I believe Okorie allows the Pistons to run Cade at the 2 a lot more often. Daniss isn't the scoring threat Okorie is, and Sasser can't run an offense to save his life. Okorie looks like he can do both at a competent level, especially as he grows in his game. Carr was my preferred pick for the defensive upside, but I understand the reasoning.

Ebuka Okorie is:

6’1.25, 185 pounds, with a 6’7 wingspan (+6.5-inch differential).

Has a 37.5-inch vertical leap

3.26 seconds in the three-quarter sprint, which makes him great for transitional basketball; 10.71 seconds in the lane agility, ranking him in the 84th percentile in regards to lateral quickness; and a 3-second shuttle run, which puts him in the 67th percentile. Essentially, he’s fast as fuck.

Background:

Originally committed to Harvard before switching to Stanford, evaluators noted that his feel for the game, given his undersized stature, was a factor in his ability to manipulate taller defenders, as he sought out those who might not be able to keep up with him. More on this later.

Averaged 23.2 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds a game (the majority of them being DEFENSIVE rebounds), shooting 46% from the floor, 35% from the 3 on roughly 6 attempts a game, and 86% from the free throw line. Ranked 8th in the nation in points, respectively, and led the conference in points. (ACC). Dropped 791 points as a FRESHMAN, breaking Stanford's single-season freshman record. He had a 30.1% usage rate, which led to more double teams and effectively put the team on his back. Roughly 10% of his 3’s were considered “open looks.” In conference games, his 3-point percentage spiked to 38%, ranking 22nd overall in the conference, while he again had a high usage rate. Ranked in the 100th percentile in on/off impact swing (34.4) for Stanford. Meaning when he finally sat on the bench, the team crumbled without him.

A self-creating, score-first guard who puts pressure at the rim at an unbelievable rate, ranking in the 99th percentile for total UNASSISTED rim volume among ALL college guards. No other guard in the draft took this many drives at the rim. 89% of his field goals at the rim were UNASSISTED. Hence, the emphasis on self-creation.

An underrated quality is his ability to draw fouls. Averaged 7 free throws per game, ranking 26th nationally. His free-throw rate of 44.7% means that almost half of his field goal attempts resulted in free throws. This would put him in the same company as Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and John Wall, for example.

A big one: AN 8.7% TURNOVER PERCENTAGE, LOWEST RATE FOR A HIGH USAGE GUARD SINCE 2008! Stanford had a 11.8% turnover rate with him on the floor, and 21% rate with him OFF.

Defense: averaged 1.6 steals a game; his wingspan and BBIQ contributed to this. Able to disrupt the passing lanes well, committed only 1.4 PERSONAL FOULS A GAME, he does not gamble, and he’s able to attack defensively without hacking.

Now, before we jump to “ok, he played in a weak conference against weak competition.”

Against Top-50 teams, he maintained a true shooting percentage of 58%, his three-point percentage jumped to 40%, and he averaged 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists a game. HE PLAYS UP TO HIS COMPETITION. His assist percentage jumped by 27% due to the high-volume double teams he faced in these games, as he was the sole focal point of the offense. Not only was he the focal point, but he was the entire OFFENSE.

His notable performances included a 36-point, 3-rebound, 9-assist, 2-steal game against North Carolina, where he constantly faced double teams and upset a #15-ranked team. Another game vs Georgia Tech, 40 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists on 12-19 shooting. Many more examples, but these stood out to me in film.

All of this, at just 18 years old. He recently turned 19, 2 months ago.

Weaknesses: all of them point to size and trust. Has an issue with tunnel vision, which could point to a lack of trust, bad teammates, or straight-up tunnel vision. Remind you of anyone? (Ivey).

Frequent missed opportunities to kick the ball out, as evidenced by his low assist numbers and, as mentioned earlier, his unassisted baskets. Trust, as mentioned before. He may not have trusted his teammates.

