Detroit Pistons: Looking at Ed Stefanski’s past NBA Draft Experience

Ed Stefanski has been a senior advisor with the Detroit Pistons for a little over a year. He was brought in just before the 2018 draft and has served as the de facto general manager since then. This week, he will tackle his second draft as a member of the Pistons’ team.

Although Ed Stefanski has not officially been named the general manager of the Detroit Pistons, he has acted in that role since his hiring in May 2018. He was a general manager for two teams prior, the Brooklyn (then-New Jersey) Nets from 2004 to 2007 and the Philadelphia 76ers from 2007 to 2010. Over that time, he has gone through seven NBA drafts.

Now, he is at the helm of his second draft with Detroit. While Stefanski’s past draft decisions are not a definite predictor on what the team will do in this draft, they could give some indication on what to expect this week.

Stefanski’s picks with the New Jersey Nets were, unfortunately, mostly misses. His best selection was Josh Boone (2006, 1st round, 23rd overall), who put up decent numbers but lasted just four years in the league. Antoine Wright (2005, 1st round, 15th overall) was the right pick at the time, except–in retrospect–fellow small forward, Danny Granger went just two spots later and had a much longer career. None of the Stefanski’s picks in this period had much of an impact; none were in the league for longer than six years.

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His time with the Philadelphia 76ers was considerably more profitable. In 2008, Marreese Speights (1st round, 16th overall) outperformed his expectations off the bench. He was an above average player who appeared in over 700 games and was rewarded with a championship ring with the 2015 Warriors. The following year, Jrue Holiday (2009, 1st round, 17th overall) was another rousing success. He was an All-Star in 2013, and since then, he has been the best player on the Pelicans not named Davis.

Evan Turner (2010, 1st round, 2nd overall), although not a bad player, was probably the lone miss in Stefanski’s tenure with Philadelphia, but it is hard to blame him for that. After his stellar career in Ohio State, Turner is a capable player in the NBA but has never reached his full potential. Compared with Stefanski’s previous selections, however, these three players have all contributed at least nine seasons of work.

Of course, Pistons fans are most familiar with Stefanski’s lone draft in Detroit last year. Depending on how things turn out, it could end up being one of his best. Stefanski used his one draft slot to take Bruce Brown in the middle of the second round (42nd overall), who turned out to make an immediate mark on the team. He also moved two future second-round picks to the 76ers to take Khyri Thomas (2nd round, 38th overall).

This proved to be an astute pair of moves. Brown was a defensive force with the fifth-most amount of minutes on the team as a rookie. He started 56 games in the regular season, as well as two playoff games, picking up crucial postseason experience. Meanwhile, Thomas, despite not getting as much playing time, has shown promise as a guard off the bench.

Throughout seven drafts, for the most part, Ed Stefanski has demonstrated improvement as an executive for each successive team. He takes sensible picks and seems to gravitate towards the best player available. In his eighth draft, and second with the Detroit Pistons, we will see what steps he will take to improve the team’s future.