Basketball fans are buzzing with excitement this week as the 2025 NBA draft is slated to begin on Wednesday. Barring a potential trade, the Detroit Pistons won't be drafting in the opening round due to their lack of a first-round pick; however, that doesn't mean general manager Trajan Langdon can't find a legitimate contributor at No. 37 on Thursday.
The Pistons have plenty of avenues they can take with their upcoming second-round selection, including potentially adding more forward depth. Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris, and Simone Fontecchio's contracts will come off the books by the 2027 offseason, meaning it isn't unfathomable to imagine Langon wanting to add another forward to the mix this week.
Interestingly enough, ESPN's latest NBA mock draft has the Pistons solving this depth issue with their Day 2 pick.
Pistons Land Australia's Alex Toohey in Latest ESPN NBA Mock Draft
In Sunday's mock draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Wood have the Pistons using the 37th overall pick on Alex Toohey out of Sydney, Australia. Detroit hasn't shied away from drafting internationally before, having targeted international prospects like Killian Hayes (Ratiopharm Ulm), Sekou Doumbouya (Limoges CSP), and Jonas Jerebko (Angelico Biella) in recent years.
Toohey, 21, is an exciting forward prospect who could easily be a top-40 pick this week. The 6-foot-8, 223-pound slasher has played well for the Sydney Kings in the last two NBL seasons, and is coming off a 2024-25 performance that saw him average career highs in points (10.6), rebounds (4.0), and steals (1.4), as well as field-goal (44.9%) and three-point (31.0%) percentages in 29 games.
Once all was said and done, Toohey was given the NBL Next Generation Award for the league's best player under the age of 25.
A hard worker who isn't afraid to get physical, Toohey would be the perfect forward to add to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's lineup. The Australian prospect has the tools to be effective at both ends of the floor, and continuing to develop his three-point shot would help make Fottenchio's potential exit next summer easier to swallow.
Most players the Pistons can target at No. 37 likely won't make an immediate NBA impact. Having said that, Toohey isn't too far off after facing men in the NBL for the last two years, and his potentially joining a Detroit team fresh off a postseason return could motivate him to step up right away.
After the last few seasons proved the Pistons know how to develop their prospects, Detroit fans have every reason to be excited if Toohey finds out later this week that he's heading to the Motor City.