We’ve heard plenty of speculation about the Detroit Pistons needing shot creation, ball-handling, and scoring—most of it assuming, for some reason, that a guard must fill that role.
Early mock drafts reflect this thinking, frequently linking the Pistons to combo guards like Bennett Stirtz and Christian Anderson, who could in theory offer playmaking and shooting. Detroit also brought in Ebuka Okorie for a pre-draft workout another scorer capable of creating off the dribble.
Any of these players might be a reasonable choice at No. 21, but the Pistons could easily go a different route, since their guard spots aren’t necessarily where the biggest need lies.
The real need: playmaking across the board
In the playoffs, most of Detroit’s dribble penetration and playmaking came from Cade Cunningham, with a bit from Daniss Jenkins. Duncan Robinson no longer looks like a starter, and backups Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser made minimal impact. On the surface, upgrading this group makes sense.
The draft offers interesting guard prospects, but nearly all of those mentioned are 6’2″ or shorter—and the Pistons already have two small guards in Jenkins and Sasser.
Would the 21st pick truly be an upgrade over either of them? That’s debatable, even in a deep draft where Trajan Langdon has a track record of finding talent.
What Detroit really needs is more playmaking and scoring from the wing, where Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II offer little shooting. Thompson is better suited to defending guards anyway, so the Pistons could target a wing creator and slide Thompson to the two if needed.
What they don’t need is another undersized guard who might become a defensive liability.
Wing creators are harder to find, and while the draft isn’t the only place to get one, Detroit shouldn’t force a pick on a combo point guard simply because they need more playmaking.
And that’s assuming they even keep the pick
The 21st selection is one of Detroit’s best trade chips, so it could be moved in a larger deal. That might explain why the Pistons are working out players projected outside the lottery or even later in the first round—in case they trade down.
Draft night could be unpredictable, and it’s far from certain that a point guard will be the pick.
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