2022 Pistons Press Conference

[Wombataholic]

Good morning and thank you for joining us.

Last year went largely as expected, as we won 61 games and Anthony Davis won yet another MVP.

Going into the offseason, our #2 goal was to find a new home for Rudy Gay. We got a decent year out of him last year, despite being a million years old. It cost us a bit to send him on his way, but it did allow us to stay under the luxury tax for this season.

Our #3 goal for the offseason was to trade CJ McCollum. We felt that at his age and contract it would be tough to move him after this year. In return, we received a trio of expiring deals in Brian Stark, Iman Shumpert and Kyle Lowry. Shumpert and Lowry will be backups/trade filler and we'll take this year to evaluate Stark.

The biggest priority this offseason was to re-sign Stephen Keitt, which we did.

Getting rid of Rudy Gay cost us our first round pick this year, but we were able to get back into the first for a few points. Our pick, Gregory "House of" Payne is capable of being a solid backup/starter at the 5 for the next few years.

When training camp rolled around, everyone came in focused. James O'Connor is starting to figure things out, Keitt is hitting his stride, and a couple of role players improved. AD is still AD. No one died. So that's nice.

Right now, our starting lineup goes Keitt, Stark, O'Connor, Davis, and Woodson. Mercado and Lowry will back up Keitt, Harold Stephens will back up Stark, Louie Thomas will back up O'Connor, Louie Stephens will back up Davis, and Payne will back up Woodson.

Moving forward, we expect James O'Connor to make the leap this year and replace all of Rudy Gay's production, Keitt should continue his improvement, and go ahead and get the MVP trophy engraved with Anthony Davis' name again.

As a team, we will probably win around 60 games, which will be good enough for 2nd or 3rd place in the Central Division and a first round matchup with either the Bucks or Bulls and a second round matchup with the other.

I'll open the floor to questions.

[ballsohard]

Bucks said you needed Rubio to win a ring, then took him and won a championship. Any hard feelings?


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[Wombataholic]

Bucks said you needed Rubio to win a ring, then took him and won a championship. Any hard feelings?

None at all. We feel that we have a bigger window to win a title with Keitt that we would have with Rubio.

[JNR]

GWR: Do you care at all about Davis's legacy? Are you focused on him unseating Kemp to be the best player of all time?

[NOLa.]

How do you plan on replacing CJ McCollum's offensive production with him now in Utah?

[Wombataholic]

GWR: Do you care at all about Davis's legacy? Are you focused on him unseating Kemp to be the best player of all time?

Davis will most likely end up as the all-time leader in points (about 4 years, give or take), and maybe rebounds (8.5 years), and blocks (8.3 years) if he maintains his career average. His legacy is fine.

[Wombataholic]

How do you plan on replacing CJ McCollum's offensive production with him now in Utah?

If preseason is any indication, the bulk of the production will be replaced seamlessly by Brian Stark, with Stephen Keitt making up the rest.

[WigNosy]

From Jerrod Stepp to Roy Woodson, it seems like AD has never been paired with even an adequate Center. Is this by design?

[Wombataholic]

From Jerrod Stepp to Roy Woodson, it seems like AD has never been paired with even an adequate Center. Is this by design?

It's a calculated decision to pair AD with centers who understand that their purpose on the floor is to rebound, defend, block shots, and pass the ball to AD. We feel that Woodson is able to impact the game in all these ways and House of Payne will be able to as well.

[digiskunk]

What intrigues you the most about Brian Stark heading forward? Do you see him as a viable replacement for CJ McCollum?

[garbageman]

Do you think the Central Division will bring home another championship this year?

[Wombataholic]

What intrigues you the most about Brian Stark heading forward? Do you see him as a viable replacement for CJ McCollum?

Stark's ability to score and play a bit of defense is what appeals to us. We believe if he can do 75% of what CJ did, we'll be fine this season.

[Wombataholic]

Do you think the Central Division will bring home another championship this year?

If I had to pick one division to produce the champion, I'd pick the central. The bucks and bulls both return talented cores and the Pacers have a deep set of switchables and a underrated PG in Robert Neeley. The Central may not be as strong as the Atlantic from 1-5, but the top 4 in the Central division is tougher than any other division's 1-4.

[Conroy]

With James O'Connor in a contract year, if he does in fact make the leap, does the orginazation feel confident he's the third banana to have a max contract next to Keit and AD?

[Wombataholic]

With James O'Connor in a contract year, if he does in fact make the leap, does the orginazation feel confident he's the third banana to have a max contract next to Keit and AD?

We believe he can be the 3rd star on this team after Keitt and AD.