Report: Sullinger not being considered by Pistons for 9th pick
June 26th, 2012
Some fascinating news coming from the Detroit Free Press’s twitter feed:
#Pistons workout: Henson solid and Sullinger off board for ninth pick. Possible they could trade back into late first round for Sullinger.
— Freep Pistons (@freeppistons) June 26, 2012
We’ll look at the implications below the jump.
First, this indicates that Sullinger will almost certainly be on the board at the tenth pick. If he’s not being considered by the Pistons, then there’s nobody in the top ten that’s likely to pick him.
Second, the tweet indicates that the Pistons believe that Sullinger would be available in the late first round. Sullinger appears to be sliding down draft boards at an incredible rate – he’s the DeJuan Blair of the 2012 draft.
Finally, the odds are dwindling that the Hornets will be able to see Henson fall to them at the 10th pick. It’s tough to be sure of who a team will pick in the low lottery, but there are very good odds that the Pistons will take Henson.
At this point, based on team-specific rumors, it’s possible to game out a likely top nine picks:
1) Anthony Davis
2-5) Thomas Robinson, Bradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Harrison Barnes (in some order)
6) Damien Lillard
7) The Warriors are a wild card here. They’ll likely be looking to take a swingman, which makes Dion Waiters a likely target. But really, they could do anything.
8) The Raptors are reportedly considering moving their pick, and Houston (who is mad about Andre Drummond) is supposedly a suitor. If the Raptors keep their pick, they might be looking at taking a shooting guard, like Jeremy Lamb or Austin Rivers.
9) Probably John Henson
That would leave the Hornets with outside chances of Dion Waiters and Andre Drummond, plus almost certain chances of Jared Sullinger, Kendall Marshall, Tyler Zeller, and Meyers Leonard. If Waiters or Drummond doesn’t fall to the tenth pick, does trading down look like the best option?
COMMENTS