| Detroit Free Press
We’re now counting down the hours before the 2020 NBA draft.
It will resemble this year’s NFL draft and be conducted not in one central location in late June, but via the internet in mid November because of the pandemic.
That the new circumstances have not dampened the intrigue across the league.
For the Detroit Pistons, they find themselves in a familiar spot – in the middle of the lottery. They’ve have the seventh pick for the fourth time since 2010. With those picks, they’ve taken Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Certainly not stars, but adequate to good NBA players.
[ 3 observations as the Pistons get set for 2020 NBA draft ]
The Pistons, in the beginning of a “retool,” want to do better than that though. Our Omari Sankofa II has Detroit taking Killian Hayes, the teenage, 6-foot-5 point guard from France who has been training under ex-Piston Will Bynum.
But a quick sweep of popular mock drafts across the internet say something different about what the Pistons should do:
There have been reports that the Pistons like this 6-8 wing who played just one year for the Seminoles. He’s more known for his defensive versatility, but appears to have qualities that could develop on offense, too.
“The big winner of the pre-draft process thus far, Williams rocketed into the top 10 as NBA teams gained a comfort level with his film and watched combo forwards in his mold make a significant impact in the playoffs,” wrote Jonathan Givony.
Sam Vecenie agrees that Williams is raw on offense but has a real good feel for defense. And, as Sankofa has pointed out, new Pistons GM Troy Weaver had a big hand in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s drafts the last decade, and that organization has long coveted rangy players with athleticism.
“He’s a good kid who you should be able to trust to work to get better. And this is a team that really should be taking whatever player it feels has the most star potential. With Blake Griffin on the downside of 30, and Derrick Rose only having one year left on his deal, the Pistons should be taking home run swings to try to find the guy who can be their next star,” Vecenie wrote.
Perhaps you’re sensing a theme here. Kevin O’Connor calls Williams “a (v)ersatile offensive threat who can serve as a shot creator or as a screener; he can fill a range of roles,” and compares him to Danilo Gallinari and P.J. Tucker.
“Even if he never reaches stardom, he has foundational skills to have a long career because of his defensive versatility. Williams has long been connected to the Pistons; unless a team swoops in front of Detroit to take him, league sources say he’ll likely be the pick,” O’Connor wrote.
Jonathan Wasserman is also hearing that the Pistons like Williams a lot, and his ability to finish at the rim, shoot (a little) and play-make is hard to ignore.
“Finding a ball-handler may seem like the priority, but positional needs shouldn’t factor into Detroit’s decision. The Pistons need talent, and Williams’ combination of physical tools and versatility creates an enticing best-player-available case,” Wasserman wrote.
There we go, a little variety, finally. Though, like Williams, he is a freshman from a Power Five conference who played wing, and is better defensively than with the ball in his hands.
“Isaac Okoro is an elite defender who impacts winning in a variety of ways. If he develops offensively, the potential for stardom exists,” Garry Parrish wrote.
Back on the Williams Train. And we know what you’re thinking: what about all the point guards in this draft? Isn’t that their position of need? Raphielle Johnson has a thought about that:
“There’s still a need to address at the point guard position, but Williams is a player whose draft “stock” has risen in recent weeks. While there’s still a considerable amount of development left for him to experience as an offensive player, Williams is a plus athlete with solid instincts who can defend multiple positions.”
Finally, someone backs up our guy. Hayes is the pick here, but mostly because, like Sankofa, Jeremy Woo has Williams off the board by the time the Pistons pick.
And so, why not go to France for the second straight year after taking Sekou Doumbouya last offseason?
“Hayes will require some seasoning, but there are teams who have fallen in love with his skill level and feel, and he has good size for his position, though he’s not a great run-jump athlete. His natural craft and smarts pushed him up the board over the course of a solid year in Germany,” Woo wrote.
[ Pistons should pick Killian Hayes. NBA agent turned draft expert explains why ]
Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.