One way or another, Marcus Sasser was leaving the 2023 NBA draft as a Detroit press.
General Manager Troy Weaver has been a longtime fan, but throughout college hoops season, scouts have routinely called him about the Houston guard getting the bucket. His shot is 3 points. pull jumpers. his handle. his confidence. His defense was like a cornerback in football. I’ve caught everyone in Detroit. Entire.
Sasser, who was projected to go late in the first round or early in the second, was someone Detroit identified as a target with his fifth overall pick in Thursday’s draft. So, shortly after making the decision to take Overtime Elite’s Osar Thompson with their pick, the Pistons brass began working out how to get Sasser with their second pick. The front office hopped on their phones until they ended up with the Celtics on the other end, agreeing to trade option No. 31 and two future second runs to move up to No. 25 to grab Sasser before anyone else could. (The deal has not technically been finalized with the league.) Weaver wanted to make sure that Sasser was a piston.
“He’s a player and a stabilizing personality,” Weaver said Friday in Detroit when his team introduced Thompson and Sasser to local media. “He’s a rock. When we build what we’re trying to build, you need some rock, and this guy is a rock.”
“You can talk about his shooting, his defense, but he’s a rock…steady. He brings it into every game. You never have to worry about where he’s going to be, what he’s going to do. He’s rock solid. We wanted to add that player and personality to stabilize the recovery. We pushed our chips in and went. And we got it.”
Detroit didn’t necessarily need Sasser. she wanted it The Pistons awarded Sasser a contract with a go-to for his first-round pick. They gave away assets, albeit insignificant. They had selected three guards in the first round in the previous three drafts.
A commitment like that signals the Pistons’ desire for 22-year-old Sasser, who led one of the college hoops’ first programs during his four-year career in Houston, in their rotation next season. Detroit needs more powerful shooting, playmaking, and defense at the point of offense. Sasser introduces the three. If he was 6-foot-5 instead of 6-1, he could be a top 7 player. Sasser has shades of current Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier, former Pistons bull Mike James and Philadelphia native Therese Maxey. If you told me Sasser would turn into a regular candidate for Sixth Man of the Year for the next decade, I wouldn’t be stunned.
Sasser clearly has to prove that what he did in college translates and that his lack of height won’t hold him back much on both sides of the ball. Time will tell.
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But the question now is how Detroit will make way for Sasser. He is a combo guard who can go on offense when needed and successfully spend 3s when playing the ball. Sasser feels that combination is why he’ll pair so well with Cady Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, Detroit’s two cornerstone pieces.
“I feel like I can fit in with (the older) point guards,” Sasser said Friday. “They can play point guard and I can run on the ground with my ability to kick the ball.”
Cunningham and Ivy will start. Duh. What happens when they get off the ground will be one of the most interesting stories to watch throughout the summer and training camp.
As of now, aside from Sasser, Detroit veteran Alec Burkes and third year guard Killian Hayes are in the backcourt. Burks has a $10.4 million team option for next season that should be decided by June 29, but all signs until the draft were pointing to the Pistons to bring back one of the league’s top scorers from last season. Weaver is big on having veterans on the roster, not only for support on the court but in the locker room. Borks are good as far as you get there.
Hayes, Weaver’s first draft pick as a Pistons GM, had one season left before he was landed in restricted free agency. At this point, it’s not clear if the Pistons will try to sign him to an extension this summer. Hayes provides offensive connection and defensive potential, both of which Detroit is trying to hold onto. However, his shooting inefficiency, both on the perimeter and around the rim, as well as injuries early in his career, hampered the start of his NBA career.
There aren’t enough minutes to go around for these five players to play. Maybe Sasser will get rookie therapy to start while Hayes and Burks are on show. Pistons probably don’t pick up on the pyrex option, adding extra cap space but losing a seasoned and reliable guard in the process. Perhaps they trade Burks for future assets. Maybe Detroit will move on from Hayes before it actually does. But the decision to merge will, in the end, have to be made in some capacity.
Detroit certainly got more talented with the addition of Sasser. You have definitely addressed the needs. However, Sasser’s joining the Pistons adds another interesting wrinkle to an offseason that wasn’t already short.
(Photo by Marcus Sasser in Houston: Justin Ford/Getty Images)
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