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Three Years In The Lottery And Still No Luck

By: Matt Dery

The Pistons did not get the ping pong balls to bounce their way on Wednesday night.  The NBA Draft Lottery stayed mostly true to form, with teams 5-14 staying in their respective slots.  That means the Pistons will pick 9th in the upcoming draft.  New Orleans received the top pick, and NBA fans on Twitter are up in arms that the fix is in.

It was just last season that the league owned the team and ran the organization for almost a full year, including nixing the first Chris Paul trade to the Lakers.  Now, Anthony Davis is headed to the Bayou and Joe Dumars must really pound the pavement to scout a player at that spot that will make an impact.

 

Dumars on Wednesday night said "You can't get frustrated when you have a 1.7 percent chance to win the lottery.  All of the work we have done recently has been geared toward the 9th pick".

 

Joe D has said that it will be tough to get an "immediate impact player" at number 9, but it is important that he at least hits a double to the gap.  The team needs more talent and this draft certainly is deeper than past years and I believe Detroit can get a guy in here who can play.  I'd like to see John Henson at 9 for the Pistons.  He is athletic, has a high basketball IQ and really improved his jump shot between his second and third years at North Carolina.  The Pistons are DESPERATE for a shot-blocker and this kid is 6-11 and long.  He can protect the rim.

 

I know fans are upset and many wanted the Pistons to tank.  The biggest tank team out there, Charlotte, did not even win the lottery.

I cannot tell fans how to feel, and I do understand their frustration.

I will tell them this:  The Pistons did very well with Greg Monroe at

#7 and Brandon Knight at #8.  Hopefully Dumars can work his magic again for the third year in a row.  This team has a direction and real leadership now, and I believe they will be better.  They need players to do that.  Winning games next season also means that some of the guys on this current roster have to improve and earn their money and play more consistently.

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