Pistons Pre-Season Press Conference

[Wombataholic]

Good morning and thank you for joining us.

Last season went pretty much as expected for us. We won 50 games and Anthony Davis won his 7th MVP. We won our first playoff series against the Bulls before falling to the Knicks.

Going into the offseason, we had a good idea of what we had on hand and were mostly hoping not to get hit too hard in training camp. AD received the first of what will be many hits as his career winds down. Stephen Keitt, James O'Connor, Gregory Payne and Roy Woodson made marginal improvements. Kimbrough Slice died.

The long-term plan is to ride this AD train into the ground.

In the draft, we moved up one spot to grab Kevin Gray, who we think has a lot of potential that will be realized after he hits RFA.

Our starting lineup is a work in progress. Tentatively, our starters will be the same as last season: Keitt, Kimbrough, O'Connor, Davis, Woodson.

We feel fairly good about the team and believe we will win 50-ish games and will compete for the Central Division title. AD will be in contention for MVP again, though it won't suprise us if someone else takes it this year.

I'll open the floor to questions.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: After beating the Bulls without Anthony Davis for most of the series and getting swept by the Knicks with AD back at or near full strength, what do you take away from last year's playoffs to apply to this year?

[Wombataholic]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: After beating the Bulls without Anthony Davis for most of the series and getting swept by the Knicks with AD back at or near full strength, what do you take away from last year's playoffs to apply to this year?

We see that James O'Connor is a pretty good scorer when given the opportunity and Keitt is still very up-and-down as far as production goes. Our hope is that AD is willing to allow others to shoot as he enters the twilight of his career.

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News:

Do you think that this team will be a team that gets to the playoffs and wins a series maybe two, or do you think that this team has the ability to win the championship?

[Wombataholic]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News:

Do you think that this team will be a team that gets to the playoffs and wins a series maybe two, or do you think that this team has the ability to win the championship?

We're definitely making the playoffs and after that, anything is possible with the right matchups.

[JNR]

GWR: Anthony Davis celebrated signing the biggest contract in history by showing his first real decline. Do you have contingencies in place to avoid tax hell as you, as you put it, ride him into the ground?

[IamQuailman]

Is this the make-or-break year before you have to super-max Keitt next offseason? Is the team we see now the final product or will you be actively looking to make an upgrade somewhere?

[Wombataholic]

GWR: Anthony Davis celebrated signing the biggest contract in history by showing his first real decline. Do you have contingencies in place to avoid tax hell as you, as you put it, ride him into the ground?

The plan is to ride this Davis/O'Connor/Keitt core to tax hell. Not this year though. Next year, when Keitt is up for a supermax, we'll begin our descent. So if anyone wants to expedite that process, feel free to offer an expiring RFA contract this season.

[false9]

Given the contract and your statement you'll run him into the ground- can you guarantee AD stays a Piston for his entire career?

[Wombataholic]

Is this the make-or-break year before you have to super-max Keitt next offseason? Is the team we see now the final product or will you be actively looking to make an upgrade somewhere?

We would love to move O'Connor to the 2 if we can find a better fit for the 3. Ideally, we'd like to find a better rebounder to play the 3.

[Wombataholic]

Given the contract and your statement you'll run him into the ground- can you guarantee AD stays a Piston for his entire career?

As long as AD is willing to re-sign with us and we're able to sign him, he'll be a Piston.

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: You've constantly cycled through many bigs throughout the Davis era. How do you see the center rotation plaing out this season?

[Eazy P]

Seems like you have a hole at the SG position, are you looking to make a move to fill it or just going to roll with what you got?

[Wombataholic]

Random Reporter: You've constantly cycled through many bigs throughout the Davis era. How do you see the center rotation plaing out this season?

This season is about as good as I can remember for depth at the 5. Woodson and Payne will split time at the 5 for us. We see Woodson getting the lion's share of minutes, but we think Payne can be a special player for us as well.

[Wombataholic]

Seems like you have a hole at the SG position, are you looking to make a move to fill it or just going to roll with what you got?

In a perfect world, we'd be able to make a trade and fill the gap left by Kimbrough Slice and his decision to spend the offseason locked in his room watching anime and eating Cheetos. In the real world, we've got most of our cap tied up in AD/Keitt/O'Connor and not a lot of other assets to move for a quality SG.

[NOLa.]

What do you think about the running feud between two of your competitors in the Knicks and Bucks? Do you feel they are destined for an epic Eastern Conference Finals matchup this season?

[WigNosy]

How do you feel about the Kings' GM saying Erik Haynes is the best big in the game and Anthony Davis is in decline?

[Wombataholic]

What do you think about the running feud between two of your competitors in the Knicks and Bucks? Do you feel they are destined for an epic Eastern Conference Finals matchup this season?

I wish both teams were better so they could make the playoffs and play in the Eastern Conference Finals. It would be the greatest playoff series of all time.

[Wombataholic]

How do you feel about the Kings' GM saying Erik Haynes is the best big in the game and Anthony Davis is in decline?

Anthony Davis is in decline, but Haynes won't be the best big in the game until next year.