What A Night
The Pistons were one of the most intriguing teams in the 2022 NBA Draft because no one had a clue what direction general manager Troy Weaver was going to take. He had made a trade the day before, sending Jerami Grant to the Portland Trailblazers for a 2025 top-4 protected Milwaukee first-round pick and a pick swap in the second round. The plausible explanation was that the Pistons wanted to free up cap space, make a run at Deandre Ayton in free agency and potentially even others in this year's free agency class. The lack of uncertainty about the direction of the team, along with a split fan base on who the Pistons should take with the No. 5 pick set the stage for a wild night.
While the night began with chaos right off the bat, with Duke's Paolo Banchero going No. 1 to the Orlando Magic, the real interest for Pistons fans came when pick No. 4 was announced. The Sacramento Kings decided to go with Iowa forward Keegan Murray, which opened the door for the Pistons to take Jaden Ivey, the electric guard out of Purdue. Ivey, who was a consensus second-team All-American, had been regarded as the best guard in this draft class and had put in the same tier as Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jabari Smith Jr. The pick was an immense win for the Pistons, who had been lacking true athleticism at the guard spot, along with a true backcourt mate for Cade Cunningham, and, naturally, Ivey checks both those boxes in a major way.
Ivey had made it clear in the past couple of weeks that Detroit was a place he wanted to be. His mother, Niele Ivey, who is currently the head coach for the Notre Dame women's basketball team, had played on the Detroit Shock when she was in the WNBA. His grandfather played for the Detroit Lions for seven years and his grandmother currently lives in Detroit. Whereas most prospects brush off of Detroit, Ivey has seemed to embrace the city and has won the hearts of Pistons fans all over already.
However, just when you thought the Pistons were done, there were more fireworks. Armed with a 2025 first-round pick from Milwaukee, the Pistons were able to swing a three-way trade with the Charlotte Hornets and the New York Knicks, acquiring Memphis big man Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker, while sending the Milwaukee pick to Charlotte. Kemba Walker will likely be bought out, so the real prize is Duren. The Pistons had long been fans of Duren, and were considering the possibility of drafting him at five if Ivey was picked earlier. Duren immediately provides athleticism in the front court and may have the most NBA-ready body in this class, standing at 6-11 with a 7-5 wingspan. The No. 1 player in his high school class, Duren has built a reputation of being a sound defender and has shown flashes of potential playmaking capability throughout the draft process, especially above and around the rim.
If there is one thing that is clear from draft night, it is that the Pistons are not going to rush the “restoration,” as proclaimed by Weaver. Ivey and Duren are not going to become stars immediately, and there will be many growing pains for both these two players and the Pistons, but the long-term reward of these two picks, along with Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart has inspired hope, something that this city has not truly had since 2004.
