The Detroit Pistons will need some good luck in the NBA Draft in order to take the next step, having been swept out of the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round this past season. Senior advisor Ed Stefanski noted the Pistons would like to add some wing depth, but will ultimately go with the best talent available on the board:

“I’d like to have a wing,” said Stefanski, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. “We need numerous positions for depth. There’s no question there. We need to keep getting the talent better, depth. If a wing was there that we thought had the best upside, we’d take that player. … There are numerous guys still in our mix from various positions. Again, we’ll go with best talent, pretty much. I don’t want to mislead anyone, but that’s usually what we go to.”

There is plenty of wing depth available in the middle of the board, where the Pistons will make their selection with the 15th overall pick. This includes players like Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), Kevin Porter (USC) and Romeo Langford (Indiana). Defensive stalwart Matisse Thybulle (Washington) could also be an option deeper down the board, depending on what Detroit's front office envisions working for this team:

“We talk about everything you guys are talking about and asking questions about,” said Stefanski. “We talk this all through… I think that’s difficult on a rookie to jump in there. That’s all going to be up to (Dwane) Casey. If we go back to the tapes, I said Bruce Brown would play in the first year, and the only reason I said that is because of how tough he is and that he’d play defense. Knowing Casey, he’ll disagree with me, but if you don’t play defense, you’re not getting on the court, so that’s why I felt Bruce Brown could play. It’s going to be hard for a rookie” to break into a big role.”

The Pistons could also choose to trade up or down the board, depending on the need. But like Stefanski said, it's hard to envision a non-lottery rookie making an impact on a veteran team right away, regardless of the talent.