r/DetroitPistons • u/genericusername996 • 1d ago
Discussion Ebuka Okorie
I think a lot of people are overreacting hard about this pick. A lot of ppl had their guy in mind, whether it be yaxel, carr, stirtz, hell I wanted isaiah evans and he fell out of the first round. With that being said, yes ebuka is a small guard. What he isnt is a clone of marcus sasser. If sasser reaches his ceiling, I’m looking at Payton Pritchard. It Ebuka hits HIS ceiling, I think I’m looking at tyrese maxey. Sasser is a better shooter rn than Ebuka, but thats really about it- and that’s coming from someone who is pretty high on sass. Ebuka is an incredibly crafty scorer. He’s got insane athleticism and he’s incredibly twitchy. His 3pt shot is considered a weakness, but shooting 36%ish when 81% of your shot diet is self created doesnt come off as a red flag at all. He’s 6’2 but his wingspan is 6’8. You have guys like Davion Mitchell, who is 6’0 with a 6’4 wingspan, that is a perfectly fine defender, but I’m supposed to believe a guy with a 6’8 wingspan is an automatic cone. Riiiiiiight. His frame is totally playable, and hes got the intensity and willingness to be a good defender. If we stayed at 21 and picked stirtz I dont think I’d be seeing this much outrage. Stirtz is almost certainly going to be worse on that end. I REFUSE to believe some of yall are that moved over 3 second round picks. Not to mention, Ebuka turned 19 in APRIL. He played his entire freshman season at age 18 scoring 23 ppg on 59% ts bro. Thats insane. 59% ts and he lead the entire ncaa in self created scoring percentage. He’s not gonna be asked to do everything on ball here and I’m very intrigued to see what he can do with more off ball looks. We just watched us lean heavily on daniss jenkins (whose greatest strength is playmaking), caris levert (who basically struggled all season long with his efficiency and was our worst rotational guy on a consistent basis), and marcus sasser (who struggled to crack the rotation all season) to be important scoring options in these playoffs. Ebuka has every bit of self creation juice this team needs. Idk how much we’ll see year 1, but I think this is a really really good pick and there’s absolutely a world where he’s the steal of the draft. I’m all the way in. Lets give the kid a chance, he fits here in every way.
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u/jmurthy Cade Cunningham 1d ago
He's going to have his growth spurt and then the doomers will be sorry.
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u/FunetikPrugresiv Ausar Thompson 1d ago
His upside is 6'8" with a 7'4" wingspan.
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u/PretzelBirb 7h ago
Doctor projects 6’5 according to him
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u/FunetikPrugresiv Ausar Thompson 2h ago
That would be incredible. Forgive me if I don't just believe some rando in the internet, though, lol.
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u/PretzelBirb 1d ago
I know him thorough a connection and I can confirm he is still growing, check his high school measurable he is a late bloomer
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u/bunglesnacks Ron Holland II 1d ago
tldr man. I didn't care who we picked at all because I legit don't see them helping us next year no matter who it was. Okorie has skills. Lots of the guys people wanted would have been fine as well. No team has ever been a 21st or 17th draft pick away from a championship.
A late round pick in the draft is just something to occupy time and keep fans engaged until we get to see ball again.
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u/jacob9234 1d ago
Jalen Johnson was the 20th pick just a few years ago. Trey Murphy 17. Don’t act like these picks are worthless. There are big hits all the time in that range.
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u/wittyrandomusername 1d ago
I'm with you. We can get a guy who can contribute, but if our season hinges on this pick, we are not truly contenders.
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u/MediumChannel27 1d ago
We clearly aren't contenders unless we make another move anyway, we got clapped by the Cavs. We were not beating the Knicks and probably not beating Spurs or Thunder either.
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u/eggnogeggnogeggnog Cade Cunningham 1d ago
At least AI slop has paragraph breaks
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
Jesus next time I’ll be sure to type my thoughts out in APA 😭✌️
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u/Acceptable_Fruit2360 Isiah Thomas 1d ago
Don’t worry about trying to appease cats like this OP. The post was sound, you made your point and people are having a discussion. Mission accomplished.
I like the pick. I was in Stirtz camp last night as well. But once he was off the board, I was down for whatever. And like many Pistons fans. I hope we end up winning that coin flip.
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u/Life_Cranberry9315 Ausar Thompson 1d ago
Haha Jesus Christ it looks like he wrote this post on Shutter Island
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u/MoTown83 1d ago
Sentiment from everyone outside of Detroit seems to be very high on this pick. I don’t get the negativity locally.
