Detroit Pistons: Will R.J. Hampton be the annual “one that got away” in the NBA draft?

The Detroit Pistons have something of an annual tradition in the NBA draft. They select a player, and a different player makes them live to regret it.

It’s a tale as old as time. The Detroit Pistons make a selection in the NBA draft, often choosing from several viable options, and their selection ends up either being fine or worse, and the alternative selection turns into a superstar.

This has happened in recent years when the Pistons drafted Stanley Johnson, just a couple of spots before Devin Booker, and more recently when they drafted Luke Kennard right before Donovan Mitchell.

Johnson is now a fringe NBA player with the Toronto Raptors after the Pistons essentially dumped him a couple years ago, and Booker is indeed a legitimate star. Kennard was traded on draft night last week along with four unprotected second-round picks for the 19th pick in the NBA draft, and Donovan Mitchell is indeed a legitimate star and a superstar in the making who just signed a max extension with the Utah Jazz over the weekend.

When it happens once, it’s easy to overlook as just bad luck. Twice, though, we’re starting to think of the supernatural and the early stages of a hex. Three times? Well, this year’s draft might be the litmus test for a curse.

The Detroit Pistons had not just one shot at R.J. Hampton but two

After some creative maneuvering, the Pistons turned their single first-round pick in the 2020 NBA draft into three first-round picks and a second-round pick. They selected Killian Hayes seventh overall, an inspired pick that is basically the dream selection at their spot. Then thanks to a draft-night trade, they acquired the 16th pick.

It seemed like R.J. Hampton was the tailor-made selection for that pick. He was expected to go in the late lottery and was still on the board, and having manifested the draft pick nearly out of thin air it seemed like the Pistons would shore up their wing talent and snatch him up.

Instead, the Detroit Pistons drafted Isaiah Stewart, a center whom most projected to go late in the first round or perhaps even early in the second round. It was surprising and maybe a bit disappointing, but news quickly came that the Pistons were going to trade for another first-round pick, and that ended up being No. 19.

Hampton kept sliding and was still available when the Pistons were on the board for that third first-round pick, but instead they selected Saddiq Bey. Now, this pick made more sense at least considering this was roughly where he projected to go in the draft. But Hampton continued to drop and ended up going 24th overall to the Denver Nuggets.

While it’s hard to find fault with the Bey pick even if Hampton was on the board for them, picking Stewart 16th instead of the uber-athletic wing is something that may be looked back on for years. As the league transitions away from lumbering traditional centers and towards athletic wings like Hampton, it was an odd decision that probably won’t age especially well even in the best-case scenario.

It’s important to remember that the Pistons absolutely did have a strong draft. Killian Hayes was a great pick at seven and generating the picks that landed Bey and Stewart came via some inspired moves. But keep an eye on R.J. Hampton over the coming season (and seasons). If there’s “one that got away” in this year’s draft, as there usually is for the Pistons, it’s almost certainly him.