Rumors surfaced this past week that B.J. Mullens has a guarantee from Chicago at the number 16 spot (Ed. note: Detroit allegedly promised him at No. 15! So many promises!) It makes sense for Chicago, with Mullens being the only big man Chicago has been interested in with any semblance of an offensive game. But the problem with Mullens is that outside of private workouts, I, and I think many other people, haven't had a chance to watch him play.
People who know much more about basketball than I do seem to think he's going to be a beast in the NBA but with little college experience, he remains raw.
To once again makeup for my lack of Mullens-based knowledge, I will quote DraftExpress:
"Despite the lack of touches, Mullens had a relatively efficient year with the possessions he did receive, scoring %59.7 of his possessions, good for second amongst all centers. Blessed with awesome athleticism and possessing great hands, Mullens has some unique tools. However, he’s going to need a lot of help to achieve his potential. He has more going for him than Thabeet did at that point in his career, but is nowhere near the defensive presence, and thus may very well have to develop his game while riding the pine, since he’s not likely to get a lot of playing time right away. Mullens will have to put in the work in on his own if he’s to earn playing time, and thus will have to develop a good deal of self-discipline with his work ethic if he’s to reach his potential."
College Career:
Freshman Season: 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks in 20.3 minutes.
Possibly out of fear of losing him, Ohio State coach Thad Matta did not play Mullens this year. If that's the case, that's a very political decision that probably warrants an entire post and would be something interesting to talk about with Mullens should he be taken by the Pistons. First you hold the man down with the age-limit and then not playing him for fear of losing him is quite exploitive.
Best Case (from Draftexpress): Chris Kaman - very serviceable starting big man.
Worst Case (from Draftexpress): Kwame Brown - gross.
Fit With The Pistons: Outside of Earl Clark, I think Mullens makes the most sense for the Pistons. He fills a need at center, is young, has incredible potential and will allow the team to play a lot faster without Kwame Brown huffin' and puffin' down the court. He's a true seven-footer making him a project which is kind of intimidating considering the organization's inability to develop young players and especifically centers in the past. Getting an athletic seven-foot prospect at the 15 spot is quite rare in the NBA. Usually those guys are overzealously taken in the top-10 (Saer Sene!). Either way, it's unlikely that the 15th pick is going to make or break your organization (sorry Rodney Stuckey) so I'm in favor of taking a raw prospect over a player like Psycho T or Terrence Williams who already are who we thought they were.
Overall: Take Earl Clark. If not, take a chance at Mullens.