Pistons draft SF Stanley Johnson and SG Darrun Hilliard III

[greenbeerd13]

Pistons draft SF Stanley Johnson and SG/SF Darrun Hilliard III

Winslow was my hopeful pick but Johnson looks solid also, strong, athletic, can bang down low, good defender. He'll need to be able to shoot in a SVG system, but looks like a high upside pick ovl.

Hilliard, based on the collegiate stats seems a decent all around player, good shooter, played all 4 years, likely mature, hopefully more ceiling than Kyle Singler.


Assuming Monroe is out and (and I'm not sure what Reggie Jackson's situation is):

Jackson
Caldwell-Pope
Johnson
Ellyasova
Drummond

Dinwiddie
Meeks
Hilliard
Tolliver
Anthony

While the guard depth isn't bad, I'd like to see better defensive big men off the bench. If Jackson will be getting a max deal, the pistons have Jennings as a trade chip at least. Ellyasova can put up double doubles if healthy and given 30+ minutes (big if).

 

[sggatecl]

lol...I sense a Justice Winslow fan!

 

[greenbeerd13]

I researched a bit more and the Jackson has become a restricted FA, likely a max deal coming in the future. Pistons hoping to deal Jennings, Tim Hardaway Jr's name popped up a few days ago. Was hoping Jennings could net a bit more than that, but eh..

 

[biggunsbob]

Tim Hardaway Jr's was moved last night i think to Atlanta. i think. In my loopy state after back injections yesterday I am not sure of the details.. will look it up later..

 

[kingofdetroit57]

This seemed like the most likely, but also the most "unsexy" pick. I keep hearing Johnson is a Jason Maxiel type shorter and stockier "energy guy" with little upside. Sounds like a decent depth guy, but that's probably it. Meh...

 

[dtroitlionsfan951]

I don't understand the stanley johnson jason maxiell comparison. At all. Jason couldn't dribble or play like a wing at all. He was a small center. A great comparison for stanley is ron artest without the crazy.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I was upset with the pick at the time, preferring Winslow. Having taken more time to look at the stats, I still favor Winslow but I'm not down on Johnson anymore. Johnson isn't likely to be a star, but I think he can eventually lock down the SF position. Best case for me would be him becoming Draymond Green - smaller, not a great athlete, but smart and a hard worker who ends up being good enough at everything. He probably won't be a DPOY candidate like Green, but as long as he's a positive I'll call it a win.

 

[dtroitlionsfan951]

I was upset with the pick at the time, preferring Winslow. Having taken more time to look at the stats, I still favor Winslow but I'm not down on Johnson anymore. Johnson isn't likely to be a star, but I think he can eventually lock down the SF position. Best case for me would be him becoming Draymond Green - smaller, not a great athlete, but smart and a hard worker who ends up being good enough at everything. He probably won't be a DPOY candidate like Green, but as long as he's a positive I'll call it a win.

Once again not a very good comparison. He is more athletic than green and can make plays off the dribble. I understand it from a defensive perspective as he can guard lots of positions. But offensively green plays much more like a big. Stanley has a pretty good handle for a man his size. The spacing in the nba I think will suit him better when he drives the ball.

 

[sggatecl]

I'll let SVG fuck up a few drafts before I go shitting on his choices before they even step on the court.

 

[food4thought]

Justice Winslow= A shorter version of the guy, who shall remain nameless to me, who we released a while back. Outstanding athlete and defender, but not a shooter. SVG wants to spread the floor around Drummond, and while Winslow has a higher ceiling than Johnson, Johnson probably has a higher floor and is a better shooter. He profiles as a 3 & D SF who also has a decent ability to get his own shot off the dribble if necessary.

