NYLion

Most of the rankings I've seen if you average it out have Whitmore, Ausar Thompson and Walker in that 5-7 range give or take a bit. There's a few that have those guys a bit higher or lower but that seems to be the range they're placed in for the most part. I agree that Whitmore is a higher upside pick but I don't think he's the right fit and I think at this point in the Pistons development especially with the Monty Williams hire that they'll go for more of a plug and play player that fits more into their team concept. I don't see that as Whitmore.

Who does outside of the top 3? The one argument can be for Amen but all the rankings (which are subjective anyway) vary wildly in the 2nd tier from 4-8 or 9 or so. It seems like a chunk of the Pistons fanbase think that Whitmore is BPA at 5 and that Walker is some reach but those two are pretty much in the same tier if you look at consensus rankings. Also, is Whitmore a good fit? Do the Pistons need a ball dominant 3 who has arguably the lowest pass rate in the draft? He's not a catch and shoot guy either so it's not like he's a guy you can plant at the 3 point line and hit 3's right off of a Cade or Ivey pass. I've said this before, Whitmore has the mentality of a star without the game to match currently. He has a lot of upside but he's a project right now and is the type of player that's going to drive the fanbase nuts with ball hogging and poor decisions with the ball. The moment they hired Monty Williams, I had a feeling that guys like Walker and Hendricks would be higher on their list and Whitmore lower because he preaches ball movement and quick decision making with the ball. I'd be surprised if Whitmore was their pick but...we'll see.

I doubt that those guys have any concrete sources. That trade sounds like something straight out of a Pistons fan fantasy forum.

That's some groundbreaking news by JEIII.

I was thinking that too that if Amen drops to the Pistons that can open up a plethora of trade options not too dissimilar to Ivey last draft when the trade offers came flooding in (Knicks in particular). Of course, there was a fit for Ivey on the roster with only Cade in the backcourt so it made more sense to just take him but in this case, they could really weaponize Amen's trade value and get a haul. I'm looking at teams with multiple 1sts like Indiana and Utah. Maybe the Pistons take him just because he'd be the top talent on the board but, like you, I don't see a fit whatsoever. Personally, I'm not buying any of these smokescreens of Whitmore jumping into the top 4 and I'm not even buying all the Miller to Charlotte smoke but who knows? Last year it was widely anticipated that Jabari Smith was going 1st and Banchero was going 3rd so, outside of Wemby going 1, it's up in the air.

FTR, I didn't compare them directly as I mentioned in my previous post. I only mentioned Stanley as a guy who had physical gifts but had stuff missing between the ears. Whitmore makes a lot of poor decisions with the ball, it's a major concern for me. Also, Johnson's jumper looked broken from Day 1. Walker's stroke looks just fine, he just has to refine it a bit. Funny enough, Miller is the one who has a release that could be cause for concern. That low release could be problematic at the next level despite him having the length to shoot over people.

The biggest red flag to me in a player is lack of Basketball IQ because I don't think that's something that's fixable. That's how you get a player like Stanley Johnson who had a lot of physical gifts but lacked awareness. Not saying that Cam is Stanley, there's obviously a higher upside with him, but I've seen so many low IQ plays from him offensively and defensively that it turned off to him greatly despite the flashes of athletic brilliance that he displayed. Maybe part of that was due to him playing for a bad team feeling like he has to do everything or just chalked up to youth but it's a big negative for me because IQ is usually innate. I don't know, I've never been a big fan of the tools but no toolbox player. Also, you're right about his elite finishing ability at the rim and that coming in handy alongside playmakers but, in the same token, he's the type of player who likes to have the ball in his hands to create as well so I see that as a problem because he's not a good passer and you run the risk of the offense getting bogged down when he gets the ball similar to what Bey tried to be the last few years. With Whitmore, it almost entirely boils down to upside because what you're getting right now is a player that is very raw and needs strong coaching to get him to buy into a structured system so if you're buying into him being a potential star then this is the right play but if you're buying into players that fit in a team concept (plug and play guys) even if they have a lower ceiling then I think Walker or Hendricks are the play, or D**k if you think his defense will improve.

