The Detroit Pistons failed to make the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference, yet several of their young guys give this team hope for the future. However, head coach Stan Van Gundy would love to add one or two more impact players, and Detroit has the chance to do that with the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft. Here are the three players they're targeting with that pick:
3) Devin Booker – 6’6″, 206 lbs, SG – Fr., Kentucky
Stats: 10.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Booker is the best shooter in the draft, and Stan Van Gundy can never have enough shooters. While Detroit already has a budding young shooting guard in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Pistons may draft him and figure out a way to get him playing time.
2) Stanley Johnson – 6’7″, 245 lbs, SF – Fr., Arizona
Stats: 14.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Johnson started the college season as the second most hyped player in this freshman class behind Jahlil Okafor, and he lived up to that hype. He was the defensive force scouts wanted to see, and when coupled with his athleticism and improved shooting stroke (37.1% from long-range), and it’s easy to see why many think he’ll be able to make an impact in the NBA right away.
1) Frank Kaminsky – 7’0″, 234 lbs, C – Sr., Wisconsin
Stats: 18.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Detroit would love to keep free agent-to-be Greg Monroe in the fold, but there’s a chance the team could end up essentially swapping Monroe for a young replacement via the draft.
According to David Mayo of MLive.com, the team could consider Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky:
The Pistons, who will draft No. 8, are at risk of losing Greg Monroe — more popularly nicknamed “Moose” — via unrestricted free agency this summer.
Despite ongoing assertions that they hope to keep Monroe, the Pistons simultaneously must search for his replacement at power forward.
Enter Kaminsky, a multi-dimensional range shooter who could stretch the floor and give the Pistons more opportunity to play president-coach Stan Van Gundy’s preferred four-out, one-in offensive brand.
The 2014-15 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year also brings a unique skill set to the table, having functioned as a 6-foot-1 guard in high school before sprouting nine inches and finding his groove as a big man for the Badgers.
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