The Detroit Pistons have the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Their luck in the draft lottery is still poor but it doesn’t mean they can’t add a good, young prospect to their team.

The Pistons have a lot of young players at various positions, so it makes drafting the best player available much easier. The rumor mill seems to have linked a player to them based on where they are picking. There is a “likely marriage” of Buzelis landing with the Pistons in the draft seen among rival teams, according to Jeremy Woo of ESPN.

Woo writes the following: “Buzelis scheduled workouts with Atlanta and Washington, but for weeks now, rival teams have largely viewed Detroit as his likely landing spot. At this point, the Pistons haven't worked out other players who are ticketed for the high lottery, contributing to the idea that Detroit is the probable floor for him. The Pistons are transitioning under new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon's leadership, but their interest in Buzelis predated his hiring.”

The Pistons are hiring assistant coach Fred Vinson away from the New Orleans Pelicans in addition to bringing in Langdon to run the show. Vinson's work fixing players' jump shots suggests that Detroit believes there’s more to be unlocked in Buzelis, one of the 2024 prospects whose future is defined heavily by whether their jumper comes around at the next level.

Matas Buzelis seen as likely to be drafted by Pistons in 2024 NBA Draft

In ESPN's mock draft, the top four picks in order are Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard and Stephon Castle. Should those four players all be off the board, the Pistons taking Buzelis makes sense if they believe he can be a legitimate shooter. He shot well from deep at previous levels but was not all that great during his time with G League Ignite, where he shot 26.1 percent from deep and took almost 30 percent of his field goals from deep. He looked confident as a shooter but the efficiency and volume were lacking.

However, jumping from the high school level to the professional court is a lot. Buzelis could end up being a decent shooter in his NBA career but whoever drafts him will have to make sure he brings value in other areas. He has shown some of these flashes and has good size for a wing, at least in terms of the length of his frame.

Buzelis has the potential to be a strong two-way player. He can defend really well using his long frame and awareness away from the ball. On offense, though, it’s tough to see where he can be consistently impactful. He's a solid cutter and can score from the mid-range with floaters but it’s unclear how effective he can be in halfcourt settings. His playmaking is decent but if he’s not always on the ball — and with Cade Cunningham still there, he won’t be — what does he do to help when he can’t break out in transition?

Especially with Monty Williams now out of the picture, the Pistons are looking to start from a new vantage point in building their team. Buzelis is an intriguing talent but Detroit will have to feel super confident in his ability to grow into a high-level player.