Detroit Pistons: 3 players who benefit most after winning the NBA lottery
By Bob Heyrman
Saddiq Bey will benefit from the Detroit Pistons winning the NBA Draft lottery.
Detroit Pistons sharp-shooter Saddiq Bey had a rookie season for the ages. You can say this about every draft, but if you were to re-draft the 2020 NBA collection of rookies, Bey certainly would not have been available where the Pistons selected him 19th overall.
In a re-draft, Bey would have been a lottery selection. In fact, of the three Pistons’ first-round selection, Bey had been the last and turned out to be the most productive.
The 6-foot-7 marksman averaged 12.2 points, to go with 4.5 boards and 1.4 assists per game during his rookie campaign. Bey shot 38% from three but a mere 40.4% from the field with his 9.9 attempts per contest.
Bey led all rookies with 175 three-pointers last season. He also set a new record of sinking five or more from beyond the arc in 13 games over the course of the season. Allen Iverson and Steph Curry had previously shared the record with 10 apiece.
Adding a player with Cunningham’s skill-set to this group will only help take the focus off a player like Bey. First off, Bey is and will be more than just a catch-and-shoot corner three performer. While it’s a nice attribute to have, there is plenty more in the toolbox to unlock. The Pistons will likely use Bey in the pick-and-roll far more often moving forward, and he can create his own opportunities off of the dribble.
With defenses paying close attention to the often used Jerami Grant, and the rookie phenom Cunningham, it will allow Bey to feast one-one in addition to the catch-and-shoot. Cunningham will help spread the floor, which benefits scorers like Grant and Bey.