Pistons Pre-Season Press Conference

[Wombataholic]

Good morning and thank you for joining us.

Last Season
Offseason Goals
Draft
Training camp
Starting lineup
Expectations

Last season went pretty much as expected for us. We won 58 games and Anthony Davis won his 6th MVP. The East was loaded, and we ended our season in 5 games against the 76ers.

Going into the offseason, we had a good idea of what we had on hand. I believe we had around 10 or 11 guys already under contract when the offseason began, so we were strictly looking for backups.

We initially brought back Brian Stark after declining his team option, then he got hit during training camp and he was cut. So was Brian Coleman, who will not be missed.

In the draft, we were picking in the 20's and had a full roster, so we didn't really do any research and picked James Mashburn, then got Charles Braddock in the 2nd round. Both guys will be warm bodies for the next few years.

Aside from Brian Stark, no one else died in training camp, so that was nice. Roy Woodson finally got to the green potential we thought he had in him. James O'Connor is just about filled out and so is Stephen Keitt. AD is still AD.

Our starting lineup will be the same as last season: Keitt, Kimbrough, O'Connor, Davis and Woodson. Backups will play a minimal amount of minutes.

Pencil us in for around 60 wins again, a top 4 seed in the East and another MVP for AD.

[NOLa.]

This is Davis’ last year under contract. Do you expect Davis to be wearing a Pistons jersey by the start of next season?


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[Wombataholic]

This is Davis’ last year under contract. Do you expect Davis to be wearing a Pistons jersey by the start of next season?

We wholly expect Davis to sign a 5-year supermax after the end of this season.

[NickMalone77]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: While everyone talks about AD and deservedly so, what is it about Keitt and O'Connor that makes this Detroit team a dangerous threat to the rest of the Eastern Conference?

[Wombataholic]

Nick Melon; The Advocate: While everyone talks about AD and deservedly so, what is it about Keitt and O'Connor that makes this Detroit team a dangerous threat to the rest of the Eastern Conference?

Stephen Keitt is a do-it-all kind of player who is capable of having a 30 point, 10 assist game. O'Connor does a lot of little things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Both do a lot of the things that AD can't, like guard a second or third guy, or pass to AD so he can score.

[WigNosy]

Do you feel like the need to keep AD super-maxxed to avoid risking him defecting to another team has hamstrung your ability to add the talent around him necessary to win another title?

[Wombataholic]

Do you feel like the need to keep AD super-maxxed to avoid risking him defecting to another team has hamstrung your ability to add the talent around him necessary to win another title?

Davis will be offered a 5 year supermax after this season. It's up to him whether he wants to stay here in the Motor City.

Anthony Davis is a guaranteed trip to the playoffs, and with the right matchups anything can happen once you get there. We believe we have a great core that can compete for a title for the next few years.

[ballsohard]

Do you regret no trading Keith for Rubio.

[Wombataholic]

Do you regret no trading Keith for Rubio.

I've rued not making the trade with every fiber of my being since that day. Instead of making one finals and one conference finals in the 6 seasons since declining the magnanimous offer, the Pistons would no doubt be coming off their 7th consecutive championship if we had Ricky Rubio instead of Keitt.

[garbageman]

Some GMs get bored having the same team in the offseason as they do after the trade deadline. Does it ever get boring having the same basic lineup for seasons on end?

[Wombataholic]

Some GMs get bored having the same team in the offseason as they do after the trade deadline. Does it ever get boring having the same basic lineup for seasons on end?

A bit. We do our best to plan out our roster for a year or two ahead, so we try to have the next starter ready when we need him.

[kucoach7]

Talk to me about some of your young talent, Woodson, Payne, Gaddis. Who are you most excited for?

[Wombataholic]

Talk to me about some of your young talent, Woodson, Payne, Gaddis. Who are you most excited for?

We really are happy that Woodson finally got the green potential we knew he had, even if we still expect him to average about 6 points and 7 rebounds again.

Payne would probably be a good player if he could lay off the Cheetos and KFC Chicken McGangbangs and come into to training camp in shape.

We like Gaddis and want to use this season to evaluate his future with the team.

[digiskunk]

What was the biggest move, in your opinion, that you made during the offseason? How close do you feel that you guys are to the Finals?

[Wombataholic]

What was the biggest move, in your opinion, that you made during the offseason? How close do you feel that you guys are to the Finals?

Bringing back Roy Woodson on what we believe will be a bargain of a deal was the biggest move of the offseason. We had an uneventful offseason.

With Keitt and O'Connor in their primes and Davis at the tail end of his, along with roleplayers Kimbrough Slice and Woodson, we believe we've got as good a shot as any team in the east, depending on playoff matchups. We don't have the depth that some of the other teams have, so an injury to any of the big 3 could be crippling.

[drkavarga]

How do you feel about letting go of Stark and him being signed so quickly off the Waiver Wire? Do you regret cutting him after seeing that or are you content with your decision?

[Wombataholic]

How do you feel about letting go of Stark and him being signed so quickly off the Waiver Wire? Do you regret cutting him after seeing that or are you content with your decision?

We were happy to have Brian on our team the last 2 years, but after the hit he took during training camp and his high usage rate - especially on a team with AD, we believed it was best to let him seek greener pastures and give our younger players the opportunity to get some minutes. We wish him well in his future endeavors.