Uncertainty reigns supreme in this year's NBA draft. The lack of can't-miss prospects means the first several picks could play out any number of ways. What we know for sure is that the Pistons will pick seventh.
It's not where they hoped to be after entering the lottery Thursday night with the fifth-best odds of winning the No. 1 pick.
"We aren’t in a position yet to start drafting by position," Weaver said. "I think we have a lot of holes to fill, so best available would be the way we tackle this thing right now."
It's a good bet that three players will be gone in the first six picks: Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and LaMelo Ball. Beyond that, who knows. Consider a name like Dayton's Obi Toppin, the unanimous Player of the Year this season in college basketball. Some analysts think he should go No. 1. Others have him closer to No. 10.
If the Pistons have their eyes on Toppin, a 22-year-old forward who could contribute right away, they have this working in their advantage: Weaver has contacts galore at Dayton.
"It’s funny, I know that coaching staff well," Weaver said when asked about Toppin.
Weaver overlapped with Dayton head coach and former Thunder assistant Anthony Grant for three years in Oklahoma City. He coached Dayton assistant Ricardo Grier when Grier played at Pittsburgh, and Grier was the coach who recruited Toppin. He said he's also great friends with Dayton associate head coach Anthony Solomon.
For Weaver, that's led to an inside look at Toppin.
"I got to see him practice and play quite a bit. He’s really grown. Tremendous talent, and those who really like him are justified. He’s a talented young man and his best basketball is ahead of him," Weaver said.
Maybe Toppin is one of Weaver's targets. Maybe not. Either way, it sounds like the Pistons GM has all the info he needs on one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft.
Weaver also had good things to say about Iowa State's Tyrese Hailburton, arguably the best point guard in the class. Haliburton was averaging 15.2 points and shooting 42 percent from three before a fractured wrist ended his sophomore season.
"He was having a tremendous season until his injury," Weaver said. "He is a poised young man and look forward to getting to continue to study him. But hey, like I've said from the beginning, we don’t draft players, we draft people. And he’s a tremendous young man and has tremendous upside."
Adding to the uncertainty of this year's draft is the unknown financial impact of COVID-19. Teams will likely have less money to spend next season than expected. For that reason, Weaver said he expects teams to be more active than usual in trying to trade picks for proven players.
"My timeline is to be competitive right away," he said. "Once you’re competitive, then you can chart your course from there. But you have to become competitive before you can be a contender. We’re in that phase of trying to put together a competitive team and march forward.
"So my timeline is one year at a time, one month, one week, but we’re going to try to put a competitive team on the floor next season."