2016 NBA Draft: Draft Day Misses
By Gary Gorski
Detroit Pistons
The Pistons made some really nice moves recently to bring in players like Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris and Tobias Harris while unloading prior mistake acquisitions like Brandon Jennings. Teamed with a franchise big man of their own in Andre Drummond, the Pistons brought playoff basketball back to the Motor City.
But for some reason Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons just want to shoot themselves in the foot on draft night.
Last year Detroit passed on Justise Winslow with the eighth overall pick and selected Stanley Johnson from Arizona. Johnson did not have a bad rookie season averaging just over eight points per game but Winslow outpaced him in key metrics like win shares, box plus/minus and VORP. Even more importantly Winslow was the top rookie in defensive win shares and defensive rating for the season.
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The Pistons had picks 18 and 48 in this year’s draft and came up short in both. At 18 they selected Marquette’s Henry Ellensen whom Stan Van Gundy doesn’t necessarily think will be a contributor this season. With the Pistons giving the Cavs a decent series in the opening round of the playoffs they should have been looking to add someone who either could help now or would be a true four man and better athlete since the Pistons already have the 5-spot locked down with Drummond.
The Pistons could have used the 18th pick to trade for Thad Young, a veteran who could make a significant contribution this season, or could have used the pick for a big like Brice Johnson, Skal Labissiere or Deyonta Davis..
The Pistons also missed an opportunity in the second round as well. One of their offseason needs is finding a backup point guard for Reggie Jackson and while their selection of Michael Gbinije might fill that need just five picks before Kahil Felder was selected. Felder was among the leaders in the nation in scoring and did lead the nation in assists at Oakland University, which is just down the road from Auburn Hills.
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The Pistons’ missteps were not as egregious as the above teams, but once again they had players on the board who could have been better fits. Time will tell how things turn out for all these teams but fans of each franchise certainly may look back at this draft and think what might have been.