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Draft Preview: Timothe Luwawu, Gary Payton II

(Editor’s note: The Pistons hold the No. 18 and No. 49 picks in the June 23 NBA draft. We’ll preview one candidate for each pick each Monday through Friday leading up to the draft. Players who are consensus lottery picks unavailable to the Pistons will not be profiled.)

First-Round Candidate: Timothe Luwawu

ID CARD: 6-foot-7 shooting guard/small forward, French national playing in Croatia, 21 years old

DRAFT RANGE: Ranked 14th by DraftExpress.com; 33rd by ESPN.com; No. 3 among shooting guards by NBA.com

SCOUTS LOVE: Luwawu profiles as a classic 3-and-D type whose calling cards will be first his defense and second his 3-point shot. He’s got the physical and athletic attributes to evolve into an elite perimeter defender with lateral quickness and great length the most apparent. His 3-point shot came a long way over the past year, encouraging him to take the plunge and enter the draft.

SCOUTS WONDER: Can he become more than a 3-and-D player? Luwawu has a long way to go to become a threat to create his own shots. His ballhandling is subpar and he’s been turnover prone, his turnovers surpassing his assists for his Croatian pro team, Mega Leks. Luwawu plays in the Adriatic League, a level below the Spanish ACB, for a team that doesn’t compete in the elite EuroLeague comprised of the top 24 teams from across the various national leagues under its umbrella.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 46 percent – that’s not Luwawu’s shooting percentage, it’s the percentage of his field-goal attempts that come from the 3-point line. While that’s not necessarily a red flag, it does speak to Luwawu’s reliance on a perimeter shot that’s been suspect before an improved season made him a potential lottery candidate. And it underscores the questions scouts have about how high his ceiling might be.

MONEY QUOTE: “Luwawu is generally considered an ideal 3-and-D prospect, though lately I’ve heard more and more teams come back a bit disappointed after scouting him overseas. He may be on the underrated-then-overrated curve right now.” – Chad Ford, ESPN.com

PISTONS FIT: The Pistons’ area of greatest depth is on the wings – Luwawu’s NBA home – with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson entrenched as long-term fixtures in particular. At small forward, Luwawu would be blocked by Marcus Morris, Johnson and perhaps even Tobias Harris if the Pistons were to acquire a quality power forward to push Harris into splitting time over both forward spots.

BOTTOM LINE: The current roster makeup might argue against Luwawu, but the Pistons are more likely to take whomever they believe has the best chance at a consequential NBA career regardless of position given their draft slot. They aren’t counting on instant help at 18 and the roster for 2017-18, when this year’s pick could be ready to contribute, might look substantially different. Stan Van Gundy won’t pass up a highly athletic player with an above average 3-point shot – if that’s what he determines Luwawu can become.

Second-Round Candidate: Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II

ID CARD: 6-foot-3 point guard, Oregon State senior, 23 years old

DRAFT RANGE: Ranked 48th by DraftExpress.com; 52nd by ESPN.com; honorable mention, outside top 10 point guards by NBA.com

SCOUTS LOVE: Befitting his famous father, defense is Gary Payton II’s avenue to the NBA. He’s got a similar lanky, long-armed frame that helped him produce 2.5 steals a game as an Oregon State senior. Despite his pedigree, Payton has had to earn his way to Division I basketball with a two-year junior college stint. He was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Pac-12.

SCOUTS WONDER: Projecting Payton as a competent NBA backup point guard on the offensive end requires either great vision or a leap of faith at this point. Some teams might be OK with that, given his potential as a first-rate defender. But with the league becoming more and more dependent on guards to create scoring chances out of pick-and-roll plays and their need to possess shooting range to prevent defenders from ducking under screens to gum up the offense, there is concern about Payton’s offensive upside.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 30.2 percent. That was Payton’s 3-point shooting percentage in his two years at Oregon State. It was slightly better as a senior (.314) than as a junior (.293), but Payton actually took fewer triples (70, slightly more than two per game and only one in five of his shot attempts as a senior came from the 3-point line) as a senior.

MONEY QUOTE: “Growing up, it’s kind of tough to follow in the footsteps of a legend. When your dad is a Hall of Famer, you know they expect you to be great instantly – just pick up those genes and follow behind that. I kind of shaded away from that.” – Gary Payton II, as told to SB Nation

PISTONS FIT: Stan Van Gundy said after the season that while he and his administration were pleased with the franchise’s progress, he took note that the seven teams that finished ahead of them in the Eastern Conference this season also ranked ahead of them in defensive rating. A No. 2 pick can only have so much impact on team defense, but bringing in a player who can stay in front of the ball on defense even in practice can have a ripple effect. And in protecting fourth-quarter leads – something the Pistons are now better equipped to create – it doesn’t hurt to have a defensive specialist on your bench.

BOTTOM LINE: The Pistons need a backup point guard to Reggie Jackson. There’s no chance they entrust that job to a second-round draft pick. But if they choose not to pursue departing free agent Steve Blake or pick up the third year on 2014 second-rounder Spencer Dinwiddie’s contract, Payton might hold intrigue as a developmental No. 3 point guard who could hone his offense with a series of trips to the D-League while absorbing what it takes to succeed in the NBA.