As the 2026 NBA Draft approached the Detroit Pistons’ turn with their first-round pick, the front office opted to trade upward rather than risk losing their target before they could select him.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Detroit sent its No. 21 pick in the 2026 draft along with three second-round selections to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a better spot.
That move allowed the Pistons to climb to No. 17, where they chose Ebuka Okorie out of Stanford.
Detroit Pistons Make Trade With Grizzlies During NBA Draft
Memphis originally held the No. 16 pick and used it to draft Bennett Stirtz from Iowa, but they quickly dealt him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a pair of second-rounders.
The Thunder then selected Okorie on behalf of the Grizzlies, after which Memphis agreed to send Okorie’s draft rights to Detroit.
The Pistons are bringing in the freshman guard following a 2025–2026 NCAA season in which he played 31 games.
Averaging 35.1 minutes per contest, Okorie connected on 46.5% of his field-goal attempts. He also put up 5.7 three-pointers per game and knocked them down at a 35.4% clip.
The Stanford product finished the year with per-game averages of 23.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals.
Detroit Pistons Draft Picks
Coming into the June 23 draft, the Pistons held only one selection in the first round.
Unless additional trades are made, Detroit will not be adding any more rookies via the draft this year.
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