Detroit Traded Three Picks for a Guard Who Might Not Play in the Playoffs

The NBA Draft is a night where front offices either look like geniuses or get roasted for years. This year was no different. Some teams walked away smiling, and others left their fans wondering what the hell just happened.

Sure, Atlanta and Oklahoma City had a great night. They grabbed multiple first-rounders and found some genuine steals. But for every winner, there’s a team that made a choice that’s going to age poorly. Here are the five biggest losers from Round 1.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons needed shooting. Everyone knows that. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren need space to operate, and Detroit’s front office knew it too. But the way they went about fixing it was just weird.

They traded three future second-round picks to Memphis just to move up four spots, from No. 21 to No. 17. That’s a lot of assets to give up for a small move. And who did they grab? Ebuka Okorie, an undersized Stanford guard who can absolutely score but stands at maybe 6-foot-1 in sneakers.

Okorie is fun with the ball. He’s got juice off the bench and can create his own shot. But defensively? He’s going to get targeted in every playoff possession. You can’t hide a guard that small when teams hunt mismatches. And here’s the kicker: Cameron Carr and Isaiah Evans, two of the best shooting wings in the draft, both fell past Detroit’s original pick. The Pistons could have had either one without giving up those seconds. Tough look.

Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn had the No. 6 pick and a lot of options. They went with Mikel Brown Jr., a Louisville point guard who can really fill it up. Brown has confidence for days and a step-back that makes defenders look silly. His touch inside the arc is legit, and he’s got playmaking flashes that pop on tape.

But here’s the problem. He’s a score-first guard with questionable shot selection and a lingering back issue that limited him in college. The Nets passed on Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings, and Brayden Burries to take him. Burries is bigger and more complete. Flemings is explosive and locks people up on defense. Acuff might be the best offensive guard in the entire class. Taking Brown over all three feels like a bet on potential over production, and the back problem makes it even riskier.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas hired Dusty May, so everyone figured they’d grab a Michigan guy. Nobody expected them to take Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth pick though. Most draft boards had him as the third-best Wolverine prospect, behind two other guys.

Johnson is a terrific defender. He can switch onto guards and protect the rim in ways that win playoff games. His offense is another story. No jumper to speak of, and he doesn’t have the explosiveness to finish above the rim consistently. Compare that to Yaxel Lendeborg, who brings similar defensive versatility but can actually handle the ball and hit a jumper. Lendeborg is older, sure, but next to Cooper Flagg? He’d fit perfectly. Dallas went with the defensive specialist who can’t score instead.

Nate Ament

Ament had a rough season at Tennessee. He played a bigger role than he was ready for, and his weaknesses got exposed. As a prospect, he needed to land on a good team where he could play a smaller role, focus on defense, and spot up for catch-and-shoot looks.

Instead he got traded to Milwaukee, which is now just a shell of its former self after the Giannis Antetokounmpo deal. Tyler Herro might get flipped this summer too, leaving Ament on a team full of young wings fighting for minutes on a roster that isn’t winning many games.

That’s basically the same situation he had at Tennessee. With the Volunteers, he was forced into creating off the dribble, and he just can’t do that well at this level. He doesn’t get to the rim, his handle gets loose, and he settles for contested mid-range jumpers that he doesn’t make enough of. Rookie year might be rough.

Tarris Reed Jr.

Reed thought he hit the jackpot when Denver took him at No. 26. He had a clear job: back up Nikola Jokic, get 12 to 16 minutes a night, rebound like crazy, and do all the dirty work. That role would have been perfect for him.

Then he got traded to San Antonio. The Spurs already drafted a backup center for Victor Wembanyama six picks earlier in Jayden Quaintance. And neither Quaintance nor Reed can shoot, so playing them together off the bench is basically impossible. Reed is now fighting for minutes with a guy who is a much better prospect if his knee checks out. There’s no path into the starting lineup behind Wembanyama and that young guard group in San Antonio. One minute he had a role. The next minute he’s fighting for scraps.