NYLion

No. You take BPA

I thought I saw a ghost when I saw the Kool Aid Man avatar pop up in this thread. Welcome back Del. These are my takes on the top prospects... Holmgren - I'm not as down on him as a lot of you guys are. He comes with risk but he's a game changer on the defensive end due to his immense length and high level instincts. He doesn't defend on the perimeter as much as Mobley but I've seen him do it effectively when called upon and I see him having a fairly similar impact defensively in the NBA. Maybe not as impactful as Mobley has been in his rookie year but eventually I see him being an All NBA defense caliber player. He also hits the 3 at a pretty good clip so he'll be a problem for defenses as a stretch big offensively. The frame is an issue and he doesn't have much versatility offensively at this point in his career although he handles the ball pretty well in transition. I'd have no problem taking him in the top 3 because I feel that defense will translate and he'd fix that rim protection problem that the Pistons currently have Smith - I really like him but I'm not sure if he's going to be more than a 3 and D guy and he doesn't have the impact defensively that Holmgren does although he's no slouch defensively. No doubt that he'd be money on a pick and roll with Cade and I love his competitiveness but he leaves me wanting more on the offensive end. He's really young so I think there's a lot of growth left in his game so, similar to Chet, there's a lot of projection with him. Banchero - He's the most offensively polished of the three bigs so while I think he'll bring more offensive versatility in his early years, I'm not sure that there's much growth left in his game. What I've seen improvements with him is his passing off the dribble and his 1 on 1 defense. His handle can be shaky at times and he often times looks lost on help defense partially because he has slow feet so that could be a problem at the next level because I think the opposition will feast on him defensively but I can't see him not being a high level scorer at the next level. The thing is, is an ISO scorer really the best fit for the Pistons? As we've seen with Grant at times, it can get ugly. Mathurin - I thought I was the only Mathurin fan here. Most have Ivey over him and I see a lot of scouting services having him somewhere between 8-10 which perplexes me. He's an excellent athlete, he's probably the best long range shooter of the guards and he's an underrated playmaker. Plus, he loves the big moment. I don't know, he just has some of that "it" factor. There's no way he's 6'7 though. He's more like 6'4 or 6'5 at the most. If Mathurin was really 6'7, he'd be higher up in the draft pecking order. Ivey - The most explosive athlete of this draft. Hell, he be one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA right now. My issue with him is that he's pretty one dimensional offensively. He's a straight line driver and an excellent one at that but he has very little mid range game, is inconsistent in the long range and can get out of control at times. I'm not sure if he's going to be much more than a high level slasher in the NBA, kind of like a poor mans' Westbrook. If he can hit the three with more consistency, that would take him to another level, but he hasn't found that consistency yet. Sharpe is the big wild card. The tape looks impressive but it's high school. You're banking entirely on projection with him. I will say that he looks like a great fit with the Pistons based on the game tape. I like Murray but I'm not sure how much upside he actually has with him being older than all the other prospects but he has a lot of offensive skill, probably the most versatile scorer in this draft. Griffin, meh, I don't see much with him. 3 and ok D guy. Duren? Not really interested in a rim runner with a top 7 pick. I guess that's it of the guys slated to be on the Pistons radar. I like the 3 bigs, Mathurin and then Murray/Ivey/Sharpe. I don't think there's much of a spread between the top tier (the 3 Bigs) and the 2nd tier so even if the Pistons drop to 6 or 7, I'm fine with that. It's not like last year where there was the ultimate prize of Cade and Mobley, Green in a clear 2nd tier above the others.

Apparently the Lions scouts really liked Lance so it seems like they have a "type" that they prefer if there's any credibility to them liking Lance. There is no Sewell in this draft that's a no brainer so I think it would be easier for them to take a swing for a QB they love unless Hutch is there.

It's the case with any regime. You either come out looking like a hero (Mahomes, Allen, guys who had major question marks coming into the draft) or a zero (Trubisky, Darnold). This would be no different. It all depends on how much they trust Goff to be THE GUY which could be just as risky if they pass on QB this year and don't have the chance again in the near future.

Yes but on the other hand, he had very little talent around him compared to even Lance so it makes it an almost impossible evaluation based on game tape. Essentially, you're projecting based almost entirely on physical tools and whether that can translate to the next level. Everybody knows it's a major risk but it's a risk that presents potential major reward. It just illustrates how poor this draft is at the top that this is even a consideration (he'd probably be the 6th QB last year) but, here we are. We're also talking about guys like Travon Walker who would be a mid 1st prospect in most drafts and Thibodeaux the same due to inconsistency and character issues, do you want a safety at 2 with Hamilton? a corner at 2 with Gardner? another tackle? so there's risks with every prospect taken that high.

Bingo and is similar to what I said in the previous post. With a bunch of prospects that look to be a reach at 2 (thanks Thibs for acting like such a jackass), why not take a shot at the QB with upside if there's no obvious pick at 2? They have 4 other picks in the top 97 to fill other needs.

The Willis stuff is intriguing to me with all this media hype, the supposed Lions interest etc. I've been against taking any QB in this draft but with Hutchinson likely going to Jacksonville and no prospect even close to being worthy of being taken at #2 if we're being honest, I'm sort of warming up to the idea of taking a swing for the fences with Willis at 2 because you will never get more value than you'd get from a QB if you hit with that pick. Bigger risk of course but the potential reward would be higher than any other position. OR the Lions being a threat to take him drives up the value of the pick. A team like the Falcons comes to mind that has a bridge QB in place and nothing else (unless they make a trade for Mayfield). They have the #8 pick and two 2nds so they could be a good dance partner if they're willing to dance. Anyway, in a draft with a whole bunch of unappealing options at 2, I think Willis could be the most appealing one on a couple of levels.

