On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated's most recent mock draft was released and it had the Detroit Pistons selecting center Tyler Zeller out of North Carolina with the No. 9 overall selection on June 29 at the NBA Draft. Zeller stands at seven-foot-one and weighs close to 250 pounds, which makes him a strong candidate to help out Greg Monroe, which is something that SI's Sam Amick believes the team will try to do.
Here is the rest of Amick's opinion via SportsIllustrated.com:
Sacramento isn't the only team contemplating Zeller and Henson as complementary pieces to its emerging center; Detroit is searching for help for Greg Monroe. I'm sticking with Zeller here because he has fewer red flags than Henson (specifically the fact that the latter is rail-thin and not very strong) and a more versatile game that could lead to a long and productive career. Zeller averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a senior while earning the ACC Player of the Year award. Henson won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year award the last two seasons, but he also jumped just 30 inches at the combine and managed only five repetitions on the 185-pound bench press (Marquette forward Jae Crowder had the highest mark at 20 reps).
It's important to note that Amick believes that Zeller potentially could be selected at No. 5 overall by the Sacramento Kings. Ultimately, Zeller is believed to be a solid pro and could end up being a steal for the Pistons at nine.
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