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

Runner-up for best pick: Spencer Dinwiddie

Van Gundy found a diamond in the rough when he drafted Spencer Dinwiddie in the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft with the 38th overall pick.

Unfortunately, Van Gundy kept that diamond hidden in the jewelry box, where it went unappreciated until making its way into the hands of another owner.

A versatile 6’6″ point guard, Dinwiddie was an All-Pac-12 performer at Colorado, but a serious knee injury cut his junior season short before he decided to go pro. He had the skills to be a first round pick, but fell to the Pistons in the second round.

Dinwiddie spent two seasons in Detroit, where Van Gundy mostly kept him on the bench when he wasn’t serving time in the G League. In 46 games over two seasons, he averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 assists a night for the Pistons.

An opportunity to break through on a big league roster didn’t happen for Dinwiddie until his third season. That’s when Van Gundy traded him to the Chicago Bulls, who waived him. Dinwiddie then signed with the Brooklyn Nets.

Today, Dinwiddie is one of the league’s top sixth men, arguably the best backup point guard in the league. He is averaging 17.4 points and 5.2 assists per game this season for a Brooklyn team that is hanging tough in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Dinwiddie has had three games scoring 30-plus points this season. Between the Pistons’ entire rotation of guards, one man (Bullock) had one game of 30-plus points this season.

All things considered, Dinwiddie is the best player that Van Gundy drafted for the Pistons, but I couldn’t give him the top spot for this piece, since he rarely played for the Motor City.