ESPN Believes The Detroit Pistons Will Be A Play-In Team This Season? | Pistons Talk Podcast

ESPN Believes The Detroit Pistons Will Be A Play-In Team This Season? | Pistons Talk Podcast

Hey guys, welcome to Pistons Talk podcast. Hope you guys are having a great weekend so far. In today’s episode, what we’ll be discussing, we have an ESPN Eastern Conference projections where the Detroit Pistons were ranked in this one because I have not seen the Pistons ranked this low in any projection. Don’t agree with it. So, we’re going to be reacting and going over that. We also have the NBA GM survey. These come out every year. It’s always really cool to read and see what these GMs do vote on across the league and where the Detroit Pistons were kind of mentioned in this article. We have bleach report.com. They decided to do a article having trades with one player on each team. We have a mention of two Detroit Pistons trade in this article. One with the Charlotte Hornets um and one with the Utah Jazz. So, we’ll be going over that and then we’ll wrap up the podcast with just overall pre-season thoughts, um, players that have stood out so far and the remainder two preseason games going into this week. Let’s get to it. So, ESPN does this every year, you guys. They do a projection list of where they believe each team with both conferences uh, will finish. Since we are the Detroit Pistons podcast, we’ll be focusing on the Eastern Conference, right? So, we’re going to be going over the first seed all the way down to the 10th seed. Don’t really care about the Western Conference since this is a Detroit Pistons podcast. So, coming in at number one, no surprise here, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now, they have a projection win total for the Cavs this year at 50 wins, 50.1 to be exact. The ESPN bet overunder is set at 56 and a half and they go kind of go into the reasoning why they believe that the Cavs will actually finish with the under this season. It says the Cavaliers are probably due some regression to the mean after jumping from 48 wins to 64 last season. Part of that relates to health and Cleveland already has two starters, Darius Garland and Max Truce sideline to start the season, forcing Kenny Atinson deeper into his perimeter rotation than he had last season. The Cavaliers are still a strong pick to claim the East top seed, but perhaps with a lower win total in 2425. So, no disagreement for me here. I think anytime we do these list, anytime we see uh, you know, topseated teams in the East, the Cavs are always at the top. Uh, Darius Garland is injured. Max Streus is injured. I think that’s why we’ve been seeing reports of Malik Beasley in the Cavs in conversations because they are looking to get someone that can come in right away and contribute and get them instant offense off the bench. Malik actually talked about it on his Snapchat that uh the Cavs have been in talks with him and he’s been in talks with several other teams if you guys uh saw the video that we posted yesterday. But Cavs come in at number one. I can kind of see them in a top seed. You know, 56 and a half. You know, maybe they’re around 50 60 wins this year. I I think it just really depends on like how their season goes and how they progress. Coming in at number two, the Orlando Magic. So, the Magic to me, I’ve seen a lot of people have them anywhere between the second and the third seed. So ESPN has their projected wins at 49.9 and the ESPN overunder is set at 51 a half for the Orlando Magic this season. And why they have the projections is this. If anything, my projections are probably more bullish on the Magic who place just a hair behind Cleveland for the best in the East. The small discrepancy can probably be attributed to overlooking the schedule, a factor that is easy to overrate, but one that is not specifically included in these projections. Orlando has also dealt for Desmond Bane this past summer, a move that should contribute to their success. I don’t really have a problem uh with Orlando being 23 in any kind of projections. I I just don’t I think a lot of people maybe they just forgot because it was really early in the season but you know before they had all the injuries last year they were one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Uh Paulo Ban Carol had an oblique tear. They just kind of dipped down in the standings. You know Paulo comes back. France Wagner gets the same oblique tear. Um Jaylen Suggs had hip and back issues. They just had so many injuries. They still finished the season 41 and 41 last year. So, you know, upgrading from KCP to Desmond Bane, I I think shouldn’t go, you know, undersold whatsoever. And I know as Pistons fans, um obviously this is a team that matches up with us pretty well just because they have the wing defenders like we do. Uh, but Orlando and Piston matchups this year I I think are just going to be bloodbath. I think they’re going to just be defensive, gritty battles, and I can’t wait to play the Magic this year. But ESPN does have them coming in at number two in their projections. Coming in at number three on ESPN’s projection list is the New York Knicks. Their projected wins are set at 47.2. The ESPN bet over under is 53 and a half. The reason why they have the Knicks actually finishing worse than their overunder projections is this. The Knicks outperformed last season, 45.4 win projection by five and a half games, benefiting from a strong inseason health among New York’s starting five. Only Jaylen