The Fan Hub

The 2012 NBA Draft is six months away, and the NBA season hasn’t even reached it’s halfway mark, and yet we’re talking about the who the Detroit Pistons might be targeting. If the NBA lottery were held today the Pistons would have have roughly a 20 percent chance of being awarded the first pick in what is looking like one of the deeper drafts in recent memory.

After roughly a third of the season the Pistons sit with a record of 4-19, only one win over the lowly Charlotte Bobcats if you’ve watched the Pistons, their ailment is profoundly clear: no big men to get them easy baskets in the paint, and help rebound on both ends of the floor. Detroit ranks second to last in rebounds per game, last in points per game, and rank 27th in the NBA in OFF EFF. Needless to say, that’s not very good. Unfortunately they haven’t been any better on the other end of the floor either, ranking 29th in DEF EFF, and aside from Greg Monroe, have little to no presence inside the paint.

Last season one of the sneaky draft day steals was Cleveland selecting Tristan Thompson with the fourth pick while Detroit was hoping he would fall to them at eight. The Pistons have a log jam on the wings, massive redundancy in the backcourt, and need low post scorer the way Kathy Lee needed Regis. So Jared Sullinger might be the perfect fit in Motown come draft day.

Why Sullinger Fits

First and foremost make, no mistake — Detroit is in the midst of massive rebuilding process, and why Joe Dumars chose to use his Amnesty exemption on Rip Hamilton rather than Charlie Villanueva is beyond me. Nevertheless, while Monroe has had a brilliant early 2012 campaign, he might be a better fit off the block, needing a big powerful 4 up front with him. Enter Jared Sullinger. He chose to go back to school when he most likely would have been a top ten pick last year, which shows maturity. Scouts think he might battle weight issues, but some said the same thing about Kevin Love. Of all the top ranked big men in this year’s draft. no one has better post game than Sullinger. He has great hands, a wide frame, phenomenal footwork, and can step in on day one and contribute as a legit NBA front line player.

He isn’t the most explosive player, and there is legit concern as to his ability to defend the rim. However, if we have learned anything over the past few years is that rebounding — unlike scoring — translate very well from college to the pros. Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, UConn’s Andre Drummond, and Kansas’s Thomas Robinson have some of the best athleticism and perhaps more “upside” that scouts rave about, but Sullinger would be a perfect fit for the Pistons this June.

— Dave Jacober