I don’t like to advocate losing intentionally, or tanking for a lack of a better term. But hey, it worked for the Houston Rockets back in the day when they “won” the right to draft Ralph Sampson, so I’m not against trying to get a few more ping pong balls in the hopper.
If I’m Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars, I facilitate trades for Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince then let the losing begin. I know Joe has a lot of pride so he’ll never go for this and I don’t think a lot of people that read this would like the idea. But like I said, it worked for Houston so why not give it a try.
The player I’ve fallen in love with in this short college basketball season is Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger.
Being from Michigan, I haven’t liked many Buckeyes. That goes for football and basketball. This is the Same for Jay Burson and Dennis Hopson, I don’t root for many. But Sullinger is different. I know the Pistons lack an elite level point guard and as much as I hate to say it Duke’s Kyrie Irving could be used here in the Motor City.
I could be wrong, but I feel Sullinger is a guaranteed can’t miss. Put Sullinger next to Greg Monroe, and they might form a nice combo on the front line. Jared is a beast down low. He has a good back to the basket game and can actually hit a mid-range shot, even though you prefer he doesn’t take that shot frequently. He’s a strong re-bounder and if he can stay out of foul trouble he could step right in and be a force. He knows his range so you don’t have to worry about him straying out to the three point line. If you question what I’m saying, just check his stat line from the Florida game (26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals). He is DeMarcus Cousins without the attitude and averages a double double shooting 59 percent. I’m still waiting to see what he does once the Big Ten season starts, but right now he would be number one on my draft board.
I know Joe Dumars doesn’t have much room to operate and there may not be a season next year, but drafting Sullinger is a must. This would be the certified home run draft pick he needs to keep the bullets off his back regarding his shaky draft record. Just make the trades and let lottopalooza start and let the ping pong balls rack up. Just remember, it got Houston into that epic coin flip that landed them Ralph Sampson. But Like I said earlier, Dumars has too much pride to let this happen.
Let’s not kid ourselves, this team is going nowhere except lotteryland so why not try to maximize the potential to get the best draft position?

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