I'm not saying this was a great decision (Johnson isn't a great shooter, just a solid to good one), but Winslow would have been a terrible fit for what SVG wants to do, and not drafting him was the right decision IMO. I don't think there was a better pick left on the board, but I could be wrong on that.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Once again not a very good comparison. He is more athletic than green and can make plays off the dribble. I understand it from a defensive perspective as he can guard lots of positions. But offensively green plays much more like a big. Stanley has a pretty good handle for a man his size. The spacing in the nba I think will suit him better when he drives the ball.

I would disagree. Green's value on offense comes from the fact that he can space the floor, read the defense, and make smart moves/passes. He plays very little like a traditional big on offense unless he's being defender by a SG. He rarely posts up SFs or PFs. What makes Green so useful is that he is too good of a big man to be guarded by a smaller player, and too good of a shooter/ballhandler to be guarded by a traditional big man. But offense is actually the smallest part of his value.

Stanley has more upside because he's young and more athletic, but Green is more skilled right now and maximized his abilities in a way we probably shouldn't expect of anyone really.

 

[dubbsco]

Yeah, Green does not play like a traditional big at all on offense. He's always at the top of the key. You never see him post up.

 

[dtroitlionsfan951]

Yeah, Green does not play like a traditional big at all on offense. He's always at the top of the key. You never see him post up.

I was thinking more stretch four. But still a big. Catch and shoot, hustle points. With Stanley you are going to see him initiate offense. Probably actually run the pick and roll as a ball handler eventually.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I was thinking more stretch four. But still a big. Catch and shoot, hustle points. With Stanley you are going to see him initiate offense. Probably actually run the pick and roll as a ball handler eventually.

See, I think you're describing Green more than Johnson with that. Green is the much better passer of the two, and initiates offense or runs secondary action quite a bit. Johnson may get more opportunity to do that, but it's not because he's more skilled, it's because GS has a superstar PG and a great system while Detroit has Reggie Jackson and... that's it.

 

[mhughes0021]

See Winslow reminds me much more of a short version of Green then a true 3. Hes just shorter so he gets classed as a 3. Stanley Johnson is a big 3. Good luck to some of the smaller 3s trying to guard a 6'7'' 240 lb SF on the block.

 

[dubbsco]

Well, hopefully Johnson learns how to play on the block. If he's not dunking, his game around the rim is crap.

 

[kingofdetroit57]

I'm liking the pick a lot more, the more I read on Johnson. Didn't realize he was 4x state high school champ in California, is 6'7.5" (I think Valenti kept saying he was 6'5"), and that he was a one and done McDonald's All American, top recruit player, and first team all PAC 10 as a freshman. I kept hearing Maxiell comparisons, which seem off other than being comparably sized players.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Johnson, like Winslow, does just about everything adequately. He's a good enough shooter, good enough ballhandler, good enough passer, good enough defender. He doesn't really have any elite skills yet, but it's hard to see him just failing. The thing is, I am expecting him to be more of a project than he is getting credit. Being ok at a lot of things is fine, it means he has the potential to be good at a lot of things. But those things aren't likely to translate right away. I hope the SVG doesn't go out and grab another SF just to let Johnson languish on the bench for 4 years. The team doesn't need singles; it needs a home run, and Johnson can only turn into a home run if he's given the opportunity and coaching to develop.

 

[dtroitlionsfan951]

Johnson, like Winslow, does just about everything adequately. He's a good enough shooter, good enough ballhandler, good enough passer, good enough defender. He doesn't really have any elite skills yet, but it's hard to see him just failing. The thing is, I am expecting him to be more of a project than he is getting credit. Being ok at a lot of things is fine, it means he has the potential to be good at a lot of things. But those things aren't likely to translate right away. I hope the SVG doesn't go out and grab another SF just to let Johnson languish on the bench for 4 years. The team doesn't need singles; it needs a home run, and Johnson can only turn into a home run if he's given the opportunity and coaching to develop.

I don't think that will happen. Svg seems to understand that the young guys have to develop by playing and he doesn't have a quick hook unless you aren't giving effort.

 

[mhughes0021]

theres no reason to play veterans over young developing players at this point in detroits rebuild.