Detroit Pistons

COLUMN: Pistons' freedom to make moves in free agency and trades could be enhanced by saving money in rookie salary slot and staying at No. 7 in a lukewarm lottery.

In the 2013 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons will have the No. 8 pick in the second round. Players available that late rarely turn into All-Stars, but the Pistons should be able to find a player who can play valuable minutes in their rotation next

In the 2013 NBA draft, the Detroit Pistons will have the No. 8 pick in the second round. Players available that late rarely turn into All-Stars, but the Pistons should be able to find a player who can play valuable minutes in their rotation next

Of the 63 combine participants, 39 said they have had contact with the Pistons, while 21 of those have individual workouts scheduled or expect to have them scheduled with the team.

Teams have plenty to ask about Ledo, who attended four different high schools and decided to leave Providence College after one season during which he was academically ineligible and never played a game.

Discuss Draft Dreams on Twitter using the #DraftDreams hashtag. Info • Measurables: 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, senior center from the University of Kansas • Key Stats: 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.9 blocks per game; shot 58 percent from the field. • Projected: Mid-first round. Random Fact There are a lot of scatter-brained, potentially inebriated ideas that college students concoct — some great and some bad. But you’ve got to give it up, the cult following that Withey had during his four year’s at Kansas are pretty hilarious. Not only did he have a parody Twitter account called @FakeJeffWithey, which is how I really hope he acts, if just for hilarity’s sake, but he’s also got two websites dedicated to his presence. First you’ve got WitheyBlockParty.com which is literally a blog featuring a boatload of Withey’s blocks at KU. He had 286 in his final two seasons, and by listening to the calls of each block, you’d think the Kansas announcers had never seen him block a shot. There was actually a Twitter hashtag, #witheyblockparty, that was really a thing during the season and tournament, too. The other goes by the name WitheyFace.com. If you’ve ever heard of ManningFace.com, you’ll know what this is. You’ll notice right off the bat that a snarling Jeff Withey closely resembles the Jayhawks logo. I’ll just leave you all with these 500 or so staring Withey faces… Fits with the Pistons because … There are a number of holes on the Pistons’ roster, but one of the more underrated ones is in the front court. The team already has it’s cornerstones in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but with Jason Maxiell entering free agency and Charlie Villanueva being Charlie Villanueva, the Pistons need a third big man. Withey’s biggest strength — shot blocking — is one of the Pistons’ biggest weaknesses. There’s the niche of fans under the assumption that the Pistons already have a Withey-like player in Slava Kravtsov, but Withey has an plus-NBA skill. Kravtsov lacks that. There’s no reason a team wouldn’t want a guy like Withey on their team. Even if all he ends up being in the NBA is an above-average shot blocker from the weak side, he’s still got value. The question is where does that value start. The Pistons are drafting in the top-10, but not again until the early second round. Withey would be a horrible reach in the early-to-mid lottery, but in the early second round, he’d be perfect. The chances of that aren’t great now, especially considering the kind of great-at-one-skill players like Withey are usually a value to contenders who can pick and choose when and how they use them later in a draft. Doesn’t fit with the Pistons because … He’s not going to help a sometimes-stagnant offense. For all the good that Withey brings on defense, he’s still somewhat easy to push around on the block and doesn’t have any semblance of a post game. That’s something that can be cultivated and developed, but he’s going to be a non-factor on offense early. I’ve gushed about the shot blocking, but he’s not a great defender individually. There’s confusion sometimes between really good defenders and really good shot blockers — there’s a difference. Serge Ibaka is a GREAT shot blocker, but just an above-average defender. Right now, Withey’s a really good shot blocker, NBA caliber, but in college hoops, specifically the Big 12, you’re not facing any sort of real post threat. The best example of that might be his struggles with Michigan freshman Mitch McGary in the Sweet 16. Withey was muscled around and tossed aside by McGary, whose post game is hardly refined, even by college standards. That’s scary if you’re a GM looking at Withey to be a key defender for you. Fair or unfair, he’s also kind of been stereotyped as the big, goofy stiff who is bound to be a bust. The fact that his predecessor, Cole Aldrich, has really done nothing in three seasons with a very similar skill set doesn’t help, either. From the Experts Chad Ford: If there was a shot-blocking drill

Physical measurements and drills testing numbers don’t define a player, but when players like Indiana’s Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo put up the kind of results they turned in at the NBA draft combine, it can’t hurt their draft stock.

