The NBA Draft 2022 is history – and there was a lot going on again. The biggest winners are mostly the younger teams, while the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings make the same mistakes again. Adrian Wojnarowski is not having his best day either.
winner
Detroit Pistons
The core of the Pistons just keeps looking better. After the start of the then new GM Troy Weaver was a bit bumpy (remember the deals for Mason Plumlee or the great criticism of the grant signing), a vision is now recognizable. The core of the new team is in place and has been strengthened with the drafting of Jaden Ivey and the trade for Jalen Duren.
Here’s a quick rundown of what the Pistons Stand roster looks like now:
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
| Cade Cunningham | Jaden Ivey | Saddiq Bey | Kelly Olynyk | Isaiah Stewart |
| Killian Hayes | Hamidou Diallo (RFA) | Jalen Duren | ||
| they know lee | Garza Harbor (RFA) | |||
| Cory Joseph |
You won’t win a championship with it next year, but you can sell hope with it. In addition, the Pistons have good cards to strengthen their squad in the summer. Detroit has 44 million dollars in cap space, so there is enough space for a possible maximum contract, no one in the NBA has more.
The question will be how this money will now be invested. Jalen Brunson (Dallas Mavericks) and Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns) were considered hot contenders, but Detroit drafted players into the lottery for their positions. It could also mean that restricted free agent Miles Bridges could be a hot shot at Motown, even if Detroit might have to get him a max deal. Everything else would probably match Charlotte.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Three picks in the lottery – that’s unheard of, but OKC has so many picks in the future that you could let the 11th pick in the draft jump three future selection rights. Who knows where these will end up (probably outside the lottery), instead boss Sam Presti once again pulled a long forward into Dieng, which will certainly need some time to acclimate.
The Thunder have time anyway, but things are progressing. With Chet Holmgren, OKC chose one of the best young defenders of recent years and has thus closed the gap in the top five that had existed for some time. With Jalen Williams on 12 there is another exciting ball handler, who is not completely lost defensively either.
While the Thunder won’t do much again next year, they’re definitely a League Pass team with Josh Giddey, SGA and the rookies. Besides that: Who doesn’t look forward to the Summer League when Aleksej Pokusevski and Holmgren could form the frontcourt?
Paolo Banchero
A few weeks ago, Banchero was greeted by Rockets Twitter in Houston, but surprisingly things turned out differently and Orlando made the ex-Dukie the top pick. This one was a winner even before the drawing, at least in In terms of outfit, the 19-year-old set standards and should be remembered with his purple suit and lots of ice around his neck.
More importantly, Banchero could be the best offensive player of this draft, which is one of the reasons Magic ultimately picked him. What Orlando is missing is a go-to guy – and that could be Banchero. That also set him apart from Holmgren and Jabari Smith, whom Orlando probably didn’t trust.
Of course, questions remain unanswered: How good is Banchero as a defender? Does he fit with Wendell Carter Jr. in frontcourt and can Banchero improve on his three-pointer? Time will show. Nevertheless, the 19-year-old is the big winner of the evening, who didn’t even expect it himself.
“I can’t believe what just happened. I wanted to go to the NBA, but I didn’t expect that,” Banchero stammered into the microphone immediately after his election. Maybe it really was, or maybe it was just a good act.
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