Betrayer

The Pistons got three 2nd round picks for this trade. Also, it was reported by multiple local guys that Grimes didn't want to be here. Plus, he was injured and that seems to be a recurring problem with him. Hardaway isn't a good player, but he's a vet who's always available and seems to be a solid locker room guy that won't block playing time for the youngsters. In the end, they moved an often injured bench guy who didn't want to be here for a bench vet on an expiring contract and 3 second round picks. It's fine.

When we finish last, we get the 5th pick, so does it matter? I'm just hoping to see an identity begin to form and let the ping pong balls do as they will.

Last night's game...ugh. Once again, Ivey looked good, but I don't have much more to say other than that. GS was on fire from three all game no matter who touched the rock and the Piston's were exactly the opposite. So, we've had 2 good games and 2 bad ones. Let's see what Wednesday brings against the Cavs.

Another really fun one! Got to see something closer to the real starting lineup now that Tobias is back from Covid. He and Cade both looked really good in the first half against most of the Suns starters (no Booker). I know Harris gets a lot of hate around here, but he'll be a major floor raiser for this team. A legitimate NBA PF is something we haven't had in a while. Cade nearly had a triple double and looked way more engaged in this one after looking like he didn't want to play in the last game. We even got to the see the floater he worked on in the off-season. Ivey is a man on a mission in every game so far. You can tell he's on the revenge tour and I hope it continues. I also really like what I'm seeing from Bickerstaff so far with his staggering of Cade and Ivey, 9-man rotation, and the way he's using Ivey. Holland is going to be a fan favorite. He's wearing the other player's jersey on defense and this is the second game in a row where he got into it with an opposing player because he wouldn't let go in the fight for a loose ball. Love seeing that tenacity from the youngster against vets. Only bad news is it looked like Duren hurt his leg/foot. He went down and then limped a bit. Came out of the game on the next play so I'm not sure how bad it is or if he just walked it off.

😄😄😄

OK, that one wasn't nearly as fun.

I've invested too much time, money, and emotion in this team to give up hope. ...at least until mid-season when they've thoroughly smashed my spirit in the ground.

That was the most fun I've had watching a Pistons "game" in a while. Sure, it's preseason, but whatever. I saw some things I haven't seen from this team in years: Staggered rotation! It IS possible! Off-ball and weakside movement/screens - actual NBA plays! Really good ball movement, not just one dude pounding the ball into oblivion Defensive intensity up and down the rotation. They were disruptive. Just an 8 man rotation in the first half! That alone is remarkable from this team and those are good signs even in preseason because they're indicative of the system JB is putting in place. I liked what I saw. Ivey - He came out with regular season intensity and looked like he's out to prove some things. Better job defensively and fighting over screen, hitting corner threes, and they were getting him the ball in motion. It looked more like how they were using him at Purdue. His speed was on display and he got to the line 9 times as a result. Holland - The game changed when Holland and Stew came in. He was immediately disruptive on defense, fighting for rebounds, and making quick passes on the perimeter. He gets into trouble when he has to initiate alone, but really did some positive things in his minutes when he playing his role. If he and/or Ausar can shoot just league average in the next year or two you could be looking at a seriously lock-down defensive duo. THJ - Meh. But, we all expected that. He started this game, but then JB started Holland in the second half. During the regular season when Tobias and Ausar are back, I think it's obvious he'll just be a bench guy who can sometimes get hot. Beasley - He looked good, and surprisingly it was on both ends. Maybe it was just because he was playing the Bucks, so we'll see if that defensive energy continues. We all knew he could shoot. Super fast trigger too, which is nice. Reed - He played the 4 a bit alongside stew off the bench and was really disruptive on defense. They're going to have to find some minutes for this kid. Sasser - Looked really good in the second half running the point and racked up 9 assists in no time.

So, you're saying the Pistons are going to make the 8th seed then?

I hear ya. It's tough to get into the hype after where this team his been for so long. As far as Ausar working on his shot, I don't doubt that kid's work ethic, bball IQ, or commitment for a second. That said, whether or not he improve his shot that much is still a big question and I understand the doubt based upon how bad it looked last year. Holland talked like he's going to be Cade's backcourt partner and kept saying things like "my team." It came off really awkward to me when you've got guys like Ivey and Ausar still on this roster in front of him and honestly, we all know he's going to be a project that will be lucky to be in a 9 man rotation this year.