Athletic Versatile defender (his lateral movement is fine, not great but good enough to play perimeter defense), shot has good form so I think he'll be a solid 3 point shooter, has playmaking skills. His biggest issue is that he's not a good shot creator and is more of a 4 than a 3 which isn't a big need for the Pistons. In terms of skillset, I think he's a better fit for the Pistons than Whitmore for example. The free throw shooting is a concern but I like his form so I think it's something that can be corrected. I'll pose the same question to you about Whitmore. Talk me off the ledge... This is what I see... Inconsistent shooter, poor ballhandler because his hands are too small, not great measurables, not much of a passer, tends to make poor decisions with the ball The positives I see are his explosive athleticism and ability to cut off ball and finish at the rim. He's also really young so there's a lot of growth potential but what I see now is a player that is a project full of potential but a player that will be frustrating as hell to watch. Not making an exact comparison but some of my frustrations with Bey I see in this kid with that bully ball mentality with a propensity for the ball to stick when he gets it and being turnover prone to boot. I'll say that he has more high end potential than Walker but I think Walker fits better in the framework of a ball movement offense on a team that is led by playmaking guards. When I see Whitmore play, I see a guy that plays with a star mentality but without the refined skills at this point to play like a star. I don't see the fit unless he changes his style. I actually see Hendricks as the best fit of all these 2nd tier guys but he doesn't appear to be on the Pistons radar if the rumors are to be believed.

The only way I see that happening is if Miller or Amen Thompson drop and even then the Pistons would likely have to add #31 plus maybe one of their young centers?

Denver is pretty star laden even outside of Jokic. Murray is a star, Porter is one of the best #3 options in the league, Gordon high level role player, all guys with high draft pedigree. They're just as talented, if not more, than Boston but they play much better as a TEAM because they have the ultimate "make everybody better" guy in Jokic. Malone is an excellent coach but that team is as talented as any in the league. The NBA, compared to the other sports, is a star driven league and always will be. If Cade doesn't turn out to be a superstar or at least a top 10-15 player in the league, the Pistons will more than likely never win a Championship. Teams like the '04 Pistons are an extreme exception. It doesn't mean that coaching doesn't play a role of course but it's less important than other sports IMO.

The injuries are a concern of course but he's still young and played at an MVP level for a few years. FTR, I take Goff and his current salary over Lamar and his new salary without hesitation especially in this offense the way the Lions are being built but if you look at them in a vacuum purely from an upside/impact standpoint, I can't imagine many taking Goff over Jackson.

It doesn't matter. He's a 26 year old with an elite skillset that has an MVP to his credit, his upside is much higher. Unless a team has a system that is tailor made for a QB like Goff (like the Lions for example), I can't see any team picking Goff over Lamar if contracts are equal. Now Lamar for max money vs. Goff at $35-$40m is a different conversation.

Lamar hasn't been one of the best QBs in the NFL since 2020. He had two peak years and two duds quite frankly and is now becoming injury prone. However, if all else is fairly equal, I don't think any GM would take Goff over him simply because he's far more impactful when he's at his best plus he has age on his side.

Carr has generally been a top 8-12 QB or so so I guess they're banking on him rediscovering his form. I don't think it matters what Geno did 2+ years ago, he was very good last year and Seattle has just as many weapons as anybody in the league, similar to Tua, so I get why folks think that they'll put up big numbers. Goff is working with less than those guys with Jamo out and the Lions are a strong running team so I can sort of get the "mid" ranking even if I don't agree. I think all these guys in the 9-16 range are fairly interchangeable.

I guess it's not THAT egregious when I see those names. Tua is likely to have a massive year with those weapons so no problem with him being that high (I'd actually have him higher), Carr and Smith are around Goff's level so.. fine and Watson has obvious upside potential now that the legal stuff is seemingly behind him. If they had somebody like Daniel Jones ahead of him, I'd take issue with it. 16 just seems awfully low considering the way Goff closed out last season, but these rankings don't mean much in any case.

