What's this about titles? I'd think the first, most important step is to have a competitive roster.
Matter of a fact how many top 5 picks have won titles with teams that drafted them? In the past 18-25 years?
Alright, I'll bite. Chicago (Jordan), Houston (Olajuwan), Detroit (Isaiah), San Antonio (Duncan), Miami (Wade), and Cleveland (LeBron). That accounts for 13 of the past 25 championships won in the NBA.
Furthermore, only a single team in the last 35 years has won a championship without the help of a future Hall-of-Fame talent whom that team drafted and developed. That single team was the Pistons, who won on the back of defense that hasn't been legal in the NBA for more than a decade.
It's extremely difficult to be good without nabbing a star or two in the draft. It's possible to find those in the late lottery, but it's a lot easier to find them higher up.
But as I said, the Pistons would be better off looking first to become a good team---and high draft picks would be very helpful toward that end.