up two high picks is two less opportunities to build up the defense so essentially, they're leaning more heavily on the offense (Goff) to win them games.

If you give up significant draft capital, and commit elite receiver money to Deebo, you're putting all your eggs in the Goff basket hoping that the offense can outscore teams for the next however many years. You're also banking on Deebo to stay healthy which is a serious question mark considering his style of play. He's probably my favorite receiver in the league to watch, the guy plays receiver like a linebacker, but I don't think it's the right move for a team in the very beginning of a rebuild that has so many holes to fill still.

He was already ruled eligible a couple of months ago I believe. That's when all this hoopla started about whether he will declare or not.

Anybody else having a hard time justifying any of these guys available at 2? Thibodeaux with the me first personality (I highly doubt that Holmes and Campbell take him because of that) and inconsistent motor, Walker who wasn't even the best player on his college defense, Willis because of his raw he is, nobody wants to take a safety or corner unless they're generational which Sauce and Hamilton don't look to be, is Jordan Davis anything more than a high level run stuffer? No true franchise receiver like a Chase for instance. God, this draft sucks at the top. Personally, I think Walker is the likely pick but that's quite a reach for a guy who might not be more than another Trey Flowers. I'm inclined to lean towards Willis since they'll never get more value out of this pick than a QB if he pans out. With so many question marks, why not take the question mark with the most upside at the most important position? I don't know, I'd look for a trade down for a return way below the trade chart. For instance, if Carolina wanted to trade a future 3rd or something like that to move up to 2 if they're concerned about the Lions maybe nabbing Willis then I'd probably do it. I'm actually more interested in what they might do at 32. Would they take a QB there or entertain a trade down to a team wanting that 5th year option for a QB? There should be some good talent available there. A good draft depthwise, a historically bad draft to have a top pick.

Luka shot 32 and 31% from three in his first two seasons. He's not an elite 3 point shooter, he's a high volume 3 point shooter. Don't get me wrong, he's a great scorer but his greatest value is his ability to facilitate. He's absolutely elite at getting to his spots and creating for others. I see Cade in a similar vein although he's not quite the playmaker that Luka is. Cade's greatest asset will be his ability to create mismatches due to his size and wide array of moves sucking in the defense and creating good shots for himself or others. The 3 point shooting will be a bonus and is something that I fully expect him to improve on because that stroke is smooth.

The difference being that Okudah doesn't have the misfortune of being developed by one of the most incompetent coaching staffs in NFL history.

Actually, Stackhouse was the running mate to Hill, back when the Pistons used to win trades regularly, but the mix just wasn't good enough to vault them higher than a 2nd tier team. They had some pretty good seasons though.

I couldn't care less about ROY, it's an award that means very little in the long run. What I'm absolutely sure of is that the Pistons got the best player in this draft. On another note, I'll pose a question for you guys. Do you prefer that Weaver stick with the slow build or for him to dip into free agency for a higher caliber player than Plumlee/Olynyk? Brunson, Bridges, Mitchell Robinson (if you consider him as a bigger ticket FA). I'm a bit torn, they have a big need for a PG (Brunson) and paint protecting center (Robinson) but I don't want Weaver overspending either. I'm sure the draft will dictate how they approach free agency somewhat but I also think this team can take a sizeable jump forward next season if they fill both of those holes in the offseason, draft and free agency or trade.

According to James Edwards III who, as far as I know, is pretty connected, he thinks that the Pistons have Murray at #4 and I believe he said earlier in the season that they had Murray rated higher than Banchero so just some food for thought. I like Murray well enough but I'd be somewhat disappointed if he's their pick at 4 with more athletic, higher upside guys available.

Hutch or Thibs, I don't think they should overthink it unless they find some serious character flaws with Thibs. Walker has an immense athletic profile but he's been predominately an edge setter/run stuffer in college so you're banking on a projection of him being something more than what he ever was in college. Hard to evaluate him because he was kind of lost in the mix of a bunch of high level NFL prospects on that defense but I think there's very real risk that his upside is nothing more than a Trey Flowers type. He was projected as a mid to late 1st rounder before the combine so this jump is almost exclusively due to his combine performance and not game tape. That's a bit concerning to me.

Curious, who did they have at 11? Mathurin at 12 seems crazy to me too. I have him in the top 5 tbh. Scouts seems to really be falling in love with Murray lately. I'm seeing a lot of top 5 projections for him recently. I like Murray too but I'm not sure that he has as much upside as some of the more athletic younger prospects in that 2nd tier.

I'd like to think that I'm pretty knowledgeable about most NBA players, even the scrubs, and even I didn't recognize most of the names in that lineup. They sat their NBA scrubs to play G League level scrubs. Might be time to shut down Cade and the boys for the season and go with their own stealth tank lineup.

I don't think they matter much anymore

OKC came back from 18 down midway through the 4th I believe with one of the worst lineups I've ever seen an NBA team put on the court. Hell, I don't even think that team would make the playoffs in the G League.

Cade does a lot more than just score though and has been playing well for longer than Green has. With that said, Green will likely be the best scorer in this draft when all is said and done, which is what pretty much everybody predicted. ROY doesn't matter anyway. I have little doubt that Cade will wind up being the best player in this draft class, he's just too damn good in a lot of areas. I think he has top 10 player in the league potential.

