Detroit Pistons: 3 players who benefit most after winning the NBA lottery
By Bob Heyrman
Winning the NBA Draft Lottery only helps Detroit Pistons leader Jerami Grant.
So we’ve taken some of the ball-handling and heavy lifting off of Killian Hayes, plus spread the floor for Saddiq Bey.
Now it’s Jerami Grant‘s turn.
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Grant is coming off of a sensational season and one that nearly garnered the NBA’s most improved player award. It sounds like one of those ‘throw away’ awards given to one of the players on your team that tried hard but maybe wasn’t very talented as a whole during your childhood. In the NBA, the most improved player award is a very prestigious one, and if it weren’t for the coming-out party of Julias Randle with the New York Knicks, Grant would have won the award.
I don’t expect Cunningham to step right in and lead the Detroit Pistons in his rookie season, but his presence should aid the teams’ leader, taking some of the offensive pressure off of Grant.
Grant had been the team’s closer, and rightfully so after averaging career-highs in points, assists, and minutes per game. Grant averaged 22.3 points, 2.8 assists per game on 33.9 minutes of work per night. Grant also added 4.6 boards while converting on 43% of his shots from the field and 35% from three-point range. Grant also drilled 84.5% of his free throw attempts.
The 27-year old performed so well in his first season with the Detroit Pistons, where he signed a three-year deal this past offseason that he was recently added to Team USA for the upcoming Toyko Olympics. Needless to say, it’s been quite an eventful couple of days for the Detroit Pistons.
Adding a player with Cunningham’s overall potential will only help take the pressure off of Grant and draw some attention away from the 6-foot-9 wing.
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Cunningham may be the immediate focal point of the Pistons offense, but he will have a tremendous mentor in Grant to learn from over the next two seasons until he’s ready to see the torch passed to him.