DETROIT >> Ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft, president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon revealed there were a handful of intriguing prospects the Detroit Pistons could select at No. 37. While listing various attributes the Pistons were seeking, Langdon mentioned that a few guards capable of shooting the ball came onto their radar.

Thursday night, during Day 2 of the draft, Langdon and the Pistons obtained one of the best shooting guards with the selection of Chaz Lanier.

“We liked Chaz in the process,” Langdon said after the draft was complete. “Talked to his agent throughout the day (Thursday). We knew he was our guy if he got to our pick. We are very fortunate to get him.”

Langdon said the Pistons considered moving into the first round.

“There were some different things we looked at to get into the first round (but) the ask was pretty high,” Langdon said.

Lanier, 23, adds depth to the Pistons’ backcourt, averaging 18.0 points on 39.5% 3-point shooting in his only season at Tennessee.

Lanier came into the draft with five years of college experience. Before transferring to Tennessee, the 6-foot-4 guard played four seasons at North Florida. He appeared in 104 games with 49 starts for the Ospreys.

Lanier’s best season came during the 2023-24 campaign, when he notched a career-high 19.7 points on 51.0% shooting from the field and 44.0% from behind the arc, along with 4.8 rebounds. He finished the year scoring the third-highest point total (629) and made 3-point field goals (106) in the program’s single-season history.

Lanier, a native of Nashville, was named First Team All-SEC in 2025 and First Team All-Atlantic Sun in 2024.

Lanier played 142 games total in his college career, averaging 11.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 40.2 percent on 3-pointers. He only appeared in 18 games over his first three seasons at North Florida.

“He works his butt off; the jump from North Florida to Tennessee is not easy, and he figured that out,” Langdon said. “I think he is going to be a great fit here, not only on the court but also in the locker room. He is a high-character young man who really competes.”

CBS Sports college basketball insider Kyle Boone wrote this after Detroit picked Lanier:

“Detroit needed to add scoring to its backcourt to surround Cade Cunningham and it accomplished that goal here in Lanier, who was an All-American last season at Tennessee and is a career 40.2% 3-point shooter. Lanier’s tough-minded play style and ability to score in bunches should be a nice fit here.”

Even as a rookie, Lanier has the chance to improve the Pistons’ mediocre 3-point shooting. They finished the 2024-25 season ranked 17th in the league. Malik Beasley led the Pistons in 3-point shooting with 319 made triples (41.6%).

Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo! Sports gave the Pistons an A-plus grade for their selection of Lanier.

“Perfect pick for Detroit,” O’Connor wrote. “Wanna know why? Just look at the comparison for Lanier: Malik Beasley. Much like Beasley, Lanier is a knockdown shooter with shot-making creativity. Without great size or playmaking at his age, he’s a second-rounder for good reason. But the Pistons needed more shooting and now they got it.”