The 2024 NBA Draft is a strange one for the Detroit Pistons.
Without a consensus star, they may be more inclined to trade their pick, but if they don’t just about anything is in play, including taking the best player available regardless of fit or even trading back.
The Pistons have selected at least one guard in each of the last four drafts and three of them (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Marcus Sasser) are under contract for next season. They also have Quentin Grimes (who is only 23) signed for one more year. Surely the Pistons won’t do it again….right?
One early mock draft had the Pistons taking Rob Dillingham, which seems highly unlikely given his size and skill set. But what if they thought the best player on the board was a guard?
Detroit Pistons draft: Stephon Castle draft profile
Castle has been climbing up most draft boards of late due to his strong run in the NCAA Tournament that helped UCONN to another title. The Huskies locked down the perimeter against Purdue behind Castle’s stifling defense.
Castle is 6-foot-6 and can play on or off the ball and defend the entire perimeter. He’s tough, he hustles, he’s a good rebounder and he sounds a lot like Ausar Thompson on paper.
The other similarity is that Castle has a shaky shot. He only hit 26 percent of his 3-pointers this season as a freshman. I love Castle’s defense and toughness, and given his size, he could give the Pistons a lockdown perimeter defense with Ausar Thompson. In many ways, a player of Castle’s profile is a better fit with Cade Cunningham than someone like Jaden Ivey.
Castle is only 19 years old and he has shown the ability to get hot, so there is hope that his shot will come around. But that’s a big risk for the Pistons, who already have a young defensive wing who can’t shoot.
I know a lot of fans want nothing to do with another shooting project but Castle does everything else well and would at least help improve the team on one end, as his strength, toughness, size and defense are going to play at the next level whether he can shoot 3-pointers or not.
The Pistons really don’t need any more young guards, but they do need elite talent, and if they think Castle is going to be one, we could see a 5th-straight draft with the Pistons taking a guard.
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