I'm curious, who was 1-15? I'm not a Goffling by any means but having him at 16 for this upcoming season seems absurd.

One thing with Whitmore that will mesh well with somebody like Cade is that he's an excellent cutter so there will be plenty of opportunities for good looks at the rim but my issue with him is when he has the ball, it tends to stick which is exactly what they don't need on wing and is what was one of the biggest issues with Bey. I feel like guys like Walker and Hendricks (don't know much about Ausar) fit better in an offense that emphasizes ball movement. If you want the better ISO player, that's Whitmore, but I don't think that's what the Pistons need.

I feel like most fanbases have this complaint with coaches. This is a coach that brought them to the brink of an NBA championship just a few years ago so the in game strategy can't be all that bad. With that said, their performance in elimination games the last 2 years (Dallas and Denver) was disconcerting but they were also ravaged by injury in the Denver series so it's a tough evaluation. In any event, the coach doesn't matter all that much if they don't have the players so Weaver has a lot of work to do to make this team competitive.

Agreed on Cason Wallace. The guy just has good 10+ year pro written all over him, probably the best 2 way guard in this draft. He'd be a great fit for a team like Houston if they were able to trade back into the lottery or traded back. I see this sentiment among Pistons fans all over social media that they love Cam Whitmore. He has some fun highlights but having watched a lot of him this year (the guy in the Pistons range I keyed on most along with Miller), I'm struggling to see the fit. I'm not saying he's Saddiq Bey but he's a ballstopper like Bey was, once he gets the ball it's not likely leaving his hands as he dribbles and dribbles and dribbles some more then tries to bully his way to the basket. I hated it when Bey did that and I see this happening again with Whitmore. If he doesn't become more consistent with the 3 and with his defense, he's going to drive Pistons fans nuts with hero ball and low IQ plays. Guys like Walker and Hendricks aren't sexy picks but they're much better fits for a guard dominated team that doesn't need wings that like to dominate the ball. They're better defenders than Whitmore as well. Not as much upside perhaps but much better fits IMO.

Is Monty terrible at X's & O's or that just a narrative that automatically gets attached to players coaches? He's no Nick Nurse with his in game strategies but the Suns generally came across as a team that seemed pretty connected on the court until the GM tore apart the team to chase the new shiny object.

Did he post that mock today after the Williams hire? I find that interesting because I see Whitmore as less of a possibility now that Williams is aboard with his quick ball movement offense.

Stan Van Gundy the coach is fine, Stan Van Gundy the GM was always a disaster waiting to happen.

Have to give Gores a lot of credit here. He's doing what it takes to lure in the best available coaching candidate. You have to give him an A for effort and I'm far from a Gores fan. I'd be interested to see how this influences the draft and free agency now. I'd have to think that guys like Walker and Hendricks are more in play now at 5, guys with high floors that have defensive versatility that can hit 3's and seem to fit into that team/ball movement concept while Whitmore and the Thompsons seem like more of a longshot but just a guess on my part. This also might make Detroit a somewhat more attractive free agent destination simply because Monty has some cache around the league, I wonder if Cam Johnson is now on their radar.

You can't say that Gores doesn't care about winning if he's willing to make Monty Williams the second highest paid coach in the league. At least Ollie seems to be out now. Ollie might be a good coach but bringing in a coach with literally no NBA head coaching experience and who hasn't coached anywhere for years would have been a huge risk. The Pistons were the only one to even interview him in the last 5 years I believe, that's pretty telling.

Dumb take. The Lions have the two best rookie edge rushers last season, Harris, the Okwaras and you could even consider Paschal somewhat of an edge. Spoken like a guy who has no clue about the Lions roster. It could be argued that defensive tackle should have been prioritized more but, other than that, the Lions addressed every position of need this offseason.