Media day was pretty interesting. I was most relieved to hear Stew talking about how JB wants to use him. The PF experiment is over and he's going to be primarily at Center. He talked about looking forward to banging down low again, offensive rebounding, and the defensive mindset. A lot of guys talking about how JB is really emphasizing "Grit" and "Detroit style basketball". A lot of talk about "Building an identity" first and foremost. It's just media day, but the talk does seem more genuine than anything I've heard in previous years. A lot of the questions about this years vets led to damning comparisons to the previous vets Troy brought in over the past few years. The young guys seem absolutely astonished that these vets are helping them, telling them "come over here and shoot with me", and actually mentoring them. They're talking about how these guys really "want to be here" unlike vets from previous years. Ausar and Trajan both seem frustrated with the League and how long it's taking to clear him. According to Ausar he's spent a lot of time working on his shot and his handles in the off-season. He's also doing full workouts and all that, but the NBA won't let him play yet. Cade talked a lot about the things he's worked on as well, including his floater, finishing at the rim, and ball security. Tobias talked at length about wanting to be here, his ties to Detroit outside of basketball, and how it's his job to make sure the young guys develop. Nothing about his stats, his playing time, or his personal goals - only about his goal of being a leader, mentor, and taking responsibility for the young guys improvement. Yeah, it's media day stuff, but all of the comments from the young guys seemed to directly corroborate this story. I'm not expecting 30 wins, but I'd love to see an identity built this year.

One must fully commit to the tank.

1 Million per game he'll miss with those knees made of Doritos.

Spurs and Pistons were clearly designed by the same person. Not a huge fan of most of these. Can we just take that Memphis jersey and put "Detroit" on it instead? I'd buy one of those.

He's way too sensitive to be in NYK.

Good. He's worn out his welcome here.

Yea, that's a rough starting schedule.

Here's the 2024-25 Schedule: https://www.nba.com/pistons/schedule

Wait, he wasn't retired last season?

Good, now we can all stop coming up with silly trades for Lauri that will never happen.

That description fits about 1/3rd of the players drafted since 2005. Even so, it's a bad comp because SJ was a bully-ball player, nothing like Ron. The only thing that comp is good for is riling up Piston's fans. From that same draft, Oubre is actually a better comp. But if we squint our eyes hard enough we can make any comp we want, even rookie Jalen Brown. I don't expect him to become Stanley, Oubre, or Brown, but we'll all find out in a couple years. For now, I'm pretty certain this regime is happy to let him develop with vets he can learn from and have to beat for the spot, rather than depending on a project to win games for you day 1 like the last regime did.

Every Piston fan loves to compare young wings who shoot poorly to Stanley Johnson because of our PTSD. Last year it was Ausar and now it's Holland. Stanley was all bully-ball with poor athleticism, going through people for a lot of under the rim play. He was a bruiser. That above the rim dunk attempt Holland had in the second half of Game 1 alone is enough film for anyone to know that he ain't Stanley Johnson. Who knows if he'll be good or not, but either way it's a terrible comp unless you're just comparing their eventual success in the league, in which case you may or may be right. We'll see in a few years, because he's obviously a project.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing Cade play with real NBA rotation players rather than going out to play Capture the Flagg only to get the 5th pick again anyway. They've simply built a roster that has some NBA players in it, unlike the past few years. That's how you create an environment for young players to develop and be evaluated. All of the vets are short contracts as well, so they can make way for the youth movement if they develop, or you can move on to the next rebuild if not.

The 9th worst team last year had 32 wins. After winning just 14 games last year and not topping the 23 win mark for the past 5 years, 32 would be a smashing success. It would also mean that Cade (and probably 1 other youngster) has taken a significant step forward.

Totally agree. This is the biggest remaining hole in the roster. They have no backup PG after Cade (or for when Cade misses 20 games). Ivey ain't it. Sasser is an even worse choice. I have to imagine they have another move coming. They still have cap space to help facilitate a trade.