I would say close to zero chance anyone allows Danny to send a pool of low picks for a substantial move up..if he can get to 12, I would be shocked. 8 or 10 is not happening for the three..guaranteed.
My guy feeling is to agree with you. I was surprised that Hollinger speculated the Cs could get to #7.
Why I think he could be right is very specific to the talent in this class. ESPN's mock which with the combination of the DX guys and ESPNs intel is probably the most reliable currently has the Cs drafting Hayes at #14 and the Pistons drafting Haliburton at #7. If you polled people who have invested time into this draft I suspect you would have a 60/40 split in favor of Hayes over Halibuton. If you look at their projected #8 pick Okoro (to NYK) and compare him to #15 Cole Anthony I think you could get at least a 60/40 in favor of Okoro but a majority of Knicks fans would probably rather have Anthony. If you look back at the 2019 draft I do not think many experts or casual fans where upset that the Bulls took Coby White #7 and passed on Langford who was the #14 pick. My point is after Ball, Edwards, and Wiseman the talent level in this class is really flat into the early 20s. Positional value, team need, and teams risk aversion (willingness to swing on upside) are going to drive this draft order. A team like Detriot may very well look at their roster and decide they like the guy they can get at #14 the same as the guy they can get at #7 and the two extract players they can add at 26 + 30 gives them the opportunity to take an extra upside swing.
Using a different Mock because Espn having Hayes at #14 while exciting is hard for me to believe.
per Tankathon's mock is Detroit better off with
#7 Isaac Okoro
or
#14 Patrick Williams
#26 Tyler Bey
#30 Vernon Carey
As if that's a value for the Cs, the #7 pick would land them one of Avdija/Okoro/Vassell, all three are bigger then Langford and have potential as future Hayward replacements. All three are projected as high level defenders. Smart, Langford and one of those three should be a really impressive defensive bench unit.
Hayes, its hard to think of a better future pairing with Tatum, Brown and Smart at PG. At 6'5 192lbs with a 6'8+" wingspan he has wing size and projects as a high level shooter.
Okongwu, with Theis approaching a contract extension he would be an excellent center of the future who can also contribut now. At 6'9 like Theis he lacks ideal size but he moves extremely well laterally and is an explosive athlete. He will also brig the added benefit of a solid post game.