[ad_1]
DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons’ season-ending interviews continued on Tuesday. But this time it wasn’t with the players. General Manager Troy Weaver and former coach Dwayne Casey spoke today.
The Pistons enter this offseason with a head start in many ways. They have a young roster featuring a collection of lottery picks, with another top five pick in the works.The Pistons also have about $27 million in cap space when free agency begins.
Not a bad way to jumpstart a new chapter for the franchise, a chapter featuring a new voice for the head coach next season.
During Tuesday’s media session, Casey began looking back on his days as a Pistons coach:
“Thank you for sticking with us for five years. Lots of ups and downs. When I first came here, we counted one different fee as long as it was a playoff team, a championship type team. As you know, things have changed, and as Troy (Weaver) calls it, we’ve just started rebuilding, restoring, things have changed, and we tried to face it head-on, but Troy We’ve done a great job bringing in young players and talented young men to help the young players, but perhaps one of the most difficult things in this league is growing and winning at the same time. ”
– Pistons general manager Troy Weaver refers to a letter he wrote to fans before the final game of the season detailing the team’s future direction and recruiting for its next head coach.
“We want to get this thing going in the right direction. We’ve got the draft lottery coming up, we’ve won the draft,[and]we’ve got free agency to add to this team, so we’re excited about what’s ahead of us.”
“The search for a head coach is looming. I know what the team needs. It’s simple: discipline, development and defense. That will be the call for the next manager.”
– Casey talks about moving to a front office role for the Pistons Organization and whether there was a desire to take such a position.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited about it. I’m excited to be around the game. , I support, I’m there as a soundboard (on) information on what I can do to strengthen my weaknesses, I’m there for those guys to do too. But again, I never dreamed of sitting down and being in the front office, but I’m thrilled. increase.”
– Weaver on Pistons timetable hiring new head coach
“Right coach, right time means right time, right coach.
– Pistons head coach Casey on the allure of vacancies
“This is a prime situation for any coach, whether it’s a young coach or an older coach, as long as they decide to put their parameters in place, whatever explanation Troy comes up with. It’s done, young talent is here.”
“They need freshness, they need time. World class facilities, world class arenas, world class fans.So this is a critical situation for any coach.We are not ready for tomorrow’s championship, but we are ready for the next one. We are ready to take the next step.”
– Casey on what to tell the next head coach candidate about the Pistons’ position and where he’s heading.
“We know we have a first class court organization. Class organization, class owners who care, class general managers for Troy who care about every player in the locker room. They are here for him.” That’s why we sell a lot of things.”
“And our city, (a) a prestigious city. There is a lot of negativity in our city, but they don’t live here. is love here of all the cities we’ve lived in. But some of the talk shows you’re listening to haunt you pretty hard here. that’s about it.
– Weaver on rookie guard Jaden Ivey’s development throughout the season.
“Well, I mean the guy really works. , I could pull my hair out every 3 games, but the kid continued to grow. What makes it something?
“He’ll improve whatever his weaknesses are. So what he should be as a player, he’s going to do his job, so he’ll be.”
– Talking about what he learned about himself in his third year as general manager and how the team responded to adversity throughout the season, Weaver said:
“Funny coach. I said at the beginning of the season that I drink one cup of urgency in the morning and a few cups of patience in the evening, so it’s still the same. I don’t know if I learned it myself. , I gained 14 pounds.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team. And it’s a testament to the locker room and the coaches keeping them on the boat. I get stronger, so I guess that’s what I’m learning about myself.”
– Weaver on what the Pistons will be adding to the Pistons roster this offseason.
“We can use another wing defender. , a wing defender that can shoot it.I think that’s probably the only tool we don’t have.”
– Weaver on what Cade Cunningham learned during his hiatus and how he fits in with the Pistons moving forward.
“He’s learning processing, so I think his career will probably change a lot this year. He’s a great competitor and a mental giant. If you look at all the young players, they understand the process and he understands the process because he has to go through this injury.
– Weaver on providing enhancements to the Pistons drafted from the 2020 class.
“We’re going to have some discussions to scrutinize it. Nothing hard right now, but when the time comes, we’ll have those discussions. We’re ready for that.” There are some people, but there are some other things that we should cross over first, and we have them, and I’m looking forward to having those discussions.
– Weaver learning about rookie center Jalen Duren in his first year with the Pistons.
“It’s just one man. I’m not going to put a cap on this man. If you keep looking at him, you just see different things.”
“He’s a very smart young man. He has tremendous gifts. has the opportunity to become a big player and we look forward to his continued development.”
– Weaver weighed in on whether the Pistons’ placement in the next NBA Draft Lottery will affect his plans for his approach to improving the team heading into the offseason.
“I don’t think about the lottery. I mean, I know people look at me crazy all the time. Coach (Casey) tells me this from day one. Exactly. It’s the lottery.” I think we have enough in this building to keep moving forward and compete.”
“I land wherever I land. But I don’t plan for what people will get. It’s not who I am. I was raised to make a dollar for my fifteen cents.” But I’m still doing it, so I don’t really care where the ball lands, so why don’t we all celebrate? My grandparents would cringe to hear me talk about luck, I had too much faith in it.
[ad_2]
Source link