(Editor’s note: With the Pistons holding the No. 5 pick in the June 26-27 NBA draft, Pistons.com continues its series of draft previews with a look at Serbian guard Nikola Topic. Coming Monday: Rob Dillingham.)
As with virtually every potential lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft, the variance of opinions on Nikola Topic is wide. You’ll find some who think he should be under consideration for the best prospect in the class. You’ll find others who question whether he is worthy of any pick in the lottery.
And that’s before you factor in a knee injury that only recently was determined to be a partially torn ACL. Ask an orthopedic surgeon what that means and don’t be surprised if the response is that a partially torn ACL is just another way to say torn ACL. They don’t really heal themselves.
So in a draft class that’s already heavy on nuance, speculation and projection, add another layer of intrigue when it comes to Topic, who some see as a savant playmaker and whose stock certainly won’t be hurt by the impact of players from his part of Europe with virtual homonym names, Doncic and Jokic. Perhaps you’ve heard of them.
This will be the first Pistons draft for newly installed president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and it can’t hurt that Langdon’s connections run deep to European basketball, where he was voted to the Euroleague’s All-Decade team for 2000-10. Every shred of credible intelligence to help shape the case for what the Pistons should do with the fifth pick will be mined and Langdon will have a vast network of European connections to help guide him through that process. Topic is one of four players widely seen as potential top-10 picks in this month’s draft.
FIRST-ROUND CANDIDATE: NIKOLA TOPIC
ID CARD: 6-foot-7 guard, Mega (Adriatic), 18 years old
DRAFT RANGE: Ranked 10th by ESPN.com; sixth by The Ringer; second by The Athletic; third by Bleacher Report
SCOUTS LOVE: Topic is widely considered the best pure playmaker in this draft class which makes him uniquely appealing because of his plus size for a point guard. Against quality competition in the Adriatic League, where three-time MVP Nikola Jokic cut his teeth, Topic averaged 18.6 points and 6.9 assists as one of the league’s youngest players. He won’t turn 19 until August. Topic shows great feel for creating space and manufacturing passing angles. He’s patient in a Luka Doncic-type of way when he gets in the paint, seemingly willing to wait for defenders to overcommit to create the split-second advantage for a teammate he can set up. But he’s also proven adept at completing the play himself in the paint where his finishing repertoire with either hand is already sophisticated.
SCOUTS WONDER: The biggest red flag with Topic is the status of his left knee. Topic injured the knee in January and missed a big chunk of the season before being cleared to return in April. Then on April 13, in a league finals contest against Partizan Belgrade, Topic reinjured the knee. At the NBA draft combine held in Treviso, Italy in early June, the injury was diagnosed as a partially torn ACL. It remains to be determined what course of action will be followed to repair the damage. A surgical intervention would threaten the bulk of Topic’s rookie season in all likelihood. Long-term, there probably is little concern for a diminution of Topic’s potential. And if it’s determined that a rehabilitation program would sufficiently address Topic’s knee injury, then personnel evaluators can get back to wondering about Topic’s perimeter shot – he hit 26 percent from three on low volume in the Adriatic League – and his defense, which figures to be exploited at least until he catches up physically.
NUMBER TO NOTE: 18 – The number of games Topic played in the Adriatic League all season, including playoffs, around his knee injuries. That’s not a lot to go on for the youngest player in the draft.
MONEY QUOTE: “Wherever I go, it will be my pleasure. My approach will be the same. Whether it’s Atlanta, San Antonio or Detroit, I just want to be the best I can be and make everyone around me better.” – Nikola Topic at the NBA draft combine in Treviso, Italy
PISTONS FIT: The Pistons already have a plus-sized primary playmaker in Cade Cunningham, one on the verge of All-Star status. Having multiple playmakers in and of itself isn’t a problem, but it becomes one if one of those players holds questionable value when playing without the ball. Does that define Topic? With questions about his 3-point ability, it very well could. Cunningham is firmly established as the guy the Pistons want with the ball in his hands. If Topic isn’t a threat to overtake him in that role, then it will require someone with a clear vision of their compatibility to make Topic the pick at No. 5. If he hits, the Pistons would be outfitted with tremendous size and playmaking in their backcourt for the next generation while also featuring the athleticism of Jaden Ivey and the pure scoring instincts of Marcus Sasser.
BOTTOM LINE: Since the extent of Topic’s knee injury only became recently known, teams with lottery picks are going to be poring over his medical reports for the next few weeks to determine what threat to his long-term outlook, if any, exists. Not every team picking in the lottery will face the pressure of requiring immediate return from their June 26 selection. A team with the luxury of patience on its side might benefit greatly from the hesitance of others to draft an injured player. Denver benefited in 2018 when Michael Porter Jr., widely considered a top-three talent, slid all the way to 14th pick over concerns about the status of his back. If the Pistons believe in Topic’s talent and see the fit with Cunningham, then they could be the team to take the player considered the top playmaker in the class.