Pistons analyst Gregory Kelser talks about the Malik Beasley situation, growth of the team

Pistons analyst Gregory Kelser talks about the Malik Beasley situation, growth of the team

We are joined now by Gregory Kelzer. Man, we’ve been doing this for a long time talking about these camps. How many years have you been putting these camps together?
This is your 48.
48.
You have been on this show for 48 years, but you’ve been doing that and impacting lives for a long time.
You guys have been very kind to let me come in and talk about it every year. I’m very appreciative.
Well, we’re going to get to that in a moment. If you’re at home and you’re looking for something for your kids to do this summer, just grab a pencil, piece of paper, and you’ll write down the information coming up here in just a moment. Plus, we’ll have a QR code on the screen momentarily. Uh, look, we talked about the Malik Beasley situation earlier in the show. I just since you’re so close with the Pistons, I do want to get your reaction to it and then ask you how difficult this makes some really tough decisions that they already had for Langden and Bicker Staff.
Well, again, it shows that uh there’s never just an easy path. You know, there’s always something some bumps and pitfalls that you have to deal with when you’re in the positions of leadership like Tjan Langden and of course Jamie Bickerstaff and others. Uh, this is not good. This is not something that you would have ever wanted to be part of the the summer process and the decision-m that has to go on.
Uh I know that the team was very close to inking Beasley again because he had such a great year last year, but maybe this puts a little halt to it while things get worked out. I’m hopeful that that it’s nothing. I’m hopeful that it’s uh you know, just a a little twist, but then they can get right back uh to work building this team and and building on the success that they had last year. It seems so much of what they’re building is dependent upon young players developing. Let me throw some guys at you and ask you where you think they need to improve because we know they’re talented. Let’s start with Jaylen Durren.
Well, Darren, I would love to see him
be able to score a little bit outside of the paint because last year I 95% of his points came right in the in the painted area and at the basket. And I remember when he was at Memphis and then his first couple of years with the Pistons, he did demonstrate ability an ability to knock down a 14- 15 footer. If he does that, it makes him much more of an offensive threat and a more consistent threat to score and make other teams have to play him honestly. Jaden Ivy and man, you had to love the way he started last year.
Yeah. And had become a bit of a clutch player, too. Making lastm minute shots uh on the road against Sacramento, a four-point play right at the buzzer to win a game. Uh it it was really tragic to see him uh suffer the injury he did on January 1 that just undercut his whole season. But it said a lot about the Pistons, their ability to bounce back from that and be so good and make it to the playoffs. But man, if they had had him, you got to believe that they would have even been better and had an even greater chance to advance in the playoffs. He just has to uh you know his first you want his health right. I thought last year he’d made tremendous strides in being able to slow his game down and know when to pick it up and then when to pull back a little bit sort of like a pitcher, you know, can’t fast ball everything. Um I think he needs to continue in that direction and he’ll be just fine.
Yeah. Yeah. So many young players on this team. We could go on. We could talk about Holland. We could talk about Thompson. So many good players. I do want to get to your camps. If you had to tell parents, hey, this is what your kids would get if they came to one of these three camps. What would you say to them?
Well, I would say, you know, you’re sending them for basketball. We know that. and we’re going to give them plenty of that. But it’s not I don’t think it’s it’s the the way to to lead and the way to use your your your your um your platform if it’s just basketball. You know, all of us are mature and we know that the game is that that life is about more than just games. So we spent a lot of time talking about that, encouraging the kids to work hard in school. Show respect for your elders. Uh choose your role models and your friends wisely. Do all those things and try and build the entire self. You know, you everybody’s blessed with great potential. It’s just upon you to find it, uh increase it, and let it be an asset for both you and your community. We’re going to put that up on the screen, gregorykelser.com/basket. There’s also a QR code right there which you can scan. You see the three camps right there. Uh, two camps July 28th through August 1st. One at the United Wholesale Mortgage Facility, one at Southfield ENT High School. The other one July 28th through or excuse me, July 21st through 25th at West Bloomfield. I think what you just talked about,
you live the life and you’ve lived it for your whole life. I’ve covered sports. Sports and life, so many of the decisions and so many of the ways that you have to live, they coexist. They go together. I am so glad that my parents put me in sports at a very early age because the things that I have learned, uh the things that the game has taught me, the ups, the downs, uh how to be resilient, all of those things have come through participating in sports and also being a team player. You don’t get anywhere in this life by yourself.
Amen. Good stuff, man. All right.
Always great seeing you.com/basket. July 21st through 25th at West Bloomfield. two camps July 28th through August 1st. One at the United Wholesale Mortgage Complex, the other at Southfield ENT High School. He’s been doing it for a long time and he does it well.

Pistons TV analyst Gregory Kelser stops by to talk some hoops and promote his upcoming summer basketball camps.