The Detroit Pistons made one big move this offseason already, replacing head coach Lawrence Frank with Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Maurice Cheeks. Detroit will now try to make a few more big moves as they attempt to steer their stable of solid young players into playoff contention.
NBA Draft 2013: Detroit Pistons may target backcourt help at No. 8
With Jose Calderon a free agent and Rodney Stuckey’s situation up in the air, the Detroit Pistons may look to shore up their backcourt with the No. 8 pick.
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
The NBA Draft is a great place for the Pistons to look for the last couple of missing ingredients, too. Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond have all been useful picks for the Pistons made near the end of the lottery. The Pistons will need to find another useful piece with the No. 8 pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
Draft picks
Detroit will be on the clock with the eighth overall selection this year before wrapping around with the No. 37 and No. 56 picks in the second round.
The Pistons will need to make their picks count this year, too, because they'll need to send next year's pick to the Bobcats as part of the Ben Gordon/Corey Maggette trade -- that is unless Detroit once again finds itself picking in one of the first eight slots.
Complete Detroit Pistons draft coverage
Visit Detroit Bad Boys for more on the Pistons. Depth chart
Point Guard - Brandon Knight, Jose Calderon (free agent), Will Bynum (free agent)
Shooting Guard - Rodney Stuckey (non-guaranteed contract), Kim English (non-guaranteed)
Small Forward - Kyle Singler, Corey Maggette (free agent), Jonas Jerebko, Khris Middleton
Power Forward - Greg Monroe, Charlie Villanueva (player option), Jason Maxiell (free agent)
Center - Andre Drummond, Viacheslav Kravtsov (non-guaranteed)
The Pistons have put themselves in a good spot through the draft as of late, but depth all around -- and maybe another starting-caliber wing -- would definitely be beneficial.
Biggest need(s)
The Pistons are in decent shape, but would do well to shore up the backcourt around Knight. The team can save themselves $4.5 million if they release Stuckey prior to June 30. If they find a player that complements Knight better in the backcourt, that would likely be what they do.
Aside from the backcourt, the Pistons could use some depth behind Monroe and Drummond, particularly if they use the amnesty clause on Villanueva and don’t bring back Maxiell and Kravstov.
Potential targets
Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum (scouting report) is one of the more interesting candidates for Detroit. McCollum and Knight would be a ferocious two-headed monster on the offensive end, but defense could be a problem when matching up with bigger guards.
The Pistons could also take 6’6 point guard Michael Carter-Williams (scouting report) out of Syracuse. MCW isn’t a very good shooter, but has shown that many of his other skills, combined with his size, should translate well to the NBA level.
See More:
