NBA Draft: The 3 best landing spots for LaMelo Ball
By Luke Duffy
2. Detroit Pistons
If heading to San Francisco to hang out with Curry and Thompson is the dream, then ending up playing for the Detroit Pistons isn’t quite as glamourous. Nevertheless, there’s actually reason for Ball to think that he could reach his highest potential while playing in the motor city.
It is unclear how long Blake Griffin will be around for with the team, but that is an All-Star level player to run some pick and roll with and generally learn from. Ball wouldn’t have the pressure of having to go in and change everything himself overnight, which as we’ve seen plenty of times before can happen to young guys who are not ready.
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There’s more to like here though, as the point guard depth for the Pistons isn’t brilliant. There is one important player who will be there next season, though, unless he gets traded in the meantime, and that’s Derrick Rose. As the youngest MVP in league history, he would be a great player for Ball to learn from.
Rose would be comfortable coming off the bench as well if Ball was inserted straight into the starting lineup because he’s been doing that for years now anyway. Rose has turned into a really productive sixth man type, and continuing to do this while Ball learned the ropes would make the Pistons a better outfit in the weaker Eastern Conference.
Langston Galloway is also on the roster, and although he’s shown promise in the past, he seems to move in and out of favor there. Brandon Knight is also on the books, but it is hard to imagine the Pistons, or anybody else really, seeing that as a reason not to take a good look at Ball. He’s a modern point guard, and the Pistons aren’t the most modern roster. He’d bring excitement too.