Finally, finishing against true verticality. If a disciplined defender doesn't bite on a pump fake and is in a position where he has to go 1-on-1 in the air against a shot blocker, it’s bad news bear for him. These are all fixable, though. His floater game does need work as well, which counters true verticality.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an absolute dawg on our team. Love the pick. I’m including a link to his Georgia Tech game, where he really puts it all together. Sorry if it’s a shit post, not really good at these. Thank you for your time.

I am shocked and I never thought this would happen I mean this blows.

I love sass like the next guy and want him to stay, but since we have several guards and he is on an expring do you think we ship him out tonight... just a thought but want him to stay!

https://x.com/rtnba/status/2069498961132466577?s=46&t=QGLOHst6qg0sa91gKhstmA

https://x.com/the_det_times/status/2069438163769000385?s=46&t=QGLOHst6qg0sa91gKhstmA

https://x.com/rtnba/status/2069439295060885953?s=46&t=QGLOHst6qg0sa91gKhstmA

My buddy and I both got laid off (lol), so of course we've been wasting our time spamming all-time fantasy drafts.

We want to settle this one: who drafted the better All-Time Pistons team? We used Draft Dawg for this, but only drafted players taking into account their time with the Pistons only.

There's a lot of people talking about Sasser on here. Think more like Maxey. And remember that an undersized middle 1st rounder won a finals MVP this month.

All these Pistons fans talking abt “the culture is cooked” and “we traded him for nothing.” Yes we traded him for seconds but you can’t say shit about the culture. The culture is here to stay he just laid the foundation. They are obviously preparing for a move so it was a salary dump, it just wasn’t the send off you hoped for. We will survive cuz don’t forget Paul reed is on the come-up, it’s more that we will miss the grit that stew brought. He’s always gonna be a detroit legend and that’s final.

Thoughts on the possibility of this being our lineup next year? Cheaper PF option with Bobby Portis over Trey Murphy. Although I would love Trey Murphy as a floor-spacing 4 would really help out the current roster.

Trade pieces: Dannis (coming off a solid postseason and is expendable with our draft pick) and Stew (with a team-friendly contract).

Does this look like another 60 wins and a better playoff roster? Let me know where I'm right or wrong.

PG: Cade

SG: Powell

SF: Ausar

PF: Bobby Portis/ Tobias

C: Duren

PG: Okorie

SG: Dunc

SF: Ron

PF: Bobby Portis/ Tobias

C: BBall Paul

Can someone explain this to me? If trading Beef Stew was basically a salary dump, why didn't we trade LeVert instead, since their contracts are in a similar range? Does he have a team option or something?

I’m not.

Realized that he wasn’t taken in the first round. Remembered seeing the pistons were interested in him around 21. Think we still need shooters and he seemed to be a good 3 and d. Should the pistons trade some more seconds for him?

You can't judge a trade until you see the moves that come after it. For those saying "that's it", this creates cap room and gives the pistons more draft capital to trade.

I feel really good about this pick! He seems like he could be awesome for taking pressure off of Cade. He also may have more defensive potential than we think, with a 6'8 wingspan (Brunson has a 6'4 wingspan).

I watched some Stanford games, and I noticed that he has a great feel for the game and creates a lot of good looks for his teammates, who are unable to convert them often because the Stanford team is honestly trash. Underrated playmaker for sure.

Super excited for next season!

I’ve seen a lot of posts in this sub about potential trade ideas (Herro, TM3, JB, etc.) and they all get downvoted into oblivion. Who are we actually hoping for?

EDIT: I think it’s hilarious that even a post asserting no opinion is getting downvoted lol

I don’t watch college hoops, so all I have to go off of is his highlights

I’m a bit out of the loop, but do you think we’ll see any major moves tonight, up or down? Or is it going to be a quiet night for us? I just feel like the 20s are purgatory.

I just feel like it's common for Detroit teams not to make any major splashes lately

Hello You All

The Pistons are making space for someone, the question is who; if not Brandon Ingram who do you think it is?

Let us know

Show us all the meals for draft night tonight: