The Detroit Pistons have ample point guard depth after adding a couple talented floor generals during the summer
Due to the influx of new faces in the Motor City, the Detroit Pistons training camp should be an influential period where head coach J.B. Bickerstaff tries out a lot of fresh combinations. Since the Pistons won 60 games a season ago, much of the foundation is already in place Cade Cunningham running the show, Jalen Duren finishing plays in the paint and Ausar Thompson disrupting traffic on the other end, but the squad still has room to grow.
During the playoffs, the Pistons ran into trouble once Duren faced heavy drop coverage in rounds one and two, which drastically reduced the All-Star’s impact. On top of that wrinkle, Cunningham fielded more double-teams than normal and ran into ball security issues, so the Pistons looked like a flawed group in the postseason but not one without potential.
With a bit more playmaking ability to go alongside Cunningham and a couple more perimeter shooters to make Duncan Robinson’s job easier, the Pistons could have rewritten the conclusion to their season. So, President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon set out during the offseason with a game plan to address those needs in the summer to create a more balanced, fool-proof squad in time for the 2026-27 campaign, Cunningham’s sixth in the league.
As a result, Detroit ended up making a move in the first-round of the 2026 NBA Draft to land a player that should address both of those concerns in former Stanford point guard Ebuka Okorie. Originally, the Pistons held the 21st pick in the draft but pulled off a trade to jump up four slots to ensure that Okorie didn’t slip away after they’d scouted the dynamic playmaker for the better part of the last year.
During his lone season at Stanford, Okorie led the ACC in scoring as a freshman, which speaks to his ability to generate offense and create scoring looks on an otherwise incomplete playmaking squad. Okorie held an immense amount of responsibility at the college level and delivered with over 23 points per game as a Cardinal while connecting on three-pointers at a 35% rate.
While that is a respectable clip from long-range, Okorie has the potential to be even more efficient from distance considering the context. In college, Okorie was the safety valve, the outlet and the go-to guy in their offense, so he was tasked with turning nothing into something at the end of the shot clock time and time again last season. As a byproduct, Okorie’s three-point shooting rate took a hit, but his 83% mark from the charity stripe proves that his shooting mechanics can translate to the perimeter in the right situation.
As a ball handler, Okorie is rightfully lauded for his self-creation ability, which is a quality that is bred from quick change of direction, pace control and feel for the game’s tempo. All of those traits were on display during the Summer League when Okorie averaged nearly 20 points per game for the Pistons as a preview of what he can offer during his rookie campaign in the Motor City.
Overall, Okorie should provide quality depth at the one behind Cunningham, though he’ll likely battle Daniss Jenkins and Elijah Harkless for playing time right off the bat, which would allow DJ to log some minutes at shooting guard for some extra playmaking in the Pistons backcourt.
