The Detroit Pistons have a franchise cornerstone in Cade Cunningham in place and are continuing to bring on young, talented pieces around him each year.
After adding what look to be core contributors through the draft in Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren, Detroit's front office is hoping to strike gold with their selections yet again next month at Barclays Center. Unfortunately, this will be a more challenging task to take on as the Pistons' only selection in the 2025 NBA Draft will come in the second round at No. 37 overall.
One of the players rumored to be available in that range has elected to change course and return to Auburn University for his sophomore season, ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported on Wednesday. That player was Tahaad Pettiford. Despite putting together some impressive performances during the league's draft combine, the 6'1" point guard is putting off his NBA dreams for at least one more year.
Pettiford's withdrawl takes away another legitimate option for backcourt help in Motor City. While JB Bickerstaff would have loved to bring the guard into the fold and welcome him to the roster, Pettiford knows there are things about his game that need to be improved upon for him to be the type of NBA player he expects.
This past season, the freshman guard from Jersey City performed admirably for the winners of the SEC, averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game in 38 appearances. By returning to school, Givony projects Pettiford to be a first-round draft pick in the summer of 2026.
While that would certainly be a beneficial outcome for the lead guard, the Pistons will need to pivot and move forward with one of the other draft targets on their board. Detroit fans will have to wait and see which prospects jump to the top of their wish list next.