Stanley Johnson: A Perfect Fit For The Pistons?

By Ti Windisch | May 18, 2015

March 14, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Stanley Johnson (5) shoots the basketball against Oregon Ducks guard Jalil Abdul-Bassit (15) and forward Jordan Bell (1) during the first half in the championship game of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s no secret that the Detroit Pistons are in need of a quality small forward. Draft prospect Stanley Johnson is aware of Detroit’s need for a good, young forward too, and he believes he can be the guy for the Pistons going forward. On May 14, the Arizona Wildcats standout told reporters (including David Mayo, who broke this story) just how open he is to coming to Detroit.

“So they told me if they drafted me, obviously, that’s where the team needs help at, and I’m a really good player and I’d be able to help out in that way,” he said.

Due to the Pistons’ hole at the forward spot and Johnson’s somewhat close relationship with both Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond (as noted in Mayo’s article, he and Drummond actually played high school ball together), Johnson is clearly not opposed to becoming Detroit’s newest young talent.

But could he, Jackson and Drummond form a young Big Three in the Motor City?

Talent-wise, it’s pretty hard to say. I’m not much of a scout, but it seems conceivable that Drummond, Jackson and Johnson could each develop into really good players. They’re all still pretty young (21, 25 and 18, respectively) and even the elder statesman of the group, Reggie Jackson, doesn’t have that many NBA miles on him due to his backup status when he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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But as I said, it’s tough to call that the group could progress to a high enough level to one day contend for a championship. What I can do, however, is evaluate how well the three would fit next to each other. After all, Pistons fans don’t want to let another talented player walk away because they just don’t fit in, ala Josh Smith.

Stan Van Gundy really likes having shooters on the floor. Stanley Johnson is definitely a shooter. He shot 44.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from long-range, which are really solid numbers for any college player. Johnson is also a good free throw shooter and shot 74.2 percent from the line in college.

One important thing to remember is that although the NCAA is no intramural league, NBA shooting workouts are on an entirely different level. Once Johnson gets drafted and can start working with NBA level coaching wherever he ends up, don’t be surprised to see his career percentages eclipse those college statistics, as nice as they are.

Johnson had an impact on games outside of his offensive production during his time at Arizona. He was a capable rebounder and reeled in 6.5 boards a game, which is impressive considering Johnson doesn’t stand overly tall at around 6’8″. He also recorded 1.5 steals per game, which is a notable if not major defensive impact.

Johnson is an athletic forward who can really do it all, and that was shown in his 20-point performance against Washington last season. In addition to those 20 points, Johnson also put up eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and zero turnovers. The different ways he attacked Washington’s defense are pretty impressive, and actually watching him work is more informative than reading the stat sheet.

Based on his versatile offensive skillset, his good rebounding, his solid defense and his athleticism I do think Stanley Johnson would be a great fit, and I think he might just be the best player Detroit could select if they do end up picking eighth in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Most projections still have him available at eighth, and I believe he might be the most secure investment the Pistons could make with that pick. Some overseas players such as Emmanuel Mudiay, Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja are projected as better pros to go before Johnson, but there is always a risk that those players just don’t pan out in the NBA.

Just look at fourth overall selection Dante Exum from the 2014 NBA Draft, who got drafted by the Utah Jazz. Exum started 41 games and played in all 82, but ended the season with a disastrous Player Efficiency Rating of 5.7. Overseas leagues often have different rules, different three-point lines and vastly different competition levels, making scouting more difficult.

If the Pistons want to select the player who has the best shot of becoming an at-least solid NBA Player, they should strongly consider Stanley Johnson.

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