Brunson missed as many as nine games due to illness or injury. That might be difficult to replicate. And I’m continuing on fewer minutes from the Knicks top players with Mike Brown replacing Tom Tibido as coach. I’d expect New York to finish somewhere between those two marks ending around 50 wins. Honestly, like it just as a Piston fan like we we played these guys in the first round and that series was so much fun to watch. I feel like, man, if we were healthy, we’d probably, you know, go to the second round. We go see Boston, right? But I’m not going to dwell on that. I think where ESPN is at is obviously Tibs played those guys a crapload of minutes. That is just a Tom Tibid thing to do. Did it in Chicago, did it in Minnesota, did it in New York. Mike Brown, I think, as a coach, isn’t really that big of a drop off from Tibs. I I think what you’ll probably see more is a lot more ball movement. Um they had mentioned that they’re trying to run the 0.5 offense. Um if you if that even sounds remotely familiar, Monty Williams actually tried to do that here in Detroit, but I mean it’s kind of hard to do when you you have guys like outside of Gade like get Killian and Cade as your back court. Like that’s probably not going to work, right? Um but they’re trying to run the point five point.5 offense. I thought they had a pretty good off seasonason getting Yaveelli, getting Jordan Clarkston. Um, you know, they they’re locking guys down like the Cal Bridges. I I think they will be better. I actually disagree with this um ranking by ESPN. I I I think they’ll be above 50 wins. Um they brought back uh a majority of their core. I think the only players they’ve really lost were like Cameron Payne and that’s not really a loss in my personal opinion. Um you know, they have young guys Oops. Mike Fel, uh, like Tyler Kohlick. Um, I I I really like their off season. As a Piston fan from afar, I don’t really think they’re going to fall off. I I honestly think they could be a two seat. I I I think them and Orlando are probably going to be trading places uh between the second and the third seat. But that’s just me. It’s just like a basketball fan taking my Piston fandom off for a second. Um, I think them under 50 wins is kind of crazy to me, but that’s just me. I just want to say the rest of these Eastern Conference rankings get very hot takeakish to me. I have not seen the Indiana Pacers it for it all. I don’t know if ESPN forgot Tyrese Hallebertton is going to be out for the remainder of the season. I’ve seen the Pacers in Eastern Conference, you know, at least the playoffs in the projections before the season has started. I have not seen them top four. I don’t think they’re going to be a top four team, but this is ESPN’s reasoning why they have the Pacers top four. So, their win projection, they think they’re going to win around 45 46 games. Uh their ESPN bet uh over under is set at 38 a half. The reason why they have it higher said even though former Indiana center Miles Turner is now with the Bucks, will be difficult to replace this number feels shockingly low. The Pacers were still competitive last season when they were without Tyrese Hallebertton who will miss the 2526 campaign. So they do know that he’s going to be out. Interesting. Uh with the Thorn Achilles and Indiana’s replacement at center, most notably big man Jay Huff uh do rate better than a conventional wisdom. I am not confident Indiana can finish in the same spot in the standings last season, but I like the Pacers chances of being better than 500. Okay, here’s the thing, man. Indiana’s not finishing top four. I’m sorry. They’re they’re just not. Rick Carile, hell of a coach. You lost the player in Tyrese Hallebertton who gets everything going. Like, he’s one of the best point guards in the NBA. I like Andrew Nebard. I like TJ McConnell. Benedict Matan’s interesting. You have Obi-Wan. Pascal Seakum’s still going to be out there. But the fact that he goes and says, “Yeah, they lost Milo Turner, but Jay Huff, Jay Huff, yeah, Jay Huff is just going to, you know, keep the Patriots afloat, man, that’s laughable. That’s laughable. There’s no way the Patriots are finished in top four.” Um, we’re going to go on to number five. Oh, man. This list just gets more comical um once you get past three. But let’s go to number five. Coming in at number five, we have the Boston Celtics. Projected wins, they have 45.6, so around 45 wins. ESPN bet over under uh 40.5. The reason why they have the Celtics finishing with more wins than their under over. As with Indiana, there might be too much focus on the players Boston lost and not enough on the ones who remain. The Celtics still have eight players projected better than average. Tied for eighth most in the league, including all-star Jaylen Brown and statistically stand out Derek White. The caveat here is Boston could subtract during the season to avoid the luxury tax and take a chance at the lottery before Jason Tatum who is likely out for the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon. Okay, here’s the thing again. Jason Tatum is a big part of the Boston Celtics. Everyone knows that. Even if you’re a Piston fan watching, like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown are that one-two punch, you’re not finishing as a top five seed in the East. You’re just not. You’re probably around like six to nine, like around there. I I just don’t I don’t understand it. Obviously, Anthony Simons is an interesting piece. Um one-time Piston Luca Garza is a