As they look to fill their head coaching vacancy, the Detroit Pistons are expected to choose among three finalists: Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee, New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach Jarron Collins, and Overtime Elite head coach Kevin Ollie.
However, although Pistons owner Tom Gores recently met with the trio of candidates in Los Angeles, Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill reports that Detroit isn't expected to make their final decision until after the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery.
The annual NBA Draft lottery will take place on Tuesday, May 16, at 8:30 p.m. ET and be aired live on ESPN. Former Pistons star Ben Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, will be the team's 2023 NBA Draft lottery representative.
Shoutout to Big Ben for reppin’ us at the NBA Draft Lottery next week pic.twitter.com/5HXd7bnKUL
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) May 11, 2023
The Pistons currently have a 14.0 percent chance to land the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and the opportunity to select Metropolitans 92 power forward Victor Wembanyama. Nonetheless, Detroit will fall no further than the fifth slot in the 2023 NBA Draft after finishing the 2022-23 season with a league-worst 17-65 record.
Detroit would likely rather have their head coach in place prior to the 2023 NBA Draft considering how pivotal the pick could be for the franchise moving forward. Nonetheless, it's interesting that they would rather wait until after the draft lottery.
In part because Ollie, rumored to be the frontrunner for the position, recently coached two potential top-five picks in guards Amen and Ausar Thompson. Detroit could be waiting to see if they land the No. 1 pick before determining whether or not they would like to bring Ollie on board.
If they don't win the pick, the prospect of Ollie being named the head coach and of one of the Thompson twins being drafted may heighten.
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