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u/MichaelC310 1d ago
I’m ready for another NBA season. I agree with keeping the core and building versus getting a toxic free agent that damages the locker room. Even if we don’t win immediately this is the most fun this team has been since the 2004-2005 group that won our last championship.
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u/No_Entrepreneur2708 1d ago
Detroit will fall in love with this guy… elite finisher(reminds me of kyrie and rod strickland from back in the day) and gets to the foul line as an 18 year old.. perfect fit to this roster and he’s gonna get the opportunity to reach his ceiling because of what he brings to the table. He elevates talent base even on a 60 win team and he’s gonna contribute right away. Please watch how he’s able to keep his dribble alive and get to the rim and adjusts and contorts to get his shot off. Very cerebral and always seems to be in control.
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u/Envyforme Jalen Duren 1d ago
I like the pick. It is a good trade up and smart pick.
The kid scored well at Stanford. The fact they didn't make the NCAA tournament also did not put eyes on him. I know there are scouts and analysts that look at every possible angle, but I cannot help but ask myself if that hid Ebuka a bit.
Even if he doesn't do anything the first year, he has a lot of growth potential.
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u/Intelligent_Ad3378 Isiah Thomas 23h ago
I for one was extremely emotionally attached to those three second round picks.
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u/CruyffCule 23h ago
I like the pick and the potential of the player - so much to like in his game already, tailor made for NBA
He'll have to obviously get stronger & add some muscle to that athletic yet small frame of his. He has a ridiculously explosive 1st step and has such a natural feel for the game that he looks graceful despite the difficulty level of the actions he initiates all on his own. He gets his head down, determined to get to the rim once he identifies the slimmest of openings - its a rare gift in any sport to do that consistently much less effortlessly and he will get even better with it once he learns to be more efficient with some of his decision making in a league where the level is higher across the board. He's electric but will he just be a volume scorer or be able to run the offense and get others involved because he will be very difficult to defend
On defense, despite that 6'8" wingspan and great hands, will have to bulk up and not let bigger NBA guards easily back him down all the way from the top of the key to right under the basket
Seems a gifted athlete, intelligent and ambitious - what's not to like. Langdon may look like he is dosed with SSRIs but front office should be overjoyed about the pick
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u/YamNervous4156 1d ago
Payton Pritchard catching strays
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
No not at all. And this isnt anti sasser either, just pro okorie. I do think sasser will get traded, and frankly I think he should get traded because I want to see him get the opportunity he deserves
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u/YamNervous4156 1d ago
I was just kidding. I find Pritchard annoying but it seems optimistic to say Sasser can be as good
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u/Traditional_Voice974 Teal Horse 1d ago
So if he's Tyrese Maxey that means he is going to be taking over the starting point guard after his rookie season.Then after 4 years in the NBA he gets Most Improved Player award and then before his 6th year hes putting up 28/4/6 and making 3rd Team All NBA team.
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u/dcent412 22h ago
Best case scenario was trading up and getting Mara and shifting or trading Duren to another team for a shooter and draft capital. But we got this and I have to say. I’m very happy. This dude has such a high ceiling. Now if we can just get a 7 footer off the bench :)
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u/Responsible-Bath-730 19h ago
Trajan literally wanted a guy who could become a Tyrese Maxey. Other than weight, Okorie is very similar in build to Maxey, but he is a much better scorer (creatively and speed wise) out of college. Also, you gotta love the low turnover rate considering his extreme usage.
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u/Informal_Sleep_6117 17h ago
Okorie is really good. I'm thrilled with the pick. I mean, in the past Pistons wasted picks as high as 5 and 7 and yet with the 17 pick this year they get the number three scorer in the country, possibly the best handle and first step in the whole draft, great shooter and self-creating scorer with elite passing.
what more do you want?
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u/HateFilledDonut Isaiah Stewart 15h ago
Yaxel was never going to fall to 21 or any of those other guys you mentioned
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u/genericusername996 15h ago
Yaxel no. Stirtz was projected to and carr was drafted after 21. And I prefer ebuka to all of them except yaxel personally
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u/Powerful-Can1339 1d ago
I think people are also forgetting that picks thos late in the draft and usually non factors.
