The Detroit Pistons made a move to pick up another first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Earlier in the evening, the Pistons used the No. 5 overall pick to take a swing, as the team selected Overtime Elite forward Ausar Thompson with the hopes that he can be part of the young core the team is building with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Jalen Duren.
A little bit later in the evening and Detroit traded up to get someone a little more experienced. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Pistons and the Boston Celtics worked out a deal where Detroit would acquire the number 25 pick on Thursday night, while Boston would drop down to number 31 and gain some future second-round selections from the Pistons.
The Pistons are acquiring No. 25 from the Celtics, source tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
The Celtics will get No. 31 in the trade, per source. https://t.co/DHxLqCuLlc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
No. 31 and future seconds to the CELTICS. https://t.co/zX2LTQfPPv
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2023
With the pick, Detroit decided to select a player who is older than both members of their starting backcourt, as the team brought in Houston guard 2023 consensus first-team All-American Marcus Sasser.
Sources: Boston is drafting Marcus Sasser at No. 25 and trading to Detroit for No. 31. https://t.co/Z8rZKX2Rl3
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2023
The Pistons will probably not need Sasser to ever be the face of their backcourt, but he does have a track record of being a tenacious two-way player, as he was one of the best guard defenders in college basketball last season. Offensively, he averaged 16.8 points and 3.1 assists per game while hitting 38.4 percent of his attempts from behind the three-point line.