Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons Receive: 2023 First-Round Pick (No. 7 – IND), 2024 First-Round Pick (Top 4 Protected – IND) 

Indiana Pacers Receive: 2023 First-Round Pick (No. 5 – DET) 

You may be confused here. Why is the price to move up two spots so much steeper than the price to move up one? 

Well, you shouldn’t look at the draft in terms of spots. Look at it in terms of tiers. From that perspective, this makes a lot more sense. 

Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Brandon Miller, and Amen Thompson feel like the consensus top-4. After those prospects, Thompson and Whitmore are next up. That’s six prospects, and the Pacers are picking seventh. 

If they want a player from that group of six badly enough, they’ll surrender a lightly protected pick next season. Meanwhile, the Pistons could reason that they’ve already got their future stars.

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Cade Cunningham was hurt last year. With him returning, they could prioritize asset accumulation over another higher-end prospect. 

With that said, if the Pistons aren’t thinking that way, the Pacers could turn to the one team that’s most likely to make a big move in this year’s draft.