DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons are the talk of the NBA after receiving the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft, but did you know they also have three picks in the second round this year?
Ironically, none of the picks are even their own. The Pistons dealt away their own second-round pick, but have acquired three others during Troy Weaver’s whirlwind of roster moves.
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Here’s a look at each of the Pistons’ second-round picks, and all the trades that happened along the way.
No. 37 overall: Raptors to Nets to Pistons
As of now (you never know with Weaver), Detroit’s first pick of the second-round will come at No. 37.
That pick originally belonged to the Toronto Raptors, but on Feb. 7, 2019, they traded it along with Greg Monroe (remember him?) to the Brooklyn Nets for cash.
Then, on Nov. 19, 2020, the pick was sent to the Pistons in a three-team trade.
Detroit sent Bruce Brown to the Nets and shipped Luke Kennard, Justin Patton and four second-round picks (2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) to the Los Angeles Clippers. That 2023 second-round pick belonged to the Portland Trail Blazers and was acquired by the Pistons in the June 2019 trade that sent Kevin Porter Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From the Nets, the Pistons received the aforementioned Toronto second-round pick in 2021, as well as Jaylen Hands, Dzanan Musa and a 2020 first-round pick. That first-round pick was used to select Saddiq Bey.
Detroit also received Rodney McGruder and cash from the Clippers in the deal.
No. 42 overall: Hornets to Knicks to Pistons
The No. 42 overall pick was traded way back on Feb. 7, 2018, to the New York Knicks for Willy Hernangómez. Charlotte also sent a 2020 second-round pick to the Knicks in the deal, and, coincidentally, that pick was traded to the Pistons on draft night, along with Tony Bradley, for cash. Detroit used that 2020 pick to draft Saben Lee.
Back to the No. 42 overall pick in 2021: It was sent to Detroit on Feb. 8, 2021, along with Dennis Smith Jr. in the Knicks’ deal for Derrick Rose. The Pistons also received a player exception.
So, to recap, the Hornets traded two second-round picks to the Knicks back in February 2018, and the Pistons eventually acquired both of those picks individually from the Knicks, along with Bradley and Smith. The first pick turned into Lee. We’ll see what Weaver does with this year’s selection.
No. 52 overall: Lakers to Pistons to Rockets to Kings to Pistons
This is a fun one.
The No. 52 overall pick originally belonged to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they haven’t owned it for a long time.
On Feb. 6, 2019, the Pistons acquired the pick and Svi Mykhailiuk from the Lakers in the deal that sent Reggie Bullock to Los Angeles.
Then, during Weaver’s pre-2020 draft trade flurry, he sent that pick to the Houston Rockets.
In that trade, the Pistons gave Houston a 2021 first-round pick, the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick and the rights to Christian Wood. The first-round pick is heavily protected: top 16 in 2021 (obviously, the Pistons will be keeping that) and 2022, top-18 in 2023 and 2024, top-13 in 2024, top-11 in 2026 and top-nine in 2027. It becomes a second-round pick if the Rockets don’t receive it by then.
In return, the Pistons acquired Trevor Ariza, cash, Houston’s 2027 second-round pick and the 2020 first-round pick that Weaver used to select Isaiah Stewart.
The very next day (Nov. 25, 2020), Houston traded the Lakers’ second-round pick and cash to the Kings for Kenyon Martin Jr.
Finally, on March 25, 2021, the Pistons traded Delon Wright and a trade exception to the Kings for Cory Joseph, Sacramento’s 2024 second-round pick and the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick.
In conclusion, this year’s No. 52 overall pick has been traded four times and acquired twice by the Pistons.
Pistons’ second-round pick
What happened to the second-round pick originally owned by the Pistons in 2021? Well, that is No. 32 overall and has also been on the move several times.
The Pistons traded that pick and a 2023 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers on June 21, 2018, during the draft for the right to select Khyri Thomas.
Philadelphia then traded the pick to the Clippers, along with Wilson Chandler, Landry Shamet, Mike Muscala, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 first-round pick and the Pistons’ 2023 second-round pick for Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott. This trade happened on Feb. 6, 2019.
There are so many Pistons ties in this deal it’s mind-blowing. Harris and Marjanovic were in Los Angeles because the Pistons sent them there for Blake Griffin. Also, both of the second-round picks sent to the Clippers were the ones Detroit traded to Philadelphia in the Thomas deal. ALSO, that 2020 first-round pick that the 76ers sent to the Clippers is the same one mentioned above that the Clippers traded to the Pistons in the Kennard deal -- the one used to eventually select Bey.
PHEW -- deep breath. We’re almost there.
Back to the Pistons’ 2021 pick, which at this point belonged to the Clippers. On Feb. 6, 2020 -- exactly one year after the Clippers acquired the pick -- they traded it to the Knicks in a three-team deal.
The Clippers received former Piston Marcus Morris from the Knicks and Isaiah Thomas from the Washington Wizards. They sent the Pistons’ 2021 second-round pick, Maruice Harkless, a 2020 first-round pick and a 2021 first-round pick swap (top-four protected) to the Knicks. They sent Jerome Robinson to the Wizards.
To complete the deal, the Wizards traded Issuf Sanon to the Knicks.
That’s where the Pistons’ pick currently lies: with the Knicks.
