Why Cole Anthony makes sense if the Detroit Pistons do not move up in the draft lottery
By Corey Rausch
Entering one of the more unpredictable draft lottery scenarios leaves teams like the Detroit Pistons with more questions than answers.
If the season were to end today and cut directly to the playoffs the Detroit Pistons would finish with the fifth-best odds for moving up in the NBA Draft lottery. That being said, with the flattened lottery odds there are a variety of options.
They have a roughly 10.5 percent chance of landing in any of the top four slots, a 2.2 percent chance at landing at five, a 19.6 percent chance of getting the sixth pick, a 26.7 percent chance of picking at seven, an 8.7 percent chance of picking eighth and a 0.6 percent chance of picking ninth.
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Given the myriad of possible outcomes, it makes sense to look at a variety of prospects projected to go anywhere in the top 10, not just at the very top as there is only a 44.3 percent chance to land in the top tier. This is the true danger of tanking as the Pistons were pretty bad for most of the season and could still end up in the late lottery purgatory they have been stuck in for a decade. But let’s get positive.
Even if the Pistons slide in the draft this year the benefit of it being a murkier draft pool means there is a chance that the chances of better prospects sliding is higher. We are going to start the series with Cole Anthony, who at the beginning of the year was projected as a possible top pick and may now slide out of the top 10.