The Pistons must determine what to do with the No. 1 pick.
Draft Cade Cunningham? Buck convention to take Jalen Green or even Evan Mobley? Trade down?
There’s plenty for Detroit to evaluate – including whether prospects make their beds.
Pistons coach Dwane Casey at the Detroit Policy Conference:
You think I’m crazy, but one of the first things I ask the players: “Do you make your bed in the morning?” Alright. That tells you a lot about a young man. If he makes his bed in the morning, one, he’s setting the tone for his day. He’s organized. He’s disciplined. And you’d be surprised, most all the young men that we talked to made their beds. They couldn’t start their day without making a bed. And that tells you something about their character, their organizational skills and a lot of things.
One of the common traits of successful people in the country, one trait that a lot of them have is they make their beds. So, business people, make your beds in the morning and good things will come. But I truly believe in that as a leader. It’s one thing you can accomplish to start your day.
That number one pick, I promise you, we’ll get a good player. He’ll be a good person. He’ll make his bed in the morning. Alright, I promise you that. And he’ll make a few shots and get the Pistons back in the championship conversation.
Organization and discipline are important traits in NBA players. But does bed-making actually strongly correlate? I’m skeptical. Valuing making the bed in the morning doesn’t necessarily mean someone is or isn’t organized and disciplined in other facets of their life. Plus, it’s not hard for players to surmise what answer Casey wants to hear, regardless of what they actually do.
Teams sometimes get too caught up in junk-science psychoanalysis.
The good news for Detroit: Pistons general manager Troy Weaver’s teams have a long track record of drafting well. There should be faith in his ability to evaluate prospects’ basketball talent – the most important factor – and attitude then make a sound decision.
