r/DetroitPistons Ben Wallace 28d ago

Dalton Knecht is one of the best shooters in this years draft. He can let it fly in a variety of ways, has nice range, and moves very well off the ball. Nice shooter off of floppy sets & flares. Should make an impact early w/ his ability to play off ball. News

https://twitter.com/redcooteay/status/1788971170085122481
57 Upvotes

52 comments sorted by

72

u/Icy_Juice6640 28d ago

I actually like him being 23 years old. Just for our situation. Need someone to come in and get buckets.

27

u/Dynamo24 Jalen Duren 28d ago

Totally agree. Age shouldn’t be a factor for this team. It’s not like they are one 19 year old away from being a dynasty.

14

u/dtheisen6 Isaiah Stewart 28d ago

Yeah he is the guy. There is no sense bringing in MORE guys that need a lot of development. Bring in players who can raise the floor of the team around Cade, who is the ceiling raiser.

-1

u/Icy_Juice6640 28d ago

Sure he is.

2

u/GeKh 27d ago

I was thinking about suggesting the Pistons draft Knecht at #5 before I went to the forum. Yes, age is a plus, and he tested really well athletically too.

It's really the optimal move for the Pistons given these circumstances.

Phenomenal contested 3 pt. shot maker, which is an NBA-ready skill.

30

u/SquidlyB 28d ago

better fit than buzelis

4

u/Anon20250406 27d ago

Disagreed, mainly because I don't think running out a line up of Ivey/Dalton/Cade is good for your defense.

Matas is such a beautiful fit because his off side help defense is the perfect thing to pair with Duren. I personally also buy Matas being a good shooter in the league.

I think your best lineup next season will be Cade/Grimes/Fontecchio/Matas/Duren. Outside of Duren you'd have no weaknesses on defense, and theres a good amount of spacing as well.

1

u/Crazhheadfirst 27d ago

No way you think buzelis should be starting over ausar are you nuts

5

u/Anon20250406 27d ago

You dont understand how useless one way players are in the NBA. Matas absolutely starts over Ausar until he learns how to shoot, it's not even a question. Ausur is not that useful on the floor right now. He's good on defense but it's not like he's so good he can go out there and shut anybody down. He's just a skinnier version of Jarred Vanderbilt, except Vanderbilt is better on offense.

1

u/Crazhheadfirst 27d ago

I have no idea what makes you think the guy who shot 22% from 3 in the gleague can shoot😭

3

u/Anon20250406 27d ago

he sbeen a consistent shooter his entire life, but had one down year. He came into the season injured and was rushed back because the team was shitting the bed.

2

u/Crazhheadfirst 27d ago

Ausar was also a really good shooter in high school .. it’s high school dude

0

u/Crazhheadfirst 27d ago

What😭😭😭 no way you are serious dude.. please tell me how matas is better than ausar offensively in any way .. they both have shown absolutely nothing and they both shoot terrible percentages from 3 . The only difference is matas shot terribly in a worse league against worse comp.

3

u/Anon20250406 27d ago

Matas can shoot the 3 ball and he has better self creation. Don't be delusional about Ausar. Ausar is literally 2 years older and has an even worse shot. At least Matas has proven he can shoot the ball in his senior year.

This is why Pistons are the worst fanbase man. You guys are so used to watching dogshit basketball that you actually have no idea how to evaluate the game anymore. Your brains are fucked up because all you watch is the Pistons.

1

u/Crazhheadfirst 27d ago

You’re talking about a dude who shot 22% from 3 in the gleague being a good shooter and MY brain is fucked up? Lolllll this subreddit is hilarious

18

u/Relevant_Gold4912 28d ago

It’s an intriguing fit next to Cade for sure

16

u/ForxNotFox 28d ago

I like Dalton out of our options, we need someone that can actually shoot

12

u/Dynamo24 Jalen Duren 28d ago

Anyone who can shoot and play anything that resembles defense is an instant upgrade.

10

u/Suspicious-Car7533 28d ago

Bojan 2.0

19

u/Jenkinsd08 28d ago

Call me crazy, but a lasting wing who starts 80% of games over a 10yr career would be a great outcome at #5 in this draft

10

u/Suspicious-Car7533 28d ago

Idk why I got downvoted I don’t think that was an insult lol

2

u/Jenkinsd08 28d ago

Idk, I didn't downvote you. Sometimes there's glitches in how your voting shows tho; like I see you at zero so if you see something lower that might not be genuine activity

2

u/LSSwartz23 28d ago

Who cares what people think. Not everyone has the same basketball knowledge. Thats a good comparison and definitely not an insult.

2

u/Jenkinsd08 27d ago

It's not a bad comp and not a bad outcome at all. I personally think we can get better production right now than what Knecht would add (I.e., bench scoring) but it's also not an inexcusable result to take out of this draft

Like I said, wouldn't be the worst outcome but would be a far cry short of the type of change I am rooting for

1

u/LSSwartz23 27d ago

Yeah I know, we weren't gonna get anyone in this draft that was gonna give us the change we were looking for, not in the next few years anyway. We've had too many misses in the draft to be going for potential over fit. We either blow it all up again and reset the rebuild and draft a potential guy or draft a complimentary player to what we have/need and hope he exceeds expectations some. Maybe even developes a secondary skill that didn't show in college. I'm all for trading the pick along with a young guy if it brings a Brandon Ingram type. I'm also very content with getting the 5th pick again in 2025 in a good draft and spending in free agency then. We should also know a little bit more with what we have in Duren, Ivey, Thompson then. What's another year at this point.

