With the Detroit Pistons set at center with Andre Drummond, team president and coach Stan Van Gundy indicated he wouldn't go after a big in the 2015 NBA draft. Prospects linked to Detroit reportedly include Kelly Oubre Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and Mario Hezonja.
Soon-to-be free agent Greg Monroe is a question mark for the team, but Drummond is not. Drummond is under contract for two more seasons, and that gives Van Gundy the opportunity to use the team's No. 8 pick in the upcoming draft on a position other than center.
"Obviously, our immediate need is not for a center," Van Gundy told the Detroit Free Press. "There's no question about that. We're locked in with Andre, we like his development, we like the way he has been working. It's best for us - more than likely - to take someone at another position.
"If you do take somebody at eight that's a center you'd have to look at that person as a backup for the foreseeable future, and I don't know if that's where you want to use a lottery pick. Now, we don't necessarily think that whoever we take at eight will be able to start for us right away, but we certainly would hope that person will be positioned to be a starter in Year 3 or maybe even Year 2."
That player may be Oubre, according to recent reports. The Free Press suggested over the weekend Oubre, the freshman wing out of Kansas, would be one of the prospects eyed by the Pistons. Oubre isn't NBA-ready and would need time to develop, but he has the potential to be a two-way player and his 3-point shot - 35.8 percent last season - could improve enough to make him a legitimate floor spacer.
He finished his first year at Kansas with averages of 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21 minutes per game.
Two other targets could be Porzingis and Hezonja. The latest mock draft from Chris Johnson and Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated has Detroit selecting Porzingis, the 6-foot-11 Latvian who played last season in Spain. NBA scouts and executives have compared the 19-year-old to a more athletic Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, given his ability to hit midrange shots. He too would need time to develop, but he'd be the heir apparent to Greg Monroe if the soon-to-be free agent leaves this summer.
The other possibility is Hezonja, a Croatian swingman who also played last season in Spain. One scout told ESPN that Hezonja was like Duke freshman Justise Winslow, except bigger and a better shooter. ESPN's Chad Ford projected Detroit to take Hezonja in his recent mock draft.
