The Draft Lottery is this Week, 'POBO' Search Continues, and Devin Booker | The Weekly Drive

The Pistons are closer to signing a new leading front office voice, the NBA Draft Lottery is this week, and is Devin Booker acquirable?

Milwaukee Bucks General Manager Jon Horst, a Michigan native, is gaining steam as the potential hire for the Pistons. (Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports)

“POBO” Watch

For the uninitiated, “POBO” stands for President of Basketball Operations, and the Pistons are in the market for one as discussed in last week’s Weekly Drive. According to longtime NBA insider Marc Stein’s Substack, the Pistons are continuing to evaluate all of their options. Stein says Detroit would “naturally” have interest in Minnesota Timberwolves POBO Tim Connelly, plans to interview Michigan-native and Milwaukee Bucks executive Jon Horst, and may be interested in Dallas Mavericks consultant Dennis Lindsey.

Connelly put together two of the Western Conference juggernauts that will face each other in the second round of the playoffs - the Wolves and Denver Nuggets. Horst has been the leading man for the Milwaukee Bucks, one of the best teams in the league over his tenure. Lindsey was the General Manager of the Utah Jazz, one of the most consistent regular season teams under his watch, and joined the Mavericks as a consultant in 2023. But there is one name that Stein mentioned that is a huge wildcard: JJ Redick.

Is there a more popular name in the NBA media sphere right now than JJ Redick? The former Duke standout and NBA sharpshooter has podcasts, shows, and even some announcing under his belt and has burst onto the scene as a potential coaching candidate as well. Stein says Redick is also a name to consider for Detroit’s front office due to his relationship with Chairman Arn Tellem, who used to be his agent.

Redick could be a forward-thinking, outside-the-box move that the Pistons have traditionally avoided. Maybe they buck that trend this offseason, at a time when they desperately need a spark.

Devin Booker, Trade Candidate?

As soon as the final horn blared signaling the sweep of the Phoenix Suns, Pistons fans started lusting after Devin Booker as a potential trade candidate. Check out this piece from our own Aaron Johnson on how that could, or could not, work out for Detroit.

Alexandre Sarr is the presumed number one overall pick in the NBA Draft. (Image via Olympics.com)

Does Anyone Care About the NBA Draft Lottery?

The NBA Draft Lottery is in six days. As in, less than one week. The Pistons are among the teams with the best odds (14.5%)  to get the number one pick in the draft. Does anyone care?

In short, no.

To be a bit more verbose, not really.

NBA executives have called this draft class “the worst they have ever seen”. That may be hyperbole, but what is clear is that the expectations for this draft class are lower than the previous ones. There isn’t a Victor Wembanyama or Paolo Banchero near the top - aka, easy decisions or good consolation prizes like Evan Mobley, Jalen Green, or Scottie Barnes.

Alex Sarr, an 18-year-old center, profiles as a very good modern NBA center with All-Star upside. Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are smaller guards who can shoot and certainly seem like they will have a place in the league. Ron Holland is raw but talented. Nikola Topić is a smart guard who may take time to develop. There are good players in this draft, it just may not be instant stars like what NBA fans are used to. What you can bet on is that there will be NBA Draft articles hitting your inbox after the lottery about what the Pistons should do.

That’s all for now, though things will continue to heat up as more and more teams get eliminated from the postseason. See you next week.

Mike

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