NYLion

I just don't see where somebody like Amen Thompson for instance fits in the Pistons 3 guard offense unless you want to relegate Ivey to the bench. He has defensive lockdown potential but how do you distribute the ballhandling between the 3, does Amen slide over to SF? He'd also be the worst shooter of the group and that's with Cade and Ivey being below average long range shooters. Look at Sacramento, they passed on Ivey for Murray likely for these very reasons and it was a seamless fit that helped improve the team. Unless it's a guy that's surefire BPA like Scoot, and I would have struggled to see the fit with him too, I don't see taking a ballhandler as a priority especially one with a guard mentality. You don't want a guy that's a pure spot up shooter necessarily but I don't think a guy with a primary skill as a ballhandler/playmaker is a fit.

Yeah, I don't know why handle should even matter with the Pistons. In fact, another ballhandler would probably be detrimental to Cade and Ivey's progress if anything. I'm not saying that they should take a pure 3 and D guy, a little playmaking would be nice too, but I see this talk of Amen Thompson, Black and even Scoot before the lottery (three guys that can't shoot btw) and struggle to see the fit unless the plan is to ship out one of Cade or Ivey or stagger their minutes.

1st+3rd and even add a bit if need be and I'd give him 4 years $110m. First of all, I find it to be an extreme longshot that the Jets part with him just like the Jeffrey Simmons fantasy but if they did make him available, Holmes should be the first one on the phone with them doing what it takes to bring him to The Motor City.

Agree. He's a perfect fit for their needs and probably BPA as well. I don't see a fit for the Pistons at all. A primary ballhandler that can't shoot, makes no sense whatsoever. I know that drafting for fit is a bad idea but I don't see Amen as far and away the BPA either so take the best fit if all else is fairly equal and there's a bunch of guys that fit that mold in the Pistons range.

That's who I think Weaver will take. NBA build, athletic defender, length. He kind of looks like Stewart even although their games are different. I think Whitmore or Walker will likely be the pick and I'd take Walker of the two.

Agreed, I said the same in the previous post. It's not the end of the world. The odds favored 4th or 5th anyway so this shouldn't come as a surprise. It sucks but it'll be fine.

lol pistons. I knew they'd finish 4th or 5th. Eh, it's not the end of the world. Wembanyama was the real prize, I don't think they were ever drafting Scoot anyway so it's Miller and a few other guys where I don't see a big spread so whatever. The takeaway from this is that Weaver will actually have to do his job now. No gift from the lottery gods so now he really needs to go to work.

I know you were asking Del but I think you just take the best talent available which is Scoot at 2. If not him then trade down is what I'd do because that's a premium asset either way. It doesn't matter because we all know the Pistons are drafting 4th or 5th and yes, it's me throwing in that reverse psychology thing but also percentages.

How many guys at 7'3"+ have had Wemby's skillset though? Injuries are always a concern with every big guy really but the skillset is just too unique to pass up on.

What makes Quinn a better candidate than Chris Lee for example? The Spoelstra influence I suppose but both are young, up and coming assistants on championship caliber clubs. Also, we all know why he didn't get interviewed.

I thought it was hilarious. I didn't think the voices were spot on necessarily but the content was great.

Woah, when buddha is positive you know the Lions are cookin'.

I’m not a fan of starting the season in KC. It’s good for exposure and would be gigantic if they could pull off the win but, one, I would have preferred that game to be played in Germany like what was previously rumored and, two, it puts a lot of pressure on them to win in Week 2 with them likely being 0-1 going into it. I would have preferred an easier opponent to start to get the season off to a strong start. Also, it would have been nice to have Jamo for the inevitable shootout. The positive is that this looks like a favorable schedule to my eye after KC. Seattle, Atlanta, Green Bay on the non-frozen tundra, Carolina and at Tampa are all winnable games. None will be easy but I think the Lions couldn’t have asked for a better Games 2-6. Even after that…Vegas, Chargers, Chicago twice, New Orleans, Green Bay, Denver. Is it just me or is this an extremely manageable schedule? If the Lions are what we think they could be, they should be set up nicely for the tougher finish kick of Dallas and Minny twice. Also, 5 National TV games for the Lions and 6 for the Jets? What world are we living in? Have the Lions even had 5 national games total in the last 5 years?

