The Pistons selected swingman Sammy Mejia with the #57 pick in the NBA Draft.  Mejia is 6′6″, 195 pounds and the Pistons think he can handle either small forward or shooting guard.  He played in 123 games at DePaul and he averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Mejia shot 45.7% from the floor, 32.8% from the three point line and 65.9% from the free throw line at DePaul.

This was an odd draft with the Pistons having so many draft picks.  Arron Afflalo’s offensive game resembles that of Richard Hamilton as he’s good at hitting mid range shots.  He is a little bigger than Hamilton as he stands 6′5″ and weighs 215 pounds.  Afflalo played in 104 games at UCLA and he averaged 14.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.  He shot pretty well in college as he hit 45.7% from the floor, 37.3% from the three point line and 78.1% from the free throw line.  This was another solid pick by the Pistons.  Afflalo will likely back up Richard Hamliton as a rookie.

With Chauncey Billups a free agent the Pistons felt the need to get some guard help and that they did when they selected Rodney Stuckey of Eastern Washington in the first round.  Stuckey has got good size at 6′5″, 205 pounds and he can get the ball in the basket.  Stuckey played in 59 games at Eastern Washington and he averaged 24.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game.  He also is a good shooter from anywhere on the basketball court as he hit 47.2% from the floor, 31.7% from the three point line and 80.6% from the free throw line in college.  If Billups leaves, the Pistons might start Stuckey at point guard.  If Billups returns, look for the Pistons to use Stuckey like they used to use Vinnie “Microwave” Johnson off of the bench. 

Antonio McDyess will return to the Pistons and he will play for the $6.3 million option in his contract.  This is good news for the Pistons as McDyess is their best player off of the bench.

The Pistons are faced with some tough decisions as Chris Webber, Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess will all become free agents next week.  The most important one of the bunch is Chauncey Billups who seems to be saying the right things…but so did Ben Wallace and you see what happened to him.  Look for the Pistons to look at players in the Draft tomorrow that could replace their free agents if they choose to leave.  The Pistons hold the #15, #27 and #57 picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft and they better make those picks count this season.