Betrayer

Monty went away from the 0.5 second system as time went on in Phoenix. Guys like Chris Paul and then Kevin Durant simply don't play that way. So I think it remains to be seen if Monty is going to try that again. If he does, then yeah, Wiseman and Bagley trying to post up all the time is over and I couldn't be happier about it. I think it also has an impact on the draft. If they keep the pick, someone like Whitmore whose downside is passing and "feel" probably moves down their draft board. He's not a 0.5 second offense kind of player unless they see something to make them believe that was all because of his youth and the horrendous system at Villanova last year. However, I also think it really opens up the door for us to trade the pick. You've got a high profile coach that you're paying big money, so you might move the pick for an established player and kick start this thing. Side note: I see Phoenix fans teasing us about Landry Shamet who was apparently Monty's version of CoJo.

I like that Gores is willing to spend the money. I like that they went out and got their guy. Compared to the competition we were told about, he was clearly the best choice. I don’t care how much he costs, because it’s not cap space He’ll be solid and raise the floor of this team. As others have said, he may even attract some talent with his name and reputation. And if it wasn’t obvious before, it’s crystal clear now that Gores is done with the tanking (so hopefully at least one of Cade, Ivey, and Duren are “him”). Only concern I have is the length of this contract. If the team has the talent to take multiple steps forward over the next few years, a deluxe version of Casey isn’t the guy that’s going to get you the trophy. Monty is good enough to get them to the playoffs provided the talent develops as we hope, but in my eyes there will need to be one more “next coach” to take that final step. Hopefully Gores can swallow his pride and his wallet enough to make that happen if/when that time comes.

No matter how this goes, consider me less than excited. At this point I just want them to make an announcement and rip the band-aid off so we can start examining the wound. Monty has a respected name, but every description of him sounds like just another Casey to me. Great man, player's coach, good for culture, stagnant offense, poor game management, collapses in the playoffs, and plays favorites with vets he likes.

Really interesting that Ollie left OTE without having a job. Maybe they were just looking for an excuse to fire him and simply let him go for interviewing with another job? Or, maybe the Pistons offered him a different job in the organization since he's Weaver's buddy and just asked him not to announce it yet until they announce the coach.

Can't wait to hear the press conference when they try to say that Lee (or Ollie) was "their man from the start" and they "couldn't think of anyone better to lead this team." Meanwhile those guys are sitting at home right now wondering if they're going to get that 2am booty call after we get turned down by our first choice.

This 100%. If nothing else, this series should demonstrate the importance of good coaching. One team was coached well, moved the ball, played defense, and played together. The other side just tried to toss a couple stars out there and win it on sheer talent alone.

Ollie wasn't interviewed for any other head coaching jobs. Why leave OTE if he didn't get the Pistons job? I don't see how this goes any other way unless they did something weird like hire him for a different role after he interviewed for HC.

Well, he guaranteed game 6 too, sooo… Either way, it was a fantastic game, so hopefully game 7 is as much fun.

We all better get used to this idea. I’m sure Ollie will want to pay the nepotism forward and we’ll draft one of the twins.

Saying goodbye to his old job at OTE pretty much tells you he’s going to be the coach. The other candidates where underwhelming, but this is disappointing.

Taylor Hendricks vs Jarace Walker:

Reports are that Monty is simply planning to take a year off, but I guess we'll see if maybe he was just holding out for a different team.

It's also being reported that they offered Monty Williams a large contract and he rejected it. Imagine going through a multi-week process to get the Pistons HC job and then you find out that in the middle of all that they made a side offer to another coach who never even got an interview or had to fly to LA to see Gores. Maybe the Pistons "narrowed" it to 2 candidates, or maybe Collins just decided this circus wasn't worth his time anymore.

The good old days. To be fair though, it was only enough if you were the Pistons. That defense was on a different level.

As the days go by I'm leaning more and more towards defensive candidates at the #5 pick. Especially after watching these playoffs and seeing that only once has a team in the bottom 10 on defense gotten past the first round of the playoffs in the past several years. Pistons were #29 in defense last year. I heard a trade proposal the other day that involved sending Bogie out to Dallas for the #10 pick and I'd be all over that. Our defensive ceiling is capped with Cade and Ivey as our backcourt of the future. I think you simply have to hope that those guys pop as your offensive core and surround them with 3 and D dogs at the Forward positions. Bogie either has to become a bench scorer or get moved while he has value. Guys like Grady are falling on my board. That's the type of player that would fit great on a team with Lebron or Giannis, but not on a team that already has a defensive ceiling cap unless you're drafting him to just be a bench scorer. I've also decided to move Hendricks above Whitmore on my draft board (and Del rejoices!). I still love the explosive potential of Cam Whitmore, but his defensive ceiling isn't on the same level as Hendricks who can be that perfect player next to Duren in the starting lineup while also being one of the best shooters in the top 10.