Pretty much, especially in a draft like this where there's a greater chance that the best player comes from outside the top 4 than a normal draft. Also, as has been mentioned ad nauseum, the odds of finishing top 4 are largely unchanged from 1-4 so the only real effect from dropping a few spots is a greater chance of finishing 5-7 which really isn't a big deal (8 is virtually impossible unless they pass Indiana too so top 7 is pretty much guaranteed). They're going to need the luck of the lottery balls regardless of where they finish. I think there's an outside of chance of finishing 3rd after OKC shockingly won last night. They play the G League Blazers at home and the L.A. teams who should have nothing to play for so you'd think that they can squeeze out a win while the Pistons play the Mavs and Bucks who will almost certainly have something to play for (Sixers probably not though) so I think 3 is still very much in play.

It's hard not to be excited about this team going forward. They've been close to having a really good record since the All Star break. I said previously that they're a few pieces away from contending for a play in next season but I don't know, they could be even better than that if Weaver has a good offseason. All arrows are pointing up with this group.

It's going to be a really interesting offseason for the Pistons, one of the most interesting since... I can't remember. The top pick, enough cap space to sign an impact free agent and the Grant decision. With the right moves, the Pistons could be in the hunt for a play in spot next season.

He's the most intriguing player of the draft. I know it's just high school footage but he looks all the part of a star, the shot, the athleticism, the handle. I know nothing about his defense but his skillset looks elite. I thought he was already ruled eligible if I'm not mistaken and it was just a matter of him wanting to declare or not at this point (I have no idea why he wouldn't declare).

Perfect tank game. Cade went off, Stewart played well again (he's really come on lately) and they lose a competitive game. Stealth tank move by Casey to bench Bagley for most of the second half after starting 5-6 from the field. I see you Dwayne, I see you.

Exactly. Sewell will give them the advantage of having intel as to what kind of person Thibodeaux really is Holmes will be as informed as can be on him because talentwise, he's the clear choice at 2 or even 1 to be honest.

No. You take BPA

I thought I saw a ghost when I saw the Kool Aid Man avatar pop up in this thread. Welcome back Del. These are my takes on the top prospects... Holmgren - I'm not as down on him as a lot of you guys are. He comes with risk but he's a game changer on the defensive end due to his immense length and high level instincts. He doesn't defend on the perimeter as much as Mobley but I've seen him do it effectively when called upon and I see him having a fairly similar impact defensively in the NBA. Maybe not as impactful as Mobley has been in his rookie year but eventually I see him being an All NBA defense caliber player. He also hits the 3 at a pretty good clip so he'll be a problem for defenses as a stretch big offensively. The frame is an issue and he doesn't have much versatility offensively at this point in his career although he handles the ball pretty well in transition. I'd have no problem taking him in the top 3 because I feel that defense will translate and he'd fix that rim protection problem that the Pistons currently have Smith - I really like him but I'm not sure if he's going to be more than a 3 and D guy and he doesn't have the impact defensively that Holmgren does although he's no slouch defensively. No doubt that he'd be money on a pick and roll with Cade and I love his competitiveness but he leaves me wanting more on the offensive end. He's really young so I think there's a lot of growth left in his game so, similar to Chet, there's a lot of projection with him. Banchero - He's the most offensively polished of the three bigs so while I think he'll bring more offensive versatility in his early years, I'm not sure that there's much growth left in his game. What I've seen improvements with him is his passing off the dribble and his 1 on 1 defense. His handle can be shaky at times and he often times looks lost on help defense partially because he has slow feet so that could be a problem at the next level because I think the opposition will feast on him defensively but I can't see him not being a high level scorer at the next level. The thing is, is an ISO scorer really the best fit for the Pistons? As we've seen with Grant at times, it can get ugly. Mathurin - I thought I was the only Mathurin fan here. Most have Ivey over him and I see a lot of scouting services having him somewhere between 8-10 which perplexes me. He's an excellent athlete, he's probably the best long range shooter of the guards and he's an underrated playmaker. Plus, he loves the big moment. I don't know, he just has some of that "it" factor. There's no way he's 6'7 though. He's more like 6'4 or 6'5 at the most. If Mathurin was really 6'7, he'd be higher up in the draft pecking order. Ivey - The most explosive athlete of this draft. Hell, he be one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA right now. My issue with him is that he's pretty one dimensional offensively. He's a straight line driver and an excellent one at that but he has very little mid range game, is inconsistent in the long range and can get out of control at times. I'm not sure if he's going to be much more than a high level slasher in the NBA, kind of like a poor mans' Westbrook. If he can hit the three with more consistency, that would take him to another level, but he hasn't found that consistency yet. Sharpe is the big wild card. The tape looks impressive but it's high school. You're banking entirely on projection with him. I will say that he looks like a great fit with the Pistons based on the game tape. I like Murray but I'm not sure how much upside he actually has with him being older than all the other prospects but he has a lot of offensive skill, probably the most versatile scorer in this draft. Griffin, meh, I don't see much with him. 3 and ok D guy. Duren? Not really interested in a rim runner with a top 7 pick. I guess that's it of the guys slated to be on the Pistons radar. I like the 3 bigs, Mathurin and then Murray/Ivey/Sharpe. I don't think there's much of a spread between the top tier (the 3 Bigs) and the 2nd tier so even if the Pistons drop to 6 or 7, I'm fine with that. It's not like last year where there was the ultimate prize of Cade and Mobley, Green in a clear 2nd tier above the others.

Apparently the Lions scouts really liked Lance so it seems like they have a "type" that they prefer if there's any credibility to them liking Lance. There is no Sewell in this draft that's a no brainer so I think it would be easier for them to take a swing for a QB they love unless Hutch is there.