NYLion

I don't think they matter much anymore

OKC came back from 18 down midway through the 4th I believe with one of the worst lineups I've ever seen an NBA team put on the court. Hell, I don't even think that team would make the playoffs in the G League.

Cade does a lot more than just score though and has been playing well for longer than Green has. With that said, Green will likely be the best scorer in this draft when all is said and done, which is what pretty much everybody predicted. ROY doesn't matter anyway. I have little doubt that Cade will wind up being the best player in this draft class, he's just too damn good in a lot of areas. I think he has top 10 player in the league potential.

Pretty much, especially in a draft like this where there's a greater chance that the best player comes from outside the top 4 than a normal draft. Also, as has been mentioned ad nauseum, the odds of finishing top 4 are largely unchanged from 1-4 so the only real effect from dropping a few spots is a greater chance of finishing 5-7 which really isn't a big deal (8 is virtually impossible unless they pass Indiana too so top 7 is pretty much guaranteed). They're going to need the luck of the lottery balls regardless of where they finish. I think there's an outside of chance of finishing 3rd after OKC shockingly won last night. They play the G League Blazers at home and the L.A. teams who should have nothing to play for so you'd think that they can squeeze out a win while the Pistons play the Mavs and Bucks who will almost certainly have something to play for (Sixers probably not though) so I think 3 is still very much in play.

It's hard not to be excited about this team going forward. They've been close to having a really good record since the All Star break. I said previously that they're a few pieces away from contending for a play in next season but I don't know, they could be even better than that if Weaver has a good offseason. All arrows are pointing up with this group.

It's going to be a really interesting offseason for the Pistons, one of the most interesting since... I can't remember. The top pick, enough cap space to sign an impact free agent and the Grant decision. With the right moves, the Pistons could be in the hunt for a play in spot next season.

He's the most intriguing player of the draft. I know it's just high school footage but he looks all the part of a star, the shot, the athleticism, the handle. I know nothing about his defense but his skillset looks elite. I thought he was already ruled eligible if I'm not mistaken and it was just a matter of him wanting to declare or not at this point (I have no idea why he wouldn't declare).

Perfect tank game. Cade went off, Stewart played well again (he's really come on lately) and they lose a competitive game. Stealth tank move by Casey to bench Bagley for most of the second half after starting 5-6 from the field. I see you Dwayne, I see you.

Exactly. Sewell will give them the advantage of having intel as to what kind of person Thibodeaux really is Holmes will be as informed as can be on him because talentwise, he's the clear choice at 2 or even 1 to be honest.

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.