After spending years at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons are finally a playoff team with serious aspirations. They need to act like a win-now team trying to make deep postseason runs year in and year out.
One of the things contenders have to do to separate themselves from the rest of the pack is to find value on the margins. This includes nailing second-round picks, signing undervalued free agents, and taking a chance on players the rest of the league ignores.
While the Pistons have done a good job with their first-round picks in recent years, their track record later in the draft is less impressive. The latest example of this is the 37th-overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Bobi Klintman.
Bobi Klintman Is Running Out of Time to Prove His Value in Detroit
The Pistons traded up in the second round from 53rd to 37th to select Klintman. The combo forward out of Sweden, however, wasn't able to make an impact as a rookie. He only suited up for eight games in the NBA and spent most of his time in the G League. For the Motor City Cruise, he averaged 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in 31 games, but had shooting splits of 43.2/30.1/63.0 while turning the ball over 3.2 times per game.
Considering how desperately the Pistons needed backup forward play last season, Klintman's inability to crack the rotation was concerning. The ball continued not to go in for the 22-year-old during the Summer League as he only made 29.4% of his threes and 40.5% of his field goal attempts. If this trend continues, it's very difficult to imagine Klintman being a part of Detroit's plans for much longer.
What makes matters worse for Detroit is the fact that the subsequent four picks after Klintman were Ajay Mitchell, Jaylen Wells, Oso Ighodaro, and Adem Bona; all four players who have made an impact in their rookie campaigns and project to be rotation players in the league.
Klintman has a guaranteed salary for the 2025-26 season, so he could still be included in a trade by the Pistons. He could avoid that fate by starting the season strong, but otherwise, he is at risk of getting moved before his second season is over.