The last thing it seemed the smallish Detroit Pistons needed was another guard, but they simply couldn’t believe that former Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight was available at No. 8 overall in June’s draft, so Pistons GM Joe Dumars pulled the trigger on John Calipari’s latest one-and-done college star point guard. Could Knight be the Pistons’ first NBA Rookie of the Year since Grant Hill in 1994-95? He is 10/1 to win the award this season on Bodog’s NBA odds.
Knight didn’t look particularly happy on the ESPN telecast after he was taken – perhaps it was because he was projected as high as No. 3 with the Utah Jazz. Knight already has shown a knack for knocking down big shots. In leading the Wildcats to the Final Four last season as a freshman, Knight hit two game-winning shots and also put up 30 points in a regional final victory over West Virginia. Knight averaged 17.3 points and 4.2 assists during his season at Kentucky, and was an All-SEC second-team selection. He shot 42 percent, from the field and 37 from the 3-point line. His 87 3-pointers were a Kentucky freshman record.
But Knight’s presence creates a logjam in the backcourt with guards Rodney Stuckey (the incumbent starting point guard), Will Bynum, Ben Gordon and Rip Hamilton, so there obviously will be some decisions to come. For sure Knight and Stuckey (a restricted free agent) will be on the roster going forward. Dumars admitted that he was targeting a big man originally but really had to start thinking best player available after Cleveland surprisingly took Texas forward Tristan Thompson at No. 4. And the Charlotte Bobcats moved from ninth to seventh before the draft, leapfrogging the Pistons. They selected Congo center Bismack Biyombo, whom many folks felt would wind up in Detroit. Thompson and Biyombo both worked out in Detroit the week of the draft. The Pistons didn’t even work out Knight but took him over Kemba Walker, who went to Charlotte right after the Detroit pick.
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[...] is a new Post at NBA Basketball Betting Odds: Pistons' Brandon Knight for NBA …. The last thing it seemed the smallish Detroit Pistons needed was another guard, but they simply [...]