2023 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Blazers and Bulls find new life

The Pistons have their backcourt of the future locked up with Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, so that takes the likes of Smith and Wallace off the board. Instead, it’s the mega-athlete on the wing, Cam Whitmore from Villanova, who joins the Pistons in the No. 5 slot.

There are quite a few uniquely impressive athletes in the 2023 draft, but none can really match Whitmore’s power and explosiveness at the rim. He’s built like a tank, with the ability to obliterate smaller defenders en route to the basket and elevate in ways that make one question what exactly their high school physics teacher was going on about.

At 6-foot-7 with a 7-foot wingspan and 232 pounds of muscle, Whitmore possesses an extremely high floor as a multi-positional wing defender and play finisher. He can space the floor, convert prolifically off cuts to the rim, and he will cover a lot of ground defensively. The Pistons are probably hoping to make the leap sooner than later with Cade in the driver’s seat, so Whitmore’s immediate fit should appeal to them.

That’s not to say Whitmore doesn’t have his share of star potential, though. Players who can get to the rim like him are naturally going to collapse the defense and draw contract on a regular basis. He needs to get more consistent with his jumper, especially if he wants to one day become a reliable go-to scorer on the perimeter, but the physical tools are available in spades.