Fadeaway WorldThe Pistons have had tremendous success throughout their history, winning NBA titles with the Bad Boy Pistons and also with “The Big Five” led by Finals MVP Chauncey Billups.
But that doesn’t mean that the franchise hasn’t faced some lows. While many consider this season to be low, with an injury at Blake Griffin and also the Andre Drummond trade, there have been worse times for the Pistons.
These moments came in the NBA Draft, where they recruited the wrong players and made some very big mistakes.
Here are the worst done by the Pistons in the NBA Draft.
6. NBA Draft 2017
Luke Kennard on Donovan Mitchell
Luke Kennard is a good shooter and has a high ceiling as a scorer, but he is not Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is one of the best young players in the NBA and has already come as an All-Star in the West for potential title candidate Utah Jazz.
Kennard is averaging 15.8 PPG this season, but Mitchel has PPG 24.2 PPG this season and is already one of the best shooting guard in the league. Mitchell is a franchise player, something Kennard probably isn’t.
5. NBA Draft 2015
Stanley Johnson on Devin Booker
Stanley Johnson seemed like a good choice at the time because he was a strong defender with a large size. He seemed to have the potential to be a good scorer as well, but he hasn’t come close to Devin Booker’s impact on the court.
Booker is already one of the league’s best scorers and is an offensive blast waiting to happen. He recently lost 70 points in a single game and averages 26.1 PPG this season. Clearly, Booker would fit in incredibly well with the Pistons and perhaps have kept Andre Drummond on the team.
4. 2011 NBA Draft
Brandon Knight on Kemba Walker
Brandon Knight had potential as a combined guard, and at least a sixth strong man in the NBA, but he has not flourished as Kemba Walker has. Kemba is already a legend in Charlotte and a very good scorer averaging 21.2 PPG this season. Kemba has the talent of being one of the top scoring options in a title contender, which is why the Pistons dropped the ball with it.
Apparently, his Knight career was cut short due to injury, and confidence issues have affected his promising career. The Pistons could have used an All-Star like Kemba in the squad.
3. NBA 2010 Draft
Greg Monroe on Paul George and Gordon Hayward
Greg Monroe may have had his best years with the Detroit Pistons, but he’s certainly not the player Paul Paul or Gordon Hayward is for that matter.
Hayward was a true All-Star when he was healthy, but a terrible injury has allowed him to find his feet again. Still, he’s a capable starter and can still give 20 points a night when he’s on a scoring streak. Paul George, on the other hand, is a franchise-quality player who could have helped the Pistons make much deeper playoff runs.
While George won’t necessarily hand over an NBA championship, he’s good enough to make them a potential contender in the East.
2. NBA 2013 Draft
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on Giannis Antetokounmpo and CJ McCollum
KCP was not a bad draft by any means, because he can start on most teams and is a good two-way player. Pope can let it fly from the depths, shooting 39.4% for his career, and he’s excellent on defense.
But obviously, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is a superstar and one of the top 3 players in today’s game. It would have made the Pistons what the Bucks are now, the title contenders and the best team in the East. This was a game changer and the Pistons made a big mistake with this one. Even CJ McCollum, a teammate of Damian Lillard, is a potential All-Star who is also way ahead of KCP as a talent.
1. NBA 2003 Draft
Darko Milicic on Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony
Without a doubt, the biggest disaster (probably in the history of the NBA draft) was the draft by center Darko Milicic over the trio of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony.
Only one can imagine how dominant the Pistons would have been with Wade, Bosh or Melo in the squad. Melo especially would have had a tremendous impact, because he was a beast at his best and would have been the Pistons’ title contender for years. Of course, Wade would have also delivered some titles for Detroit, as he did with the Heat a few years later.
Of all the major disappointments Detroit has had in its franchise history, this draft pick will forever be the worst.
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