Detroit - Becoming dominant

[ballsohard]

Balls O'Hard: Good morning everyone and thank you for coming. We have a fair amount to talk about so I'll get started. Last season wasn't a championship, but it was a success for Detroit. As I've stated in years past, the goal is to build a sustained winner, not a 1-2 year run. That's what drives us.

Balls O'Hard: I would consider last year the start of our window opening. We won 60 games which is a great indicator you're one of the major contenders and ready for battle. We made it to the conference finals and we're ultimately outclassed by the Thunder. Congrats to them and the bulls on their fantastic seasons.

Balls O'Hard: This year started off with a bang. We had to resign 2/4 starters and major pieces to put future. We resigned Kai who room a discount to stay and also Gerry Folse came back on a 5 year max during up our front court for years to come.

Balls O'Hard: With that added salary we had to make the tough choice to move Ronnie Reynolds who had a fantastic year in Detroit as an all star and an all league player. We wish Ronnie the best in the future in Washington. From here we've lost a great talented player but also have grown in lots of [
Places.

Balls O'Hard: were expecting a big season from Kai, Gerry, Alex and Cade Cunningham. We're also expecting to see the debut of Emoni Bates this season who should be able to start getting in the rotation and show why he was selected to high. To start the season I would expect the below to be our starting lineup, but we will give Emoni the opportunity to compete at the 3 spot.

C: Kai Jones
PF: Gerry Folse
SF: Joshua Schuman
SG: Alex Caruso
PG: Cade Cunningham


Balls O'Hard: any questions ?

[MexicanMamba]

Your stated projected lineup is different than what we saw in the preseason, as Snelling ran the Point even with Cunningham being around. How do you feel he performed in that role? And how do you see him fitting in when the games matter?

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[ballsohard]

Your stated projected lineup is different than what we saw in the preseason, as Snelling ran the Point even with Cunningham being around. How do you feel he performed in that role? And how do you see him fitting in when the games matter?

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Good question. I really think Cades best position is probably the 2 spot. We intended him to be there with Garland but we didn't consider that we would be able to grab a guy like Alex Caruso. We will tool around for sure but I have some thoughts on flexing him to the 2 spot this year a lot more.

[greepleairport]

Your team is super strong even without a solid wing (no disrespect to league great Schumann but his best years are behind him). Have you been looking to fill this spot? Have you considered moving some guys around in your current lineup if you have strength elsewhere in solid if not quite starting players like, say, starting Burnham and shifting your front court down a bit? Or starting snelling at point and shifting your backcourt up?


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[ballsohard]

Your team is super strong even without a solid wing (no disrespect to league great Schumann but his best years are behind him). Have you been looking to fill this spot? Have you considered moving some guys around in your current lineup if you have strength elsewhere in solid if not quite starting players like, say, starting Burnham and shifting your front court down a bit? Or starting snelling at point and shifting your backcourt up?


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Yeah I think that's the strategy if we can't find the price we are willing to pay. Ultimately I think we're flexible because we have guys that can move around. For instance, Cade can play 1 or 2. Alex can play 2 or 3 and Gerry can play 3 or 4. This gives us a nice flexible approach to trading and game planning which I love. We're not going to have to wedge anyone anywhere because of fit.


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[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Your team is young, but still a strong favorite to win your conference. While your core still has room to grow, is competing for a championship solely a matter of progression, or is there a player (or type of player) you feel is still missing from the equation?

[K-100]

Did you have any particular strategy heading into the reshuffle draft? And was there any team you missed out on but wanted to join the Simmons Division?

[ballsohard]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Your team is young, but still a strong favorite to win your conference. While your core still has room to grow, is competing for a championship solely a matter of progression, or is there a player (or type of player) you feel is still missing from the equation?

I think progression is a key for sure , but really balancing the luxury tax and knowing when to move on from a salary even if it means reducing talent or changing talent is the key. Knowing when to go all in versus when to ride it out

[ballsohard]

Did you have any particular strategy heading into the reshuffle draft? And was there any team you missed out on but wanted to join the Simmons Division?

I wanted to have all old school GMs in the division mainly but also I wanted folks in different stages of their rebuild. It was hard to do both to be honest.

[Eazy P]

Is your plan to dominate the Bucks year in and year out now that they are in your division?