Chad Ford, who's notoriously cozy with Joe Dumars, provides insight into Detroit's draft day plans. From ESPN In$ider:
Not only has Gores given strong support to Dumars, but he's also not pressuring Dumars to take shortcuts. Dumars will have the green light to build the team the right way in the next three years.
How will it affect the Pistons' draft? Like every team, they would be open to a trade for the right offer. If they stay at No. 8, there are five guys on their radar. Most of the guys they are looking at are bigs -- Jan Vesely, Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo and Tristan Thompson. The only name that belongs to a guard is that of Kemba Walker.
Whom would Joe D take?
Dumars likes winners, and if Kemba Walker fell that far (a big if), he'd be seriously in the mix even though point guard isn't a pressing need for the Pistons.
No real surprises, except for the disconcerting suggestion that an undersized combo guard might have a leg up on everybody else. (Ford isn't sure the Pistons really need Vesely -- despite standing 6-11, the dunking ninja will likely play small forward in the NBA -- and calls the other three big men projects.) In any case, Dumars' right-hand men Scott Perry and George David are traveling to Spain this week to see Biyombo, while Dumars stays behind to handle the coaching search.
Also not surprising but interesting nonetheless: Gores is apparently giving Dumars three years to prove himself. It takes time to rebuild in the NBA, so it's good to see Gores embrace a long-term approach, but if it takes that long to make the Pistons relevant again, I'm not sure there will be any fans left to care. Here's to hoping to Year 1 is getting back to the playoffs, Year 2 is a 5-6 seed and Year 3 is a division crown.