The Detroit Pistons have hosted a slew of talented guards for pre-draft workouts. Could Ebuka Okorie end up as the newest member of the Pistons three weeks from now?
With the 2026 NBA Draft less than three weeks away, Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon is revealing a bit of his roster building philosophy through a series of pre-draft workouts.
During Langdon’s end of season press conference, the Pistons exec acknowledged that the team could benefit from adding three-point shooters to space along the perimeter, but he’ll have a busy offseason already with Jalen Duren contract discussions factoring into his offseason schedule. Still, Langdon has less than three weeks to prepare Detroit for the draft, and he’s not wasting any time since a series of prospects have already completed workouts for the Pistons.
At No. 21 overall, Detroit is located at an intriguing pivot-point in the first round where a top 15-type prospect could slip on draft day. The Pistons could use a long-term answer at power forward in addition to extra three-point shooting, so there’s a couple different routes the team could take with their draft pick.
If the Pistons are of the mindset where it makes sense to select another guard who can handle the rock and take pressure off Cade Cunningham, then Ebuka Okorie is a crafty 6-2, 185-pound speedster out of Stanford who has already worked out for Detroit.
During his lone season as a Cardinal, Okorie showcased a propensity and ability to slash downhill and get to the rim for lay-ups as a freshman that far outweighed his elders. Okorie converted his 200-plus attempts at the rim during the 2025-26 campaign at a rate over 50%, but that level of efficiency undersells the slick guard’s ability to finish through contact and make tough plays at the bucket.
From long-range, Okorie hit over 35% of his attempts from behind the three-point line and averaged two splashes from downtown each game, so the Stanford product is not a poor perimeter shooter by any means who also possesses the first-step quickness to reach the second level and turn his drive into paint production, which is the strongest part of Okorie’s game.
In terms of his fit with the Pistons, adding Okorie would allow for Detroit to move Daniss Jenkins into more of an off-ball role. During the playoffs, the Pistons frequently used both Cunningham and Jenkins on the court at the same time, and that optionality opened up the playbook when the Cleveland Cavs packed the paint in the second round. If Detroit wants to continue exploring that possibility on a consistent, long-term basis next season, Okorie would give the organization another player who could initiate offense in the backcourt with Marcus Sasser assuredly filtering into the mix as well.
Now, the Pistons could explore the possibility of adding a power forward to the squad depending on how the first round shakes out since Tobias Harris is entering unrestricted free agency. Langdon, however, has already expressed his desire to keep the 35-year old vet in a Pistons jersey, but the team needs to have an understudy ready to take over when Harris eventually passes on the reins to the starting power forward position.
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