Troy Weaver and the Pistons aren't rushing to any conclusions with the No. 1 pick in Thursday night's draft. If the pick were his, ESPN's Jay Bilas wouldn't think twice.
"I would not hesitate to take Cade Cunningham," the college basketball analyst said Tuesday on a pre-draft conference call. "Look, it's not like it's not worth an argument or due diligence, but he's the most complete player that I can remember coming out in the draft."
Bilas said Cunningham "really does check every box you have for a player" other than "freak athlete."
"He's just a really good athlete, but not like a unicorn athlete. But everything else, mature, poised, length, he's a playmaker, shoots 40 percent from deep. Because Detroit has the first pick, it's a natural comparison to Grant Hill. And while Grant was a better athlete overall, more of a high-flyer, at his age Cade Cunningham is much more skilled and a far better shooter than Grant was," said Bilas.
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The Pistons may feel the same way. We just probably won't know for sure until Weaver makes his pick official Thursday night. Detroit is also said to be considering G League guard Jalen Green after he impressed the club with a 'stellar workout' last week. USC center Evan Mobley and Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs round out the top four players on the board.
Weaver didn't rule out the possibility of trading down during a pre-draft press conference Tuesday. But assuming the Pistons stay in the top four, they really can't go wrong. Bilas said this draft class is "the best since '03" when LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all went in the top five.
"We've got I think four players at the top of the draft that in another given year, not every year, but in another given year would be a No. 1 overall selection," Bilas said. "You're talking about multiple guys that could be All-Stars. I really believe this is the deepest overall draft since I've been doing this. Look, having LeBron in a draft was certainly better, Zion (Williamson) made it more interesting that year, but none of the drafts that I can remember since 2003 have combined power at the top and depth of really good talent like this."