As the Detroit Pistons’ hunt for a new president of basketball operations continues, there’s still some critical work for the organization to complete a week from now.

Both the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery and combine will take place in Chicago starting on Sunday, and Detroit may be the center of attention in the Windy City. For openers, the Pistons have the highest prospects of obtaining the No. 1 pick for the fourth consecutive year.

Furthermore, the intrigue around the team’s soon-to-be president-hire will be too tremendous to ignore. While whomever ownership picks to replace the president of basketball operations post will have the ability to clean house, team sources tell The Athletic, that person isn’t yet in place and it is unlikely that would change within the next week.

As I’ve previously mentioned, I expect a hire will be made in mid-to-late May. General manager Troy Weaver and his staff have been operating operations as normal during this search but doing so with the assumption that no one’s future with the organization is guaranteed.

Until I’m told differently, it has been my impression that Weaver and Co. will be conducting interviews and so forth with candidates. Who are those prospects, you ask?

This draft class has been dubbed as one of the worst in recent memory, as many executives and scouts don’t believe there is any star power at the top. Opinions vary. Some clubs I’ve spoken to don’t believe the players selected early will be worth their comparatively expensive rookie wages.

Some clubs I’ve spoken to have believed that a top-three pick in this draft will net a solid player or retain good transfer value. Some executives view the No. 1 pick in this class the same as they view the No. 5 or No. 6 choice in a “normal” draft.

Maybe more than any other class in recent memory, the top of 2024 NBA Draft is genuinely a “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” – and I’m not sure anyone sees anything other than a handful of “sevens.”

Regardless, the Pistons still have to do their homework in the event that they keep their top-five pick and don’t trade it. So, here are seven prospects that I think will seriously be in play in the top five (yes, even without knowing who the president of basketball operations will be).

Oh, and Detroit also holds the 53rd pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, so I’ll briefly touch on a few players to pay attention to at the combine in that bracket.

While Sarr isn’t the unanimous No. 1 pick at this moment, he seems to be the frontrunner. I think he’d definitely be the top choice for the Pistons if the ping-pong balls are kind.

Sarr has the biggest upside of any talent in this class, in my opinion, and has improved considerably this season playing overseas. Defensively, Sarr has a chance to be great. He defends well in space for his size. He flies around the court and can stay in front of tiny guys. At the rim, Sarr is an imposing presence because of his length. And if he’s not blocking shots, he’s likely disrupting them.

Offensively, there has been some fun, exciting things from Sarr with the ball in his hands in both transition and half-court sets. I also believe he’s demonstrated good-enough touch to be a viable shooting threat at some time in his career.

Ultimately though, Detroit would be selecting Sarr for who he could become on defense. This club sorely needs great rim protection in the frontcourt, and I’m not sure there is a better talent in this class who could both check that box and maybe blossom into more than just a lob threat on attack

For a club that needs more defense on the wing and high-IQ players, Castle makes too much sense for Detroit at this range. Oh, and he’s already a winner.

Castle is a guard/wing hybrid that somewhat reminds me of the Orlando Magic’s Anthony Black with his IQ, size, defensive versatility and toughness.

I envision him more of a secondary ballhandler than a lead guard at the NBA level, which is excellent for the Pistons, who have Cade Cunningham leading the offense.

One of Detroit’s major difficulties is it doesn’t currently have a wing-sized backup playmaker with guard skills. Ausar Thompson will get there one day, but his grasp isn’t tight enough yet to be a lead ballhandler for significant chunks of games. Castle would help fill that need for Detroit.

Castle’s shot is a concern, and I’m not sure if the Pistons can afford to force-feed another young player into their rotation who isn’t a proven 3-point shooter.

If Detroit is able to reorganize its squad via trade and free agency this summer, Castle’s fit starts to make more sense, and there can be more patience with him as a shooter.

This club needs to get a lot better defensively, and that can only happen by recruiting guys that take pride on that end. Castle isn’t a perfect fit, but I see him as a high-upside swing who can also impact the game immediately away.

This would be another upside swing for me.

Williams is a large wing with long arms who I think would be a high-end role player and potentially might evolve into more if his self-creation improves. Right now, Williams can apply pressure on the rim, pass and defend different positions. He finishes well with both hands and also can finish in a crowd due of his length and stature.

He’s an efficient scorer who doesn’t shoot a ton of 3s, which raises some worries about how soon his 3-ball will translate to the NBA despite solid shooting mechanics.

Williams’ defensive versatility is interesting, as is his potential to play a point forward in the NBA because of his fluid touch and passing. He’s not terribly athletic, and that could pose concerns early in his career, but the length and IQ Williams brings is enough for me to believe the Pistons would seriously consider him in this area.

Whomever the new president is will have to rapidly evaluate if not only Jalen Duren can turn a corner as a rim protector as soon as next season, but also if he’s also part of the future at all.

If both of those answers are no, Clingan should very much be considered with a top-five choice for Detroit. He’s perhaps the finest interior defender in this draft right now, which was put on display during the Huskies’ impressive run to another national championship.

Clingan should be a top-tier drop-coverage big man providing he stays healthy. He moves well for his stature and is already more physical and bigger than the majority of the other top center prospects to come out in previous rounds.

Given the deficiencies in this class, I’d be extremely satisfied with a defensive-minded center who is low maintenance offensively but can pass and finish inside.

Buzelis is a weird one because I’d regard him as a late-lottery prospect in most classes. As I’m not in love with anyone in this class and the Ignite season was a nightmare, I can talk myself into his upside as a top-five pick.

He’s got great size and length for a wing, is athletic and doesn’t need the ball to be impactful. If he’s going to play alongside Cunningham, being able to be efficient in an off-ball role is vital.

In studying tape, I like what I’ve seen defensively from Buzelis off the ball but do have worries how he’ll hold up on the ball at the NBA level, especially early on.

I don’t love how streaky of a shooter Buzelis is as it applies to Detroit, considering the roster concerns I noted above. Buzelis needs to get stronger, too. If he can achieve it sooner rather than later, I could see that helping with his self-creation woes.

Knecht likely will never be anywhere near an NBA All-Star. I also feel comfortable predicting he’ll play in the league for a long time. He oozes “high-end role player” and the Pistons don’t even have a ton of those.

Knecht’s upside isn’t very high because I don’t see him becoming a plus on-ball defender during his tenure in the NBA, but a bigger Tyler Herro or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope without the on-ball defense and stronger off-the-dribble creation? Sign me up … for this draft class.

Knecht is a bucket; a three-level scorer who has a silky-smooth jumper. He’s an outstanding stationary shooter and shoots very effectively off movement.

Around the rim, Knecht is a savvy finisher who leverages his athleticism. I’ve had no questions about Knecht’s scoring translating to the NBA. He’s also a good and willing ball-mover. I tend to lean toward high-IQ basketball players, and Sheppard meets that billing.

He’s a step ahead of most guys with whom he shares the floor. He gets the ball moving and makes the appropriate play considerably more ofter than not. Sheppard is also a skilled shooter. On the defensive end, Sheppard is fairly solid on the ball and is pretty good away from it, though he does fall asleep from time to time.

Overall, Sheppard is fascinating but someone I’d hesitate to take in the top three due of his lack of physical tools. He’s short and missing athleticism to really feel good about his upside becoming more than a rotation guy. To counter that, I tend to bet on guys as clever as Sheppard busting past their perceived ceilings as prospects.

If you’re a draft fanatic and are truly intrigued with the players on the perimeter of this draft class, here are a few individuals I personally have loved scouting/watching who will be at the combine but are considered to be late picks. They might conceivably be options for Detroit at No. 53.