The Detroit Pistons enter draft night having acquired the Minnesota Timberwolves’ pick, which lands at No. 21, and Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley projects them to select Iowa senior Bennett Stirtz — a 6-foot-3 guard whose elite processing, pure shooting, and floor-general instincts can provide the offensive support that Cade Cunningham so desperately needs after Detroit’s playoff struggles in 2025-26.

The Pistons’ postseason run was defined as much by what they lacked as what they produced. Cunningham was an All-NBA first-teamer, but outside him, only 33-year-old unrestricted free agent Tobias Harris cleared 12 points per game. Not a single other player averaged 3.5 assists. The supporting cast was built for regular-season survival, not playoff creation — and a second-round exit confirmed it. Stirtz is specifically engineered to fix that supporting cast problem: he can pilot an offense as a lead guard or maintain value in an off-ball role, and his shooting accuracy from NBA range is trustworthy enough to function in either capacity from his first day in the league.

The honest caveat is Stirtz’s age — he turns 23 as a rookie, which means his ceiling is a known quantity rather than a projection. Buckley acknowledges this directly, noting that Detroit “might place more value on his elevated floor and ability to play right away” rather than chasing a younger prospect with more theoretical upside. At this stage of the Cunningham window, that logic is defensible: a team with a potential star at No. 1 needs contributors who can maximize his environment today, not in two years.

The direct opportunity cost at No. 21 is Philadelphia’s pick at No. 22: Houston forward Chris Cenac Jr., a 6-foot-11 center whose athletic profile and hybrid rim-running/stretch-shooting tools could eventually become a starting-caliber option. Cenac is younger and higher-ceiling than Stirtz, but Detroit’s most urgent need is backcourt creation, not frontcourt depth. Cunningham already has the bigs he needs; what he lacks is a dependable half-court creator who can take the ball out of his hands when defenses load up on him.

CBS Sports’ Adam Finkelstein and Gary Parrish both project Stirtz to Detroit at No. 21, confirming the consensus. CBS Sports’ Cameron Salerno projects Ebuka Okorie, a Stanford guard with a more dynamic creation profile but a smaller shooting sample. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor projects Duke sophomore Isaiah Evans — a shooter with elite off-ball movement — to Detroit, reflecting the view that pure three-point marksmanship is the single most valuable asset Cunningham’s teammates can provide. Tankathon projects Texas Tech’s Christian Anderson.

The divergence between Stirtz, Okorie, Evans, and Anderson reflects four legitimate ways to solve the same problem. Stirtz is the safest floor. Okorie and Evans have higher ceilings but more development risk. The choice between them is ultimately about how much risk the Pistons can afford to take on a 60-win team already built around a proven star.

What Other Outlets Are Projecting

Outlet	Projected Player
Bleacher Report	Bennett Stirtz, PG, Iowa
CBS Sports	Bennett Stirtz, PG, Iowa (Finkelstein, Parrish)
Tankathon	Christian Anderson, PG, Texas Tech
Yahoo Sports	Isaiah Evans, SF, Duke

Stirtz at No. 21 is the correct move for Detroit because it prioritizes the Pistons’ most critical competitive need over theoretical ceiling optimization. Cunningham is 25 years old and already operating at a first-team All-NBA level; the window for this team is now, not in 2028. Stirtz’s high floor, immediate readiness, and ability to function in both on-ball and off-ball roles makes him the player most capable of elevating Cunningham’s offensive environment from year one of his rookie contract. That’s exactly what a 60-win team with a franchise cornerstone needs from its next lottery investment.