Detroit Pistons 1981 Preseason Presser

[tbone963]

Good afternoon and welcome the 1981 Detroit Pistons Preseason Presser (say that 5x fast)

I wanna start by thanking all of you for coming and for our amazing ownership and staff for always doing what they can to see this organization succeed. So let's get right to it.

Last season didn't end how we were expecting and to be honest, we were a little pissed off at missing the playoffs by one game. That just goes to show that there are no nights off in this league and every game counts. That being said, it forced us to look at our team and reconsider our strategy for not only the upcoming year but the next several years. With the draft not necessarily following how we wanted, we decided to take a different approach and start a minor rebuild of the team. As you've seen in the offseason; we've traded Dan Roundfield, Rickey Green, and Swen Nater. Three great guys who were instrumental in getting us as far as we did last year. These were all amazing players on and off the court. We were sad to see them go. With our vision of building a team that can be competitive for several seasons, we did not think it was fair for them to go through this rebuilding process. We wish them all the luck and hope they can find continued success with their new teams.

Moving to this current team and beyond. This approach wouldn't have been a thought if we didn't have our foundation in a superstar: Marques Johnson. Marques has shown what it takes to be successful in this league and we couldn't be happier to have him as our leader going forward through this process. That being said, we are excited to welcome Andrew Toney to Detroit. We believe we got him undervalued and we can't wait to show you what he's capable of. We have a stockpile of picks for the upcoming drafts to flesh out the lineup but make no mistake; we will compete every night and bring the Pistons fans what they have come to expect from us. This will be known as the decade of the Detroit Pistons.

I'll now take any questions.

[WigNosy]

Steve Duin, Blazers beatwriter for the Oregonian...

Does Marques' shot selection worry you, considering how poorly he shot last season? Also, your division seems to be stocked with Twin Towers lineups... Unseld/Carroll in Indiana, Laimbeer/Parish in Milwaukee, Nater/Johnson in Chicago, and even Ruland/Nimphius in Atlanta show some potential (sorry, Cleveland). How is your "no towers" lineup going to compete in such a division?

[logpmess]

With all eyes on Marques Johnson, what expectations are on your young wing Andrew Toney?

[greepleairport]

@tbone963 answer before sim 2!

[tbone963]

Steve Duin, Blazers beatwriter for the Oregonian...

Does Marques' shot selection worry you, considering how poorly he shot last season? Also, your division seems to be stocked with Twin Towers lineups... Unseld/Carroll in Indiana, Laimbeer/Parish in Milwaukee, Nater/Johnson in Chicago, and even Ruland/Nimphius in Atlanta show some potential (sorry, Cleveland). How is your "no towers" lineup going to compete in such a division?

No we're not worried about Marques. While his % was certainly down last year, his points were about even and he's been working in the offseason to sand out some of those rough edges. He's a scorer and we know we have a chance anytime he's on the court.

Kunnert and Shumate are more than capable to handle the "big" duties this season. However we are looking to sure up those positions during the offseason, whether through draft or trade.

[tbone963]

With all eyes on Marques Johnson, what expectations are on your young wing Andrew Toney?

For Drew, our expectations are at the top. Many people would consider him our #2 but I like to think of him more like a #1B. He had a great training camp. He and Marques are developing great chemistry and compliment each other very well. They are bought in and ready to lead this team into the future.

[Jedihero]

Did you go into the offseason knowing you were sending your guys away, or did these deals manifest during/after the draft and you switched your plans based on what was being offered?

[tbone963]

Did you go into the offseason knowing you were sending your guys away, or did these deals manifest during/after the draft and you switched your plans based on what was being offered?

These plans started to form during the draft. We went in with a win-now mindset. Once we started to see how the draft was going, we took a step back to reassess and realized we were still a few key pieces away from a championship-caliber team. Instead of wasting the next few seasons and those guys' primes, we decided now would be the right time to restructure and lay our foundation to build a winning team for years to come.

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