If you want to know why the Detroit Pistons have been so bad for so long look no further than the NBA Draft.
The Pistons have had a miserable run of futility in the draft, and the misses are starting to pile up as we watch guys like Donovan Mitchell become stars on other teams. But the incompetence of the draft returned in the early 2000s, a streak that the Detroit Pistons hoped had ended with guys like Isaiah Stewart, Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
But not only have the Pistons missed out on high draft picks over the years, they’ve also failed to find players late in the draft or outside of it, as the league’s best teams continue to pursue undervalued players. players to become contributors.
That’s exactly what happened when the Lakers risked undrafted free agent Austin Reaves, who became a key player in their roster, as well as Team USA.
The Detroit Pistons are close to landing Austin Reaves in the NBA Draft
The Detroit Pistons have the 42nd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and reportedly want to use it to draft Austin Reaves, but Reaves has different ideas.
According to his appearance on All Smoke PodcastReaves puts teams in tiers based on where he feels he has the most opportunity, and the Lakers are at the top of that list as a team with a small number of young guards.
So Reaves turned down the Pistons and instead became an undrafted free agent, later signing a two-way deal with the Lakers.
The rest is history, as Reaves became a surprise star in the playoffs last year, and was then asked to join Team USA for the FIBA World Cup. Many thought he was an afterthought on the team but Reaves once again proved the critics wrong and became one of Team USA’s top bench players.
Including last night, when he helped lead a comeback against Germany, who led Team USA with 16 points in the 3rd quarter. Reaves, Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards were the stars of the game, and Reaves was on the floor to close it out while stars like Jalen Brunson and Brandon Ingram sat on the bench.
It’s possible that things could have gone a different way if the Detroit Pistons had offered Reaves a full roster spot instead of a two-way, but they didn’t and instead chose Isaiah Lives. Reaves decided that if he was going to go two-way, the team might as well have him at the top of his list of best fits.
So the Detroit Pistons lost the chance to draft Reaves, because they were not ready to commit to him, which now seems to be a mistake, because he has a new four-year contract with the Lakers and is playing. like a future All-Star.