2015 GBB Community Mock Draft: Detroit Piston Trade to Pick #13

Pick #13

Detroit Pistons

GM: Matthew Bishop

First, the trade that brought us here, from GM Matty B:

- This trade happened (Jennings and the #8 for Morris, Napier, and #13) happened before the real life trade (Butler and Williams for Ilyasova). The real life trade is a good one for the Pistons. It gives them some font court security and gets contracts for two not very good players off the books. It also opens up some playing time at the SF position (more on that shortly).

- There are very few teams with the volatility of the Pistons. They have two major free agents: (Reggie Jackson (RFA) and Greg Monroe (UFA). They also have 5.4 million dollars for the next four years in dead salary from the stretch provision used on cutting Josh Smith. So what is the cure for dead salary? ROOKIE CONTRACTS!!!!!. With the community draft trade, the Pistons get a back up PG on a rookie deal, plus a back up PF on a semi-rookie deal (Morris has had his rookie deal extended).

- Most positive of all, the Pistons found a sucker...I mean taker...for Brandon Jennings. Jennings had an good year before getting hurt last season. Finding a take for his game and salary was a necessity for me as Piston's GM. Plus, the Pistons put a lot of assets into getting Reggie Jackson, and maintaining his RFA makes them the favorite to retain his services, whether he wants to be there or not (just ask Eric Gordon in New Orleans).

Would I have done the community trade if I had known about the real life trade?

Maybe.

I still feel like the Pistons got what they needed (guys who belong in rotation) on decent contracts.

The big question was why don't the Pistons just stay at #8 and draft a big guy instead. There are a few available to go along side Andre Drummond. There is going to be a team out there that is going to miss out on Gasol/Aldridge/Jordan/Chandler and pay a lot for Greg Monroe. Illyasova takes on that role, and Morris is an intriguing back up.

So the Piston's have decided to fill their other need at small forward..

And with the 13th pick in the draft, the Detroit Pistons select:

11) Sam Dekker, Small Forward from Wisconsin

Photo credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

From GM Matthew Bishop:

The 6'9" small forward out of the University of Wisconsin is one of the more interesting players in the draft. Because of his tournament play, he has had one of the more precipitous rises up mock drafts, going from the low first round into the middle of the first round in most post tournament drafts. And now he is a lottery pick in the GBB draft. Athletic, versatile, and a jack-of-all-trades style player, Dekker has shown flashes of being good at most skills a small forward would need to be a good NBA player: transition offense, ball handling, and mid-range shooting. The biggest area of concern is the consistency of his long distance shooting (just 34.8% at Wisconsin) and his ability to hang athletically with the athleticism of other NBA small forwards. Dekker can be a solid NBA forwards with some possible upside if an outside shooting prowess is developed.

Projected Starting Five- Jackson, Caldwell-Pope, Dekker, Ilyasova, Drummond with Meeks,Napier, Morris, and possibly Prince if he resigns and Cartier Martin if he picks up his option as a ten man rotation, with a little room for some free agent pickups.

The NCAA Tourney hero goes to Detroit at #13. Next up we've got ljjung and the OKC Thunder.