I honestly think the draft wheel that others have proposed is the best option for the future to completely remove tanking as an option.
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I just donāt really see a big market for the 5th pick. Not gonna get anything more than a role player in return IMO. If you just traded for picks, donāt think weād get an additional first. Just stick with the 5th pick IMO
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We just got the number one pick two drafts ago 
We are owed much karma for bad lotto luck over the years. And if the wings never got rewarded for rebuilding how commissioners would prefer teams to rebuild (not tanking but just gradually slipping into incompetence), then the pistons are owed this
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So when will they start being more competitive. You can only stockpile so many young players. You need some adults around to help them win, learn about winning, good habits. Youāre not running out Ivey/Cade/Hayes/Duren/Wiseman/Stew/Top 5 pick with the intentions of winning games. Add Bojan Bagley thats still a terrible roster.
As a pretty casual Pistons fan, this sucks (obviously) but Iām very confused why thereās so much outrage like they deserved better. It was legit a coin flip that theyād be 5th. The entire new lottery system is designed specifically so that a team that just got the #1 pick two years ago canāt shut down their best player (Cade, and a win-now vet like Bogdanovic) mid-season to secure the top pick. The systemās working as it should. The Spurs getting #1 is annoying since they always get it in transcendent star years, but itās not like their roster going forward (Keldon Johnson/Devin Vassell) had better pieces than the Pistons (Cade/Ivey/Duren). āThe worst roster needed the talent upgradeā doesnāt really apply here IMO.
Iām sad but Iām pretty 
about it all. Stinks cuz theyāll prob tank again since they wonāt be playoff ready and the Knicks get their pick outside of 18 and under next year
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They wont need to tank to get a top 18 pick lol. I assure you it will come naturally
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I could be wrong but I feel like with some decent luck with who they pick at 5, they have a play-in roster in the East. But idk that theyāll actually try for that haha. We essentially have no idea what a healthy Cade for a full year looks like. Year 2 Ivey could be very very good based on his final two months.
Like if Brandon Miller would have been enough to say THE TANK IS OVER, is the drop off to a Thompson twin or Jarace Walker or Cam Whitmore that different?
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A young player with potential is still a more valuable than a role player. Vets are gonna have to come through FA (and they have cap space) not through making bad trades
They need to start winning games
Iām praying for Whitmore. Would hate a Thompson twin. Donāt think Walker is the kind of player who makes a bad team good. He feels more like a good contributor on a decently good team. My worry is that the Whitmore hype seems to be building as people look closer at the package
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I need to be talked into Whitmore so please hit me with anything you got haha. I feel like Walker is such an obvious Weaver type and I donāt really mean that as a compliment. Whitmore feels highest upside? Or the twins. But I never got the sense that he has NBA star upside when I watched him at Nova. He was rarely ever operating as the best player on that team and they were horrible.
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This could be worse. As much as you have to go BPA, it sucks when BPA creates major positional overlap and that wonāt happen now. They are gonna get a great 3&D wing. Iām excited to look into Hendricks. I could be convinced on Whitmore. Walkerās shooting maybe a little iffy but everything else about him is quite nice. Just gotta do the homework on which one is the right one.
Itāll be interesting to see what Charlotte does.
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Vecenie already did a post-lottery mock draft that has Pistons taking Whitmore at 5.
The Scout: Whitmore has ridiculous upside because he has an elite blend of explosiveness and strength. Coming in at about 230 pounds, Whitmore is a 40-inch vertical leaper who actually plays like he has one. He rises up through contact powerfully and throws down around the basket. But thereās more to it than that. He is a real shot creator who can knock down pull-up jumpers from behind the 3-point line. He has a real first step when attacking the basket. Defensively, heās a very good on-ball defender with real switchability due to his strength and quickness. The main concern here is his overall feel as an offensive player. Whitmore had a historically low assist rate and consistently missed passing reads throughout the course of his time at Villanova. Thatās where he needs to improve. But his ceiling is immense.
The Fit: The Pistons could have an incredibly fun core with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Whitmore on the perimeter. Cunningham and Ivey would be perfect for Whitmore, two high-level ballhandlers and distributors who would allow Whitmore to focus on what he does best: Score the basketball. Heād be allowed to come along slowly as a passer and decision-maker and would be a tremendous transition threat with Ivey running the break. A pairing with Ivey would arguably give the Pistons two of the 10 most athletic players in the league. The Pistons are undoubtedly disappointed to fall to No. 5, but Whitmore would be a killer fit for what theyāre building, and he fits perfectly with what Troy Weaver tends to value in terms of bigger, longer prospects with athletic tools.
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Youāre gonna love watching Hendricks. He wonāt jump out at you but heās a legit 3 and D wing player who can moonlight as a small ball 5. Legit 6ā9" who is athletic and block shot. He wonāt be asked to create but heās only 19 so the upside is there for Hendricks.
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Whitmore does feel the closest of that group of Thompson, Thompson, Walker, Whitmore to being a Jaylen Brown type. Jumbo elite athlete wings that would be comfortable as a 2nd-3rd option is a pretty perfect fit
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Whitmore is #4 on my big board and would be a great fit for the roster. Heās a better shooter than people think he is.
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You donāt need 5 creators. Iām comfortable with a possession finisher/shooter with a high floor and a high ceiling as well on defense. Thatās just fine and what we need. Get some shooters around Cade and Ivey to open up the lanes.
Yup, they have Cade and Jaden as their creators. Hendricks will fit into the roster like a glove, just focus on 3 and D which is fine with me.
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FWIW Vecenie had Hendricks going #6
The Scout: Hendricks is the biggest riser of this draft class. Heās over 6-9 in shoes and has over a 7-foot wingspan. Heās an elite defensive player and has real athleticism. He slides his feet incredibly well as an on-ball defender and has real switchability. Off the ball, heās very impactful as a weakside rim protector who can fly over in help situations and block shots. And offensively, Hendricks was very valuable. He averaged 15.1 points and seven rebounds while shooting 39.4 percent from the field on real volume. Hendricks need to improve as an offensive playmaker and ballhandler. But itās easy to imagine Hendricks stepping into the NBA early and playing relatively early as a useful 3-and-D player while he continues to round out his game.
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