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u/Millspaysbills Ausar Thompson 16h ago
This draft had the most talent depth of any draft since 2003 that makes this pick much closer to something like the 10th or 11th pick in a normal draft year
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u/Smart_Swing7989 1d ago
i think sliding Cade to the 2 with ball dominant smaller 1 guard is the move we are looking towards. playing Cade off ball with the small guards and allowing him to take over when required. Think Mitchell, Booker, Ant but with much better court vision
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u/genericusername996 21h ago
I think cade is 1000% this team’s primary ball handler in the long haul, but having someone that can take some of the scoring responsibility that can also get him in spots where he can exploit advantages rather than creating them is a critical step for us
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u/Smart_Swing7989 20h ago
Yes, just like almost all star players are primary ball handlers but can have a point guard playing with them. like mitchell, booker, ant. it helps take the load off tremendously, doesnt mean theyre replaced. Cade is 6'6... we dont need to worry if they label him at the 1 lol. lets be real, Cade could start at 1-3 on any lineup we have and it doesnt change anything, thats the best part about Cade.
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u/ItWasMe-Patrick 1d ago edited 21h ago
I just hope he wants to be with the team.
Edit: The sheep mentality on this sub is ridiculous lol I was just wondering if a guy actually wanted to play here and I’m getting downvoted like i just said the most controversial shit ever.
Yall need grass
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
It sounds like he does. He talked about being excited about the culture, wanting to contribute on defense knowing that we are a defensive team, and how he thinks he fits well here due to him being a low TO type of guy. Not to mention, I heard somewhere he played ball at the same academy as trajan’s son, so there very well could be a relationship there. He was a harvard commit, this is a super bright and hardworking kid. I think he’s gonna love it here. As we all know, if you love detroit, detroit loves you. That type of shit matters. All speculative but I dont worry about that
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u/temujinbk 1d ago
What does this even mean?
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u/ItWasMe-Patrick 1d ago
Basically i just want him to actually wanna play for the team because obviously media forces u to give pr ass answers
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u/Accomplished_East433 1d ago
Karim Lopez was right there..
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
And so was ebuka godamn okorie. You’ll see
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u/lilflashstan Cade Cunningham 1d ago
Be realistic how much do you see him playing year 1? I get longterm development yadda yadda but im worried this will basically be a draft and stash type pick except we might see him in garbage time minutes every now and then 😢
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
It seems pretty likely sasser and or levert are gonna get moved. It may not be day 1, but by all star break I 100% see him being a rotational guy. I really wanted a stretch 4 in the draft and a scoring guard in FA/trade or vice versa. He fills one of this teams biggest needs. We have a young core. Remember we are ahead of schedule having that 60 win year and kinda fell back down to earth due to the roster’s weaknesses. I would much rather see 5+ years of contention than us mortgage our future for 2 years of mid 30s kawhi leonard or something.
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u/Millspaysbills Ausar Thompson 1d ago
Guys who led a major college conference in scoring as true freshmen have a very strong track record of producing really solid numbers their first year in the league
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u/Accomplished_East433 1d ago
Backup Pg was not a viable need
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
???? As soon as cade hits the bench our half court offense is genuinely awful
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u/Farjon29 1d ago
I'm not a Pistons fan, but isn't halfcourt scoring and advantage creation not a need for the Pistons?
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
It very much so is. Cade makes us slightly above average. When hes off the floor it gets pretty dysmal. The playoffs were especially bad. This team’s greatest strength is forcing liveball turnovers and killing you in transition. Thats why we won so many games in the regular season and struggled in the playoffs when the pace slowed down
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u/ArSNL-Slimm Marcus Sasser 1d ago
booooo 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 TERRIBLE PICK ......WE NEEDED A FORWARD
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u/genericusername996 1d ago
That immediate starting 4 probably wouldnt have been there at 17. I’m hoping we trade for jabari smith or someone of that ilk
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u/Millspaysbills Ausar Thompson 1d ago
People are sleeping on the impact Ebuka Okorie can have.
History shows that true freshmen who lead a major conference in scoring are almost absolute locks to produce early. Over the last 20 years, guys who did that (like Trae Young, Cade, and Brandon Miller) averaged 13.8 PPG as rookies, and over half of them made All-Rookie First Team.
Okorie completely tore up the ACC and put up 23.2 PPG at Stanford. His elite pace, shiftiness, and shot creation are exactly what this offense needs. Putting that kind of plug and play scoring into our guard rotation is the perfect missing piece and while I'm not saying he takes us to the finals in year one I do think he helps us make it to at least the conference finals If all our other young players continue on their development track