Detroit Pistons 2024 mock draft: What if worst-case scenario plays out again?
There's no Victor Wembanyama this year, but the Detroit Pistons still have a chance to find a franchise-changer.
The 2024 NBA lottery is less than three weeks away, scheduled for May 12 in Chicago. After a franchise-worst 14-68 season, Detroit once again has a 14% chance of retaining the first overall pick and can't fall lower than fifth. Whoever the team's new decision-maker is will certainly hope they're able to avoid last year's poor luck, as they fell all the way to fifth.
That exact outcome played out in our first mock draft of the season — the Houston Rockets won the Talkathon.com spin despite having just a 1.5% chance, and the Atlanta Hawks secured the third pick with a 3.6% chance. Yeah, it could be another brutal result for the Pistons.
With that said, the gap between one and five shouldn't be nearly as pronounced this year, based on current draft evaluations. Here's how the 2024 NBA draft could shake out, and how the top-five prospects fit in Detroit.
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No. 1 Houston Rockets — Zaccharie Risacher, 6-9 F, France
Stats: 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 38.6% from 3 (3.5 attempts), 22.8 minutes
Nearly everything went right for the Rockets last season, who improved by 19 wins and finished 41-41 overall thanks to improvement from Alperen Sengun and the rest of their young core, as well as strong play from offseason additions Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Risacher, one of the draft’s youngest prospects, would give them a big floor-spacer who has also shown some chops defensively.
Fit in Detroit: The Pistons haven’t had much success with French prospects in recent years, but Risacher’s two-way ability would be tough to overlook with a top-three pick. They lacked bigs that could hit 3’s last season, and Risacher’s size could enable him to play both power forward and small forward in time.
No. 2 Washington Wizards — Alex Sarr, 7-1 F/C, France
Stats: 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1 steal, 18 minutes
As one of only a few teams worse defensively than the Pistons last season, the Wizards would do well by emerging out of the draft with one of its best defensive prospects. Sarr is shaping up to be a favorite to go in the top-two, regardless of which teams pick there, thanks to his instincts on both sides of the floor. He can protect the rim, switch onto smaller players on the perimeter, finish around the rim thanks to his burst and even handles the ball well for a player his size. His game can be compared, in some ways, to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Evan Mobley.
Fit in Detroit: Despite investing in so many bigs, the Pistons still struggled to defend the rim. Really, they struggled to defend everywhere. Sarr could be an immediate difference-maker on that end and would thrive next to Cunningham as an athletic finisher. But can he play next to Jalen Duren? Sarr has shown some upside as a shooter, but the fit would be dicey if neither player can hit outside shots.
No. 3 Atlanta Hawks — Donovan Clingan, 7-2 C, UConn
Stats: 13 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.5 assists (0.8 turnovers)
The Hawks need to do something, after falling in the play-in round after consecutive first-round exits in the playoffs. The Trae Young-Dejounte Murray pairing hasn’t worked, and there’s not much else on the roster to suggest the team has a bright future. Clingan, fresh off of back-to-back NCAA titles, is the most disruptive defensive player in the draft and the type of player a franchise can build around.
Fit in Detroit: His arrival would force Detroit’s next head of basketball operations to make a tough decision regarding Duren, but Clingan is one of the few, if not the only, centers in Detroit’s draft range with the potential to change a team around instantly. He’s massive, with a 7-foot-7 wingspan that envelops the space around the rim. He finishes everything. But what really bumps him this high is how he processes the game — Clingan can really pass the ball and doesn’t turn it over much, making him a great fit with just about any team in need of a strong defender, screener and lob threat.
No. 4 Portland Trail Blazers — Matas Buzelis, 6-11 F, G League Ignite
Stats: 14.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals
It’s tough to evaluate this year’s crop of G League Ignite prospects — the program’s final draft class as the NBA shuttered it after a disastrous 2-32 overall season. Buzelis and Ron Holland, both Ignite alumni and projected lottery picks, each struggled on a team that lacked spacing and playmaking. But the idea of Buzelis — a long forward/big hybrid that blocks everything, rebounds and can knock down jumpers —- still gives him top-five appeal and makes him a logical selection for a Blazers team that struggled mightily on both ends.
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Fit in Detroit: Buzelis only hit 26.1% of his 3’s last season, regressing after showing promise in high school. But he’s a willing shooter who also reads the floor well, making him a potential long-term solution at power forward for the Pistons thanks to his strengths on defense.
5. Detroit Pistons — Dalton Knecht, 6-6 G/F, Tennessee
Stats: 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 39.7% from 3 (6.5 attempts)
Falling to fifth for the second year in a row despite a league-worst finish would be a dark outcome for the Pistons, who could use some luck even in a weak draft class. They could swing for upside here, taking a chance on Colorado forward Cody Williams (Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams’ brother) or the Ignite’s Ron Holland, who is capable defensively and some of the draft’s better athletes but needs to improve as a shooter.
Given that Detroit desperately needs players who can, well, play, Knecht makes sense as well. At 23-years-old, he’s one of the draft’s oldest players. He’s also one of its best scorers — a capital-B bucket who would prop up Detroit’s poor offense and take pressure off of Cunningham. An elite shooter, overall three-level threat and plus athlete, Knecht's high floor makes him appealing.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons mock draft: What if worst-case scenario plays out?