I wanted to share an experience that may illustrate what happened with the Pistons last season and show what may come in the future. I'm from Brazil, and of course, like everybody here, I consider myself someone who knows a lot about football (or soccer, as americans call it). In football, the formation, the tactics and the plays play a big part. Although I'm a big Pistons fan, I'm starting to learn about basketball tactics now. And it's a very interesting thing to learn the strategic part of a new game when you already know about another one. It gives you a different insight and it's much easier for you to think outside the box. Also, I myself like to play NBA 2k13 on my videogame, and I always try to play the whole season, with 48-minute games, in the "Star" difficulty, one harder than the regular one. So, last year, I started with the Pistons. Playing Knight, Stuckey, Prince, Maxiell and Monroe. In the first 10 games I was something like 1-9. Then I decided to change to Bynum, Knight, Prince, Monroe and Drummond. It got better, but I was still a losing team. I stayed 4 months without playing and recently I decided to start over. Now, with the trade, I'm playing Calderon, Knight, Singler, Monroe, and Drummond. But, before starting, I went ahead and tweaked the team strategy and gameplan. First of all, I changed Frank's playbook to Memphis' playbook. And also, I tweaked the sliders, asking the team to play a much slower tempo (but with a lot of fastbreaks on counterattacks), a lot of 3-pointers and postgame, and very little mid-range. Basically, the C and PF lurks near the box to get the ball and score. The SF tries to take a defender from the box and the SG looks for an outside shot. And suddenly, the game is MUCH easier. I won all the first 10 games, except for Lakers. I'm hitting 12-15 3 pointers everygame (with Knight, Singler, Calderon, Jerebko, Middleton and English when he plays). Drummond and Monroe get a lot of points and rebounds, and Calderon getting 12-15 dimes a night. Of course, it's just a game. But it's a very well-made game where you can apply what you think may help the team. And I can conclude that the season could have gone the other way if the headcoach thought differently. I can only hope that the next season coach can play the Pistons to their strenghs. Cheers from Brazil! I wanted to share an experience that may illustrate what happened with the Pistons last season and show what may come in the future. I'm from Brazil, and of course, like everybody here, I consider myself someone who knows a lot about football (or soccer, as americans call it). In football, the formation, the tactics and the plays play a big part. Although I'm a big Pistons fan, I'm starting to learn about basketball tactics now. And it's a very interesting thing to learn the strategic part of a new game when you already know about another one. It gives you a different insight and it's much easier for you to think outside the box. Also, I myself like to play NBA 2k13 on my videogame, and I always try to play the whole season, with 48-minute games, in the "Star" difficulty, one harder than the regular one. So, last year, I started with the Pistons. Playing Knight, Stuckey, Prince, Maxiell and Monroe. In the first 10 games I was something like 1-9. Then I decided to change to Bynum, Knight, Prince, Monroe and Drummond. It got better, but I was still a losing team. I stayed 4 months without playing and recently I decided to start over. Now, with the trade, I'm playing Calderon, Knight, Singler, Monroe, and Drummond. But, before starting, I went ahead and tweaked the team strategy and gameplan. First of all, I changed Frank's playbook to Memphis' playbook. And also, I tweaked the sliders, asking the team to play a much slower tempo (but with a lot of fastbreaks on counterattacks), a lot of 3-pointers and postgame, and very little mid-range. Basically, the C and PF lurks near

Stuckey has spent his six professional seasons with the Pistons but could be the team's top trade prospect this offseason, and is the subject of multiple queries in this week's Q-and-A with MLive Media Group Pistons beat writer David Mayo.

Indiana's Cody Zeller declined first-round money to return for his sophomore season, while Arizona's Grant Jerrett is a borderline draft pick who opted to leave after one year.