NBA Draft 2020: Mock Draft 4.0
6. player. 64. . Forward / Dayton. Detroit Pistons. Obi Toppin
The Pistons are in full rebuild mode, minus the aging Blake Griffin, who will probably stick around because no one wants his contract. Removing Griffin from the equation, the Pistons will probably seek the best player available. Most consider Toppin a top-five pick, so in this instance, he’s the likely candidate.
Toppin won college basketball’s top honor this season while leading Dayton to national prominence — no small feat. He’s a do-it-all forward on offense, with great vertical athleticism at the rim and a bevy of skills on the perimeter. He can face-up, post-up, rim run — he will find ways to contribute to the cause.
The issues for Toppin lie on defense, where his vertical athleticism doesn’t quite translate. He’s slow-footed laterally, and therefore struggles to defend in space. He has a high center of gravity, hasn’t really proven he can defend bigs, and may find himself lost positionally. Even so, he’s too accomplished and too talented to ignore. He’s someone Detroit can maybe build a team around.