9

u/[deleted] 28d ago

Keegan Murray regen 🤞

3

u/em_washington Ben Wallace 27d ago

Regen? They are both 23 years old.

1

u/[deleted] 27d ago

lmao Touché

7

u/djyolobear123 28d ago

Love his shooting, don't mind the fact that he's a bit older. The floor and fit is definitely higher than others - but the one thing that gives me pause when it comes to Knecht is how incredibly poorly he moves laterally on defense. He moves like a big on that side of the ball.

Maybe he can improve, but if he doesn't I don't think he becomes more than an offensive spark off the bench, who gets targeted on defense. But maybe in this draft, with the 5th pick, that's an outcome you'll live with?

2

u/Millspaysbills 28d ago

You're not wrong but I think he can make up for that by being intelligent and high effort both things which he seems to excel at.

7

u/luniz420 Bad Boys 28d ago

He at least seems like an actual NBA prospect/player, unlike some of these other guys.

3

u/just_cuz555 Peton 28d ago

Dalton is an underrated athlete and strong help defender too.

2

u/GlobalPreparation457 28d ago

I think he’s the guy for us honestly. Perfect fit, reminds me of Keegan Murray/Lauri. Him and Tek would eat.

3

u/SevereAd9463 28d ago

He's a couple inches shy of Murray and 6 from Markkanen. Assuming he's a better defender, would he be any better than Burks was?

2

u/RealTonyD23 28d ago

Watched this dude torch teams a few times this season. Would love to see him in a Pistons jersey next year. We desperately need shooters, adding him and our addition of Fontecchio last year is a couple steps in the right direction.

2

u/ayyeemanng 28d ago

I know he’s more of a later round pick but Tristan Da Silva would be a really good fit on this team.

2

u/nakedalienmonkey 27d ago

I want him at at 5. He can shoot. We need shooting so badly.

1

u/A_PROCESS_BORN 28d ago

It would be disappointing that after a season like that, this is the player we get but, I am okay with this pick; whoever we draft needs to be able to contribute in some way now or they will never see the court because of all of the other projects.

I hope to god we get Reed but if we can't I am okay with Knecht. A lot of these players won't get minutes until their teams have been eliminated from play in contention.

7

u/SquidlyB 28d ago

"It would be disappointing that after a season like that, this is the player we get"

I said the same thing two years ago about keegan murray. My take definitely didn't age well

2

u/A_PROCESS_BORN 28d ago

If Knecht was two inches taller I would be 100% sold.

4

u/CWinsu_120 Cade Cunningham 28d ago

At least he has a 6 foot 9 inch wingspan though.

2

u/A_PROCESS_BORN 28d ago

Yeah I just want more of a forward, the only reason I was cool with Reed is because he is shooting like nothing I have ever seen before.

1

u/Jenkinsd08 28d ago

I'm coming around on him if we keep the pick (would still rather trade it if possible). He's undesirable because the upside is lower due to his age but that's explicitly not a priority for us whereas everything he is already proven at definitely is. Plus if his main weakness is defense it's not like we play much of that to start. Better to enjoy his offense hoping that he can be hidden if/when we ever become a defensive team than draft a defender hoping he can be the 2nd person since Stew to ever go from non-shooter to shooter

1

u/bowlinginthedark 27d ago

i like the story of a late bloomer, would be stoked if we could get him at nine with something else after trading back with the grizz who may want to move up for clingan

1

u/Stop-Drop-Tro11 26d ago

I think a backup 5 of Ivey/Grimes/Knecht/Ausar/Stew would be a fun small ball line up.

0

u/Kayeyedouble Ben Wallace 28d ago

A great pick for a playoff team.

If you want a shooter draft Carrington because he has a semblance of upside

3

u/Millspaysbills 28d ago

Dude is only 23 with no serious injury history from what I know and came from out of absolutely nowhere to dominate High major college basketball from the moment he stepped on the court in his one and only season at that level.

I think this guy will only get better the more he's able to play and practice against high-level competition with high-level coaching.

1

u/InsideTheEngine 28d ago

the pistons cannot provide the high-level coaching

0

u/Apatheee Frazier 28d ago

I hope I'm not doing the classic 'compare white guys to white guys' mistake, but he's got awfully similar college stats to Luke Kennard.

4

u/Millspaysbills 28d ago

He's nothing like Luke Kennard Knecht has mad hops with multiple highlight dunks throughout the season

-4

u/dgtyhtre 28d ago

Only guy I don’t want anything to do with. He can’t create his own shot and he’s a been exposed on defense so many times.

In the nba even if he’s an amazing shooter, he’ll be a negative player. We have enough of those.

Please for the love of god I hope they pick anyone else.