center over there. They signed Chris Buché. I watched a preseason game with the Celtics. They looked really bad. They looked really rusty. Um, not to say that, you know, Jaylen Brown can’t step up as a leader and be that number one option, but being a top five seed, Jaylen Brown would have to play like a top three player in the NBA for that to happen. He would probably be an MVP conversations um with Joic and SGA. Uh, I don’t see it with Boston. I think they’re going to just kind of have a retool year if they make the playoffs cool. Don’t really think their fan base is up in arms with them trying to force Jason Tatum back even though he does want to come back. He’s trying to target like a March return date. But I mean, I think for the Celtics, they’ll probably just kind of have a middle of the pack year. But top five to me is honestly crazy. It it it really is by ESPN. Coming in at number six in these Eastern Conference projections is the Milwaukee Bucks. Now, I’ve seen the Bucks anywhere between like five and eight um in these projections. So, the wins they have set is 44 a 12. The ESPN bet over under is set at 42 1/2. And the reasoning why is I might point out that Milwaukee has Giannis and I’ll leave it at that. Bucks went 11 and five last season in games Giannis played without Damen Lillard, albeit against the weak schedule. And they’ve upgraded at center from Brook Lopez to Miles Turner. Due in part to that success, my model is higher on guards like AJ Green, Kevin Porter Jr., and Ryan Rollins than conventional wisdom would suggest. I don’t really have a problem with the Bucks finishing six. All the Giannis talk right now is just wild. I I I think a lot of people have been calling it, especially where the Bucks are at in terms of just draft capital, in terms of cap space. Um, as long as they have Giannis, they’re probably a playoff team, but it really depends how long Giannis wants to play in Milwaukee. But um I don’t really see them being like a a top tier Eastern Conference team unless they could make some kind of acquisition, some kind of trade. And I don’t know how that’s even possible considering they just paid Miles Turner. Uh they have to pay Damen Lillard all the money that um he is owed after waving and stretching him. So Bucks come in at number six in this one. So coming in at number seven, the Atlanta Hawks, which is kind of surprising. I’ve seen a lot of people nationally think that the Hawks will be a top four seed in the East. Their projected wins is 44.3, so around 44 wins. Their ESPN bet over under is set at 46 and a2. And this is the reason why they have them slated in at seven. The hype might be getting a little heavy for the Hawks, whose off season was undoubtedly positive, but perhaps not transformative in the short term. I’m higher than the model on Atlanta’s chances of avoiding the playin, but I would still be surprised if they finish in the East top four. So Kevin Pelton of ESPN doesn’t really buy the hype with the Hawks acquiring Kristoff Porzingis, getting a healthy Jaylen Johnson back. Uh they signed Luke Canard. They also signed um Alexander Walker. They do have some interesting pieces. You still have Trey Young. Um Zachary Reese should say looks like he put on some weight in the off season. I think the Hawks will finish a little bit above the seven seed. I could see them being anywhere from like six to possibly four. Um, if they’re healthy, like if Jaylen Johnson stays healthy, they’re a problem. But if he doesn’t stay healthy, I could see them maybe falling to a seven seed. And maybe that’s why Kevin Pelton of ESPN doesn’t believe that they will be a top four seed like a lot of people in the media are crowning them to be. But very interesting to read that he doesn’t really buy the hype with the Hawks. Coming in at number eight, the Detroit Pistons. So, if we look at the projected wins, they think the Pistons are going to win 42.6 games. So, we’ll say 41 42 games. So, that would be a step back from last year. Their ESPN bet overunder is set at 45 and a half. As you guys know, the Pistons won 44 games this year. So, ESPN only thinks the Pistons will be maybe a game better or possibly two games worse. And this is the reason why. Largely because of the loss of Malik Beasley, arguably Detroit’s second best player last season after all-star centerpiece Kate Cunningham replacements Caris Levert and Duncan Robinson don’t rate anywhere near as effectively as Beasley, who finished second in the NBA in three-pointers last season. relying more on young talent could cause the Pistons to take a shortterm step back. Okay. Now, I don’t disagree with the notion that the Pistons could take a step back. Where I have a disagreement is the eight seed. Now, could the Pistons take a step back and still finish as a top five seed or a top six seed? Absolutely. I don’t think they’re going to be an eight seed. I think eight is actually kind of like a little bit wild to me, a little bit disrespectful to me. Now, Malik Beasley has said like, “Hey, the FBI investigation is done with. I’m being investigated by the NBA because they have to because of protocol. Um, I will be making my decision soon. Um, I will be signing with an NBA team soon. I will be playing in the NBA this season.” Uh, the Pistons still have an open roster spot. Um, it’s been reported that they’ve been keeping that open roster spot just in case. What could happen with Malik Beasley? Now, here’s my thinking. Like, if they bring back Malik Beasley, would you still have