2019 NBA Draft: Pistons select Sekou Doumbouya with the 15th pick

Dwane Casey might have been dismissed from the Toronto Raptors, but that team wouldn’t have won the championship without the years Casey and the organization spent developing Pascal Siakim.

Casey and the Detroit Pistons hope the same holds true with Sekou Doumbouya, who the team selected with the 15th overall pick in the NBA Draft.

But patience will be required.

This is an indication that even while the team talks about wanting to win now and see what they can do with a core of Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, they still know that long-term success takes long-term development.

Don’t expect Doumbouya to be an impact player right away. Or even in year one. And maybe not even in year two.

A team whose downfall has been not displaying patience with the likes of Amir Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Khris Middleton and Spencer Dinwiddie is drafting a project, and they need to let him develop.

Because the upside is huge. He could be an impact player on both ends of the floor and guard three or four positions.

We’ve already written about Doumbouya, who I selected in the SB Nation mock draft, so for now I’ll just excerpt that piece.

At this point in the draft, it was time to swing for the fences. The Pistons war room was stuck on two prospects -- Kevin Porter Jr or Sekou Doumbouya. So why the raw Sekou instead of the highly touted Porter, with all his scoring and playmaking potential? There a few things that were irresistibly intriguing about Doumbouya. First, he is the youngest play in the draft and feels like he has a vast a mount of untapped potential. Not just developing his skills but physically -- his height, his strength, his quickness could all get a boost in the next year.

He’s also the kind of versatile defensive presence that the Pistons are desperate for and fit perfectly in the modern NBA. a 6-foot-9 forward with the ability to switch, close out, run the floor and block shots. He could reasonably guard four positions when it’s all said and done. That’s exciting for a team that trotted out a series of 6-foot-6 guards and called them small forwards for much of the past year. He also is adept at stealing the ball at the upper levels of France’s professional league, which portends good things, and while his offensive and jump shot is a work in progress, many tout his solid mechanics and quality rotation on his ball. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, his work ethic seems to be unmatched in this draft class. And wanting to be great counts for a hell of a lot

We will have more about Sekou soon. The Pistons will be back on the clock with the 30th pick in the first round and the 45th overall pick in the second round.