The 2022 NBA draft on Thursday allowed numerous young men to realize their dreams of playing in the NBA and continuing their basketball careers.

With the draft over, now is the time to analyze and figure out who the winner was on a big night in the league. Many teams hit on the right picks and continue to build a core they hope can lead to the franchise’s future success.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was asked to pick a winner on the night, and he focused on the Detroit Pistons, who selected Purdue star Jaden Ivey and dealt for athletic big man Jalen Duren. The Pistons sent the 2025 first-round pick they acquired in the Jerami Grant trade to the New York Knicks to bring Duren to Detroit. The two will join a core that features 2021 No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart.

Smith on the Pistons as the winners of the draft:

I just think that I got to look at the Detroit Pistons. With Ivey, with Duren, and these boys, they got some young talent and this kid Ivey, I wanted the Knicks to get him so bad. He’s special. He really, really is and I’m not saying that he’s that dude, the Dwyane Wade type, Kendrick Perkins, because I didn’t see him that much at Purdue, but what I will tell you is that when I’ve envision him with Cade Cunningham, I think they drafted him because they believe he could potentially be that kind of player, because he’s 6-foot-4. So you’re a tweener. You’re usually a shooting guard like the Kobe Bryants of the world and others who were around 6-foot-6 or so, he’s not that tall. He’s not that big, but I think that he can grow even more. I think that definitely he’s got the athleticism. He’s got the fire. He wants it bad, and you can see it and I think that him and Cade Cunningham, it could be some special things developing in Detroit. Think Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars with Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson coming off the bench in their title days and stuff like that. When you talk about Cade Cunningham with Ivey, I think they got the potential and this kid Duren is a rim protector, and I think he’s incredibly athletic and I think he’s got a lot of potential and everybody’s been raving about him. So I’m gonna go with the Detroit Pistons.

It remains to be seen how Ivey and Duren will fit with Cunningham and the rest of the Pistons, but on paper, it looks like a seamless fit. Coach Dwane Casey and Co. should be able to figure out how they fit on the floor for their rebuild.