The Detroit Pistons Had A Busy, Productive 2020 NBA Draft
The Detroit Pistons shook things up during the 2020 NBA Draft through trades, and some surprising picks.
Detroit started the draft season with the 7th overall pick after another disappointing season. With fans growing tired of the Pistons poor performance, the new GM Troy Weaver knew he needed to make some moves. Before the Pistons even made their first pick, they started making moves. They traded a future first round pick to the Rockets for Trevor Ariza, and the 16th overall pick in 2020.
This mean the Pistons now had two picks in the first round of the draft, but they weren't done yet. Before I get ahead of myself, let's get to the picks. When the Pistons were on the clock for the 7th pick, they did not take long. They knew who they were going to take well before draft day, and they announced Killian Hayes would be coming to Detroit.
Hayes was kind of surprise pick to the rest of the NBA world, but he is exactly who The Pistons wanted. He will now join his friend and former teammate Sekou Doumbouya, who the Pistons picked up in the 2019 draft.
The Pistons then used their newly acquired 16th overall pick to add some size. The Pistons picked up Washington big man, Isiah Stewart to add some versatile size to the lineup.
This was supposed to be the Pistons last pick of the first round, but they were not done dealing yet. In the most surprising move of the draft, Detroit pulled off a three way deal with the Clippers to send Luke Kennard to LA for the 19th overall pick. With the trade, the Pistons picked up the steal of the draft.
I'm a little sad to see Kennard go considering he really started to emerge as a great player for the Pistons, but this overall was a great move. Detroit picked up Saddiq Bey from the Nets as part of the three team Kennard deal, and most experts are calling it the steal of the draft.
The Pistons added a second round pick and selected Saben Lee from Vandy, but most of the talk was about the Pistons aggressive first round.
The Pistons have a good mix of veterans and young players going into the 2021 season. I don't think any of us is delusional enough to think that they are contenders all of a sudden, but depending on how quickly the young players progress, they could be a mid seed playoff team. I'm excited to see how this rebuild process will shape out in the upcoming season.
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