them at eight? Probably not. Um, obviously Duncan Robinson is not Malik Beasley. They’re completely different players. Duncan can shoot the three-point ball quite well. He can put the ball on the floor, can rebound, pass a little bit, but um I can understand from ESPN’s perspective of losing Beasley. Season hasn’t really started yet. I just don’t think they’re an eight seed, you guys. I really don’t. Um he did take a big jump in stepping up when Jaden Ivy was injured. He was one of Kate Cunningham’s favorite targets last season. Uh set a franchise record for making over 300 threes. Um, he’s the all-time leader in Detroit Pistons history in a single season for three-pointers made. Finished second behind Anthony Edwards. That should not go unsold, but I don’t think they drastically go from a six seed to an eight seed just because of the loss of Malik Beasley. They did add three-point shooting and Duncan Robinson and in Caris Levert. Um, you’re getting Jaden Ivy back. Still have Marcus Sasser. for Chaz Laneir looks like he’s going to be a good player once he gets used to the NBA speed of the game, but I think eight seeds to me is just absolutely wild and very hot takeish. The final two seeds in the East, Toronto Raptors and the Miami Heat. Toronto does come in at number nine. Uh their projected wins is at 40.7. Their ESPN bet over under is set at 38 and a half. ESPN’s reasoning for that is the Raptors moves have capped their upside, but should produce a competitive team given reasonable health. Toronto was in the top 10 in games missed due to injury or illness, including Brandon Ingram sitting out the remainder of the season after being acquired from the newer from New Orleans at the deadline. One quiet move uh my model likes is the addition of Sandro. I’m not even going to try to pronounce his last name. I remember he was with the Spurs. Uh who is an effect who was effective last season. Here’s the thing. I I I think the Raptors they could they they could win some games. They could be an eight seed. They could possibly be a seven seed depending on health, right? Like they have a lot of talent. RJ Barrett, Emanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram. Uh they lock down Yoka Purle. Uh I I I think there is pressure on them to win more. I even forgot to mention Scotty Barnes um because they just have so much talent over there. Uh I think there’s more pressure on them to win than playing a being a lottery team, but obviously they had a lot of injuries last year, but they they’ll definitely be, you know, competing for a playoff spot in my personal opinion. And coming in at number 10, Miami Heat. So their projected win totals for the Miami Heat is 40.3. The ESPN bet over under is set at 38 and a half. And the reasoning why uh we’re not far apart here adding Roman Powell should help Miami remain competitive with Tyler Herro sideline to start the season following the surgery as an impigment in his left foot. That’s all they really have to say about the Miami Heat. That’s actually kind of wild and funny. uh not even a sentence or two. Wow. Okay. So, you know, Miami obviously the the injury to Tyler Herro is a big blow to them. They still have Bettio. They traded for Norman Powell, which I thought was a a pretty solid move uh by them. Uh Andrew Wiggins is down there. They they kind of just have a a bunch of pieces that can keep them afloat in the Eastern Conference. Um, are are they a playing team? You know, possibly. You can never really count out the Miami Heat and Eric Spolstra, but I mean, out of the top 10 teams, man, like the the the the ones that I do disagree with. Obviously, the Detroit Pistons, I don’t see them being the eight seed. I I think that’s crazy. Uh, I think the Hawks will be a little bit better, too. I think where this list is really just fell apart is Indiana and Boston. I think Indiana and Boston to me, you guys are going to be way lower in the standings. I don’t think they’re going to be a four and five seed, respectively. I think you could have Detroit and Atlanta up there as a four and five seed. So, we’re going to be transitioning over to the second topic of today’s podcast. It is the NBA general manager survey. Uh, this one will be a little bit less crazy. So, what the NBA does is they go over and ask each general manager a set of questions and they vote on it and then they they pull all the surveys from each general manager across the league and make a whole article about it each and every year. So, that’s what we’re going to be talking about and reacting to next. So, let’s get to it. All right. This is the MBA general manager survey. So, we’re going to be kind of skimming through it because this is a kind of a lengthy article. So, one of the first questions that they did get asked was the predictions. Uh, who’s going to win the NBA finals? Uh, 80% of the general managers thought OKC uh would be winning back-to-back titles. Uh, Cleveland Cavaliers got 7% tied for second along with the Denver Nuggets also receiving votes. the Houston Rockets, New York Knicks um got a bulk of the votes for the predictions. Eastern Conference rankings, we can kind of see um 63% of the GMs think that the Cavs will have the number one seed. Uh 27% think they’ll have uh the second seed. Uh third seed 7%. So they don’t think they’ll finish below the third seed. With New York, 30% that they’ll finish with the first seed. uh 53% that they’ll finish with the second seed and 13% that they’ll finish the third seed. Orlando, they think