The Detroit Pistons are actually doing moderately well right now, but they started off the season with a 4-20 record and are still a very big longshot to make the playoffs, especially if they continue their terrible road form this year -- they only have three wins all season away from The Palace. All of that points to a pretty good shot at a high lottery pick for the Pistons.
You may question, is it too early to start doing NBA mock drafts? The answer: It's never too early to start doing NBA mock drafts! SB Nation's first 2012 NBA Mock Draft is up since March Madness is just about to begin and the Detroit Pistons are assigned the fifth overall pick. With it they have the Pistons picking currently No. 3 seeded Baylor's star forward Perry Jones III.
I'll never understand this mentality where we have to attack the character of a 20-year old for a poor performance. Lord forbid we point the finger at his coach for never pairing him with a true PG and playing a ludicrous 1-3-1 zone defense that has no place in high-level basketball.
There's still plenty of time to go -- we're not even that far past the All Star break for crying out loud! -- so Jones probably won't last if the Pistons keep winning games on the pace they've been going on recently. Still, like I said, it's never too early for mock drafting!
For more on the Detroit Pistons, check out Detroit Bad Boys. For more on the NBA in general, head to the SB Nation NBA hub at sbnation.com/NBA.