The Detroit Pistons went 27-55 last season and finished dead last in the Central Division, their worst showing since 2000-01 when they won 30 games and also finished in the Central cellar. They have the seventh pick in this year's draft, but draft guru Chad Ford of ESPN.com says they may make a trade to move up if it means grabbing a big man with potential. In response to a chat question about the possibility of Detroit moving up, Ford said:
Pistons can offer No. 7 plus either Tayshaun Prince's expiring contract or perhaps one of their young assets like [Jonas] Jerebko or Austin Daye to get up there. They are talking to teams. [DeMarcus] Cousins really interests them as does [Derrick] Favors.
Just two days after the draft lottery determined Detroit would pick seventh, Kevin Sawyer of Detroit Bad Boys, SB Nation's Pistons blog, explored all the possibilities in detail, among them trading up. He believes the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have the fourth pick, would be interested in dealing with Detroit. He suggests the Pistons send Prince and the seventh pick to Minnesota for Ryan Gomes, Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins, and the fourth pick. His rationale, for both teams?
The Timberwolves save money, upgrade at two positions instead of one, and still have Al Jefferson to parlay into a solution at the two or three. The Pistons get their big man of the future, and a chance to take a look at Sessions, who some (especially here) think has star potential.
We'll see how it all plays out when the NBA Draft starts on Thursday, June 24th.