Detroit Pistons: 4 trade-down targets in the NBA draft

Detroit Pistons trade-down target No. 2: Tre Jones

After entering Durham with Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish, Tre Jones was the sole member of the talented freshman quartet to stay at Duke for a sophomore season. And in doing so, he proved his worth as a prospect.

As the lead man in 2019-20, Jones increased his efficiency while shouldering a much larger (almost nine full usage points) offensive load. The biggest reason for the efficiency improvement came in finding his shooting stroke behind the long line. After a tough shooting year as a freshman, Jones made 36 percent of his attempts from three as a sophomore on nearly four attempts per game.

Jones is much more of a floor general than a creative playmaker as a point guard and his turnovers did increase without more talented teammates his second season, but he is fairly reliable as someone who will move the ball and make good decisions.

Defensively is where Jones truly shines. He was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 for good reason. He is relentless at staying in front of opposing point guards as he showed in his showdowns with other draft prospects like Cole Anthony.

You need to take a bit of a leap of faith that his shooting improvement is real, but with no safe options and needing to take chances, the Pistons are ideally positioned to make such a move.