Finals don't start until June 1st regardless of the outcome of the next game, so get ready for a long wait.

One of those meetings needs to be with Quinn. If they called him and he doesn't want the job, fine, but I haven't heard anything about them even pursuing him. Look at what Miami is doing in the playoffs with way less star power than any other team, including multiple undrafted players in significant minutes. The players hold each other accountable but they don't rule the roost. It's very much an old school culture under Riley and Spo. They're about playing defense, playing the right way, moving the ball, trust, culture, and heart. They're playing the way our most beloved Detroit teams have played and we need to get back on that track. People are going to be trying to pluck assistants off of the Miami coaching tree like they used to do with the San Antonio tree. If we haven't at least made an effort to call and interview Quinn, we're idiots.

Maybe so. But Casey should have sent Nurse half of his Piston's salary for getting him that Coach of the Year trophy.

I'm fine with **** if Troy manages to get a second pick later in the lottery. I'm not taking him at #5 and certainly not over Hendrix, Whitmore, or even Walker. A lineup of **** and Bogie at Forward might even be worse defensively than Bey and Bogie - so hopefully getting that pick includes shipping Bogie out. Every team needs shooters, but this was the second worst defensive team in the league. We aren't getting better by just adding more guys that can shoot. Conversely, we don't need to add guys that have to have the ball in their hands to be effective because they can't shoot at all (the twins). As long as they're in a similar draft tier, I'm prioritizing 2-way players like Hendricks, even if he might have a slightly lower athletic ceiling than the Thompsons and a slightly lower shooting ceiling than ****.

I don't know, I view it as Gores might save us from Weaver's nepotism on this one. Ironic that Gores could be the savior here, but I'm ok with whatever prevents us from hiring Ollie.

I was being mildly conservative, but also somewhat realistic. We're talking about a guy who would've been 21 in just his second year. How many wins did SGA give OKC in 2022 when he was 23 years old and played in about 60 games that season? They won 24 games and he averaged 24/6/4. Was he a bust? They turned the corner in 2023 with a 24 year old SGA and a roster that makes way more sense around him. Even if Cade played, he doesn't solve the youth, defense, and roster issues from last year. 3-5 wins might be slightly conservative, but not by much. These kids need to grow up and the roster around them needs to improve before one 21 year old can make that much of an impact.

That's why I said important "numbers", not measurements 😄 And for an 18 year old who started the season with a thumb injury on his shooting hand, I'll take 40% C&S all day. Kid shows real promise as a play finisher both from the three and on the drive.

This is a big offseason for Weaver to prove himself. No Wemby cheat code to circumvent the process and save him. Writing on the wall seems to be that Gores is done with competing for top lottery spots. I don't think they'll go as far as sacrificing the future, but I think you'll definitely see moves designed to put a better product on the floor. He's got a top 5 pick and some cap room to make changes. They only won 17 games last year, but they weren't a 17 win team. Cade was out all year and they shut down multiple key players for the last 20 games of the season to tank. Even a 20% win team gets 4 of those last 20 games if they don't shut everyone down and Cade probably gives you another 3-5 over the course of the year prior to that. So, I'd estimate them as a ~24 team with this roster. They need to take an Orlando-like leap and get to around 34 wins. It won't get them the play-in, but it'll show progress. So, can they get about 10 wins with off-season moves and player development? That's Weaver's test.

You might have left out some of the important numbers: Vertical - 41" Finishing at the rim - 65% Catch and Shoot threes - 40%

Maybe a 1% chance Miller is available at 5, so I wouldn't get my hopes up on that. One of Whitmore or Hendricks will be available and I'd be happy with either of them. You'll find others who are high on Ausar Thompson and Jarace Walker, both of whom will be available in that range. Walker is definitely a Weaver guy, so it wouldn't shock me if we picked him. But, if we sign Ollie as our head coach you can pretty much guarantee it'll be Ausar Thompson (assuming Amen is gone as expected).