I am planting my flag on upside with the twins compared to Whitmore. He's mostly projection but I don't see any high end projectable skills whereas I see the twins as also being mostly projection but with more athleticism, defensive ability and vision in the case of Amen (based mostly on highlight videos and scouting reports so take with a grain of salt). I see Whitmore having a higher floor but a more modest ceiling. I do see others with star potential. Henderson, Miller, even GG Jackson who has that combo of size and high end scoring potential. If we're looking for a 3 and D guy, I'd say that Walker and Hendricks are better options than Whitmore or the twins.

I said he's a more athletic Bey. Low IQ, weak defensively, tries to use strength to bully through people, questionable handle, inconsistent shooter, much better leaper than Bey and quicker but stiff lateral movement similar to Bey. His athleticism gives him a higher ceiling but I don't see any above average areas of his game outside of the athleticism. Bridges, Gordon and Edwards were more fluid athletes than Whitmore, Edwards and Bridges were more polished scorers, Gordon far better defensively. Whitmore was a role player on a bad Villanova team, it's almost all projection with this guy and I see no standout skill. I don't care much for the twins either but I see more functional athleticism and better defensive chops with the two.

I don't either. He's a more athletic Saddiq Bey without the 3 point volume. Also, he has good straightline athleticism but he's not very fluid unlike Miller who I think has a lot more fluidity. The Basketball IQ also seems to be lacking with Whitmore. I'd take either of the Thompson twins before him.

Doesn't deserve it? The Pistons, outside of one occasion, have been shafted by the lottery more than any other franchise, literally every time outside of the Cade lottery. Yeah they shamelessly tanked this season but teams do that every year.

You say that now but when Weaver takes Miller over Henderson, you'll be regretting those words. All this talk is moot anyway because we all know the Pistons are ending up with the 4th or 5th pick and will take one of the twins to play for their coach Kevin Ollie.

Ha, I knew you'd say that.

Somebody try to sell me on Kevin Ollie. A flukey Championship run with UConn and that's it, that's his coaching resume. Does Overtime Elite even count? Which makes me wonder if the Thompson twins are a target of Weaver's if he's so gung ho on hiring Ollie. Otherwise, I don't know what qualifies him to be an NBA Head Coach.

I'm talking about career trajectory and projecting that forward, Goff's trajectory is eerily similar to Stafford while also carrying #1 draft pick pedigree My general point is that Goff has a better shot at maintaining a higher level of QB play than Geno Smith because he has a much longer track record of success at a much younger age. Goff is more like Stafford in terms of projecting quality forward. Smith has no comparable because it's unprecedented for a QB to all of a sudden come out of nowhere to be a quality starter at 32.

It's not controversial to say that both have questions to answer but Geno has far more proving to do. Goff has had like 4 good NFL seasons and was Pro Bowl level at two different stops while Geno was a trainwreck up until last season, a complete bust. I've said this before, Goff is comparable to Stafford in terms of career trajectory. Geno is almost unprecedented for a bust to come out of nowhere after 30 and have a good season. He has far more questions to answer than Goff in terms of proving that he can be an above average starter in this league, all while being 4 years older than him.

The Lions added Houston, Okwara, Paschal, Sutton, CJGJ, Moseley, Walker eventually, Campbell and Branch since then. It's a completely different defense than the one Seattle faced last year.

Yeah but Detroit had a much better free agency. I always find it hard ranking NFL teams because there's so much fluidity from year to year but I feel comfortable putting the Chiefs, Eagles, Niners, Bengals and Bills in the top tier. @buddha The Lions are a MUCH better team than the one Seattle played early last season defensively and Seattle really got exposed as the season wore on. I think they had a bit of fools' gold to start last season so I'm not as high on them as you are. I agree that the Lions are in the Dallas tier, probably along with the Giants and, don't be surprised if the Rams bounce back to being respectable, still lots of good players over there.

I didn't see this until now, good breakdown. I isolated D-Line because I agree that it can really use improvement. There's still time for Holmes to add a piece there after we see some cuts or maybe there's somebody in free agency he has his eye on (I can't imagine that he created cap space for nothing) but if he stands pat, it tells me that either he feels like Levi is good to go or that he sees Martin as ready to make an impact now (which I highly doubt) because that's a pretty thin group depthwise at a really important position especially come playoff time. Paschal is a guy I could see making a jump but he's more of an edge than a 3T tackle so there's definitely a need alongside McNeil. Also, I would add Ibrahim to the running back room. I like him a lot and see him usurping Reynolds as RB3