Detroit Pistons Pick Did Not Come Down to Justise Winslow vs. Stanley Johnson
By Zac Snyder
When Justise Winslow fell out of the top seven, there was a lot of thought on social media that he would be the Detroit Pitons’ pick. Instead, they opted for Stanley Johnson.
OK, so they liked Johnson better than Winslow. It wasn’t a very common opinion but apparently they stuck to their draft board. That they did, but that isn’t the whole story.
According to Stan Van Gundy, the choice didn’t come down to Stanley Johnson vs. Justise Winslow.
I just asked SVG about Johnson vs Winslow and workouts here. He said the choice was NOT between those two in the end. Wow. #Pistons
— Matt Dery (@DerySpeaks) June 26, 2015
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Now that’s interesting.
It doesn’t matter now but it is fun to speculate who the other player was that was up for consideration with Johnson.
Chad Ford’s final mock draft on ESPN.com reported that Sam Dekker had a great workout for the Pistons and that the team liked him very much and believed he could be a great pro after freeing himself from the Wisconsin system. That’s a distinct possibility but Dekker didn’t end up going until the 18th pick, which would have represented a pretty big disconnect between the Pistons draft board and a big part of the rest of the league.
It could have been another former Badger – Frank Kaminsky, who fits the mold of the stretch the floor power forward that would excel in Van Gundy’s system. Kaminsky would up going one pick after the Pistons so the eighth pick turned out to be the right range.
But with Ersan Ilyasova acquired via trade, a versatile power forward wasn’t a huge need. The Pistons still need to become a better perimeter shooting team which makes Devin Booker another possibility here. Booker was drafted 13th by the Phoenix Suns.
In the end, all that matters is that the Pistons got their guy. Now we’ll just have to see if “their guy” turns out to be the right decision in the long run.
Next: Instant reaction to Pistons pick of Stanley Johnson