By: James Martin, Communication: Journalism 25′

With the WNCAA season nearing its end, many players are beginning to make their decision on what their future looks like in the basketball world. Thus far, we have seen players such as LSU guard Hailey Van Lith enter the transfer portal a second time after just one season with the Tigers. Her teammate, Angel Reese, national champion and SEC player of the year winner decided to take a different path and enter her name into the WNBA draft. However, 3x Big Ten Player of the Year, Caitlin Clark, looks to accomplish something she came up short with last year; win a national title.

Caitlin Clark and company are back in the Championship game, this time against the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks. Regardless of whether Iowa falls short again or overcomes the challenge, Caitlin Clark will have some unique decisions to make.

Predicted to be taken number 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, Clark has received some unique offers from different organizations around the nation. Ice Cube has offered Clark $5 million to play in his BIG3 league, a 3-on-3 pro basketball league featuring Hall of Famers and world champions. On the flip side, Dave Portnoy has offered Clark $10 million to play on his rec league team.

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With the base salary of the WNBA #1 overall pick being just $76,000, Clark has an opportunity to boost her earnings by accepting either of these offers. With these unique and rare offers, a new question comes to light, Can Clark play in the NBA and should the Detroit Pistons draft Clark?

The Detroit Pistons hold the worst record in the NBA at 13-64, while being 48 games behind the top seeded Boston Celtics. Although the draft order is yet to be finalized, the Pistons are aiming to receive a high draft pick due to the severity of their losing record. Now, it is very unlikely that they draft Clark at all, however, I believe that they should at least giver her a workout and aim to draft her late 2nd round this year, sign her to a one year minimum deal, or monitor her transition to the WNBA and look at the possibility of signing her after a year or two.

The fact of the matter is, the Detroit Pistons are AWFUL and need to figure something out if they want to return the dominant days of the “Bad Boys”. They have not reached the playoffs since the 2018-2019 season and have not won the NBA championship since 2004.

Clark averaged 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 9.0 assists this season while shooting 45.8% from the field. The excitement she has brough to the game of women’s basketball is unmatched, so why shouldn’t the Pistons throw a Hail Mary by drafting or signing her to the team. She could simply be used to shoot threes and rack up assists.

Many people are denying her talents or saying she will not be able to fend for herself in the NBA, however, my opinion is they wont know unless they try. I am unsure if this is the answer to the Pistons recent struggles but as an organization they need to try anything and everything to get this team back to dominance.

On top of her playing style and antics, Clark has also racked up approximately $3.1 million in NIL deals. The amount of marketing the Pistons could offer Clark is beyond what has ever been seen before in Detroit basketball. This would not only benefit Clark but the Pistons as money would come flying in, used for tickets to see her play, jersey sales, and ads from outside companies. The pistons would most likely see big name women’s brands look to sponsor Clark or the team as a whole.

Like I said, I am unsure if this is the answer for the pistons, and drafting or signing Clark would be a controversial topic for years to come if they decide to go through with it. I stand with the fact that if Clark is not the answer to the Pistons struggle, then the Pistons need to figure something else out, and fast.

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