The Detroit Pistons originally spent the 8th overall selection on Stanley Johnson – someone that has not had much (if any) success in the NBA. They decided to select him over a player widely mocked to Detroit in Justise Winslow.
Failing to hit on the high-upside Johnson, the Piston instead select a unique player in Montrezl Harrell, who won 6th man of the year in 2019-20 for the Los Angeles Clippers.
NBA Draft: Re-picking the 2015 class
Harrell, who has averaged 13 points and five rebounds over the course of his career, is an elite inside scorer, crafty and more athletic than most big men. Harrell uses his strength to create open looks, and hits most of his free throws when he draws contact.
Montrezl Harrell only averaged 14 points per game this past season for the Los Angeles Lakers, but again, he is elite at what he does. The Pistons would be upgrading their frontcourt behind then-All-Star Andre Drummond, giving the Pistons an elite 6th man at the time. Honestly, whoever they pick here is better than who they ended up with in Stanley Johnson.
Johnson has spent the past two seasons on the Raptors bench, averaging four points per game in 86 appearances – a lot of which have come in garbage time. The Pistons are absolutely kicking themselves for not looking at other prospects – especially with some of the players taken afterwards.