"When the Cleveland Cavaliers used the fourth pick of Thursday night's NBA draft on Texas power forward Tristan Thompson, a loud gasp was heard in the media workroom at the Pistons' practice facility.

At that very moment through a door and across the practice floor in the Pistons' draft war room the exact reaction came from the front office.

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars was on the phone with the Raptors talking trade about the fifth pick when the Raptors basically hung up because their guy -- Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas -- was available, and they were done bargaining.

It was at that moment that Dumars realized that the Pistons had to adjust the plan of getting some frontcourt help and get into best-guy-available mode.

And he suspected Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight, who was projected for weeks to be headed to Utah with the third pick, would be available with the eighth pick.

And when the Wizards took Czech forward Jan Vesely and the Kings picked Congolese power forward Bismack Biyombo, the Pistons were ecstatic to take Knight, a 6-foot-3 combo guard."