Apparently he wants to be closer to home (Atlanta) which is why you see all the teams in the NFC South on his list, plus... (insert massage parlor joke)

It's the perfect year to trade down even if Hutch is there at 2. I don't think any of the prospects in this draft would even be top 10 last year and this draft is deeper than last years IMO. The problem is that other teams know this too so I don't see much motivation for a team to trade up. Either way, the Lions are set up pretty nicely with 5 picks in the top 97(now that we know where the Golladay comp pick falls).

I'm fine with what they did. I had a feeling that they wouldn't make the big splash signings that some were craving for. I would have loved Marcus Williams at the contract he got with Baltimore but I knew he was out once they signed Walker and I doubt he would have signed with the Lions for that (relatively) cheap. The contract that has me shaking my head is Raymond at 2yrs $9m, lets hope that it's an incentive laden contract with a lower caphit because that's a shit ton for what will likely be the #6 receiver here if they draft one high. Other than that, I like the Chark signing as a low risk high reward and the Walker and Harris contracts are reasonable. This isn't the offseason to blow their wad on free agency so I'm ok with the slow build approach.

I don't think they're wiling to spend near $25M on safties alone (Williams is going to likely be north of $15m, basically the rest of their cap space would go to Williams. I think it was a Walker or Williams situation and they chose Walker.

That Kirk contract is an absolute eyesore. It's honestly one of the biggest overpayments I've ever seen, pure lunacy. Not a big fan of the Walker re-signing because it almost certainly takes them out of the Williams sweepstakes but perhaps they were never after Williams in the first place. It's probably better off that they're not likely making any big signings because they're not ready to compete for anything next season anyway.

Watson has a NTC so the Lions are out anyway.

Chet Holmgren, if he's available where they pick.

He and Doncic give Lebron a run for his money in the whiner department. Cade has reason to whine if he decided to because, and I know he's a rookie, he gets absolutely no calls. I don't know many times I've seen him hacked on the way to the rim or bumped on hard hedging double teams and no call. Hopefully he gets more ref respect as he gains experience.

You can see that Cade has all NBA potential, not just All Star potential, but still lots of ups and downs in his game as expected for a rookie. Last night was just a function of him being gassed playing way too many minutes because the bench was decimated with injury. Good for the tank I suppose but if Hayes, Diallo and Stewart were healthy, I bet that's a much tighter game in the 4th. In any event, all the arrows are pointing up with this team. It'll make for an exciting offseason knowing that this team is learning how to win and might be ready to take a bigger step next season with some additions.

Not a premium position but the Lions are loading up on premium positions in the draft with Sewell in the last draft and likely a DE in this draft with the first pick so if you have that anchor on the line and at safety, this defense could be completely transformed going into next season especially if they can find a capable LB.

For Williams? Why not? He's only 25, he'll be a part of this young core for a long time. Then again, Flowers wasn't much older than that when he signed so who knows.

That's true, the difference in money available immediately doesn't seem too significant. Either way, this was the right move. I was getting a little concerned that they might not cut him and give it one more shot with him to see if he can stay healthy. This is best for both parties.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out. Based on the tweet Hongbit posted, it would appear that they don't get the post June 1st designation benefit until AFTER June 1st so less money to spend on free agency this season. I'm not sure what that benefit would be since the NFL offseason of roster adds pretty much dies off by that time. Either way, it looks like they're loading up for next offseason.

I had a feeling that's what you meant. So essentially the team gets the cap space for free agency (the added cap space as if it's a post June 1st cut) and the player gets to choose his free agency destination? How can a team pull this off though getting the benefit of a post June 1st cut by announcing the cut pre June 1st?

Also, who do you guys like in free agency? Now that Flowers is cut, the Lions have about $35m to spend I believe? Considering that they need to save some of that for their draft picks, I see one potential big splash move. If I was to pick one, it would be Marcus Williams. An elite 25 year old safety who is familiar with Glenn and I think it's fairly realistic. If possible, I'd love to get Allen Robinson as well on a hometown discount but don't think that's likely.

Curious. What does "carry a post June 1 destination for cap purposes" mean exactly?

There is a top tier in this draft but it's not as pronounced as other drafts, there's no Cade or Mobley in this draft. Smith, Holmgren and Banchero all have significant flaws, Ivey too if you want to include him in a "top 4" (his 3 point shooting isn't good btw, it's an issue to go along with his lack of a mid range game). Smith is pretty one dimensional on offense at this point in his career (plenty of room for growth though), Holmgren's frame and lack of offensive versatility, Banchero's long range shooting and defense. I like the 3 bigs and would be elated to have any of them (Smith and Holmgren in particiular) but I don't think there's a steep drop between the top tier and the 2nd tier of guys like Mathurin, Griffin, Davis, Murray, Sharpe so this is part of the reason why I'm not getting all caught up in the tank, not to mention the odds being fairly equal as I mentioned above, so if they go on a bit of a run here and create momentum headed into the offseason I'm ok with it. I'd like to get a higher pick of course but I don't think there is as much urgency to finish top 4 as there was last draft. They already got their franchise guy in Cade.

Yep, don't really care about the tank anymore. The lottery balls will dictate if they get a top 4 pick or not regardless. The team is coming together mostly driven by the young core. This is a good thing and for the fans, it's fun to watch after years of watching garbage basketball.