Detroit Pistons: Best and worst draft picks of the Stan Van Gundy era

Runner-up for worst pick: Luke Kennard

It could go down in history as the late-lottery version of Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony.

With the 12th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons selected Luke Kennard. With the 13th pick, the Utah Jazz landed Donovan Mitchell. While it’s still early in their respective careers, so far Mitchell is lapping Kennard as an impact player in the league.

Mitchell quickly became Utah’s marquee attraction as a rookie and led the Jazz to the playoffs. The 6’3″ shooting guard averaged 20.5 points per game in the regular season, 24.4 points per game in the postseason, and helped Utah pull off a first round upset of the star-studded Oklahoma City Thunder. Mitchell finished second in NBA Rookie of the Year voting.

Meanwhile, Kennard has struggled to stand out for the Pistons. The 6’5″ shooting guard averaged 7.6 points in 20.0 minutes per game as a rookie, getting inconsistent playing time under Van Gundy but shooting an impressive 41.5 percent from 3-point range.

Playing for Casey in Year 2, Kennard’s numbers are similar (7.2 points in 19.6 minutes a night), but injuries have had him in and out of the lineup.

Kennard’s performances remain inconsistent. On Dec. 9, he scored two points against the New Orleans Pelicans; the next night, he dropped a career-high 28 on the Philadelphia 76ers; two days later, he had six points against the Charlotte Hornets.

Even when Kennard has shown flashes of potential to become a solid NBA player, the looming shadow of Mitchell continues to set the bar even higher for Kennard, like this past Saturday, when the Jazz beat the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. Mitchell led Utah with 26 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kennard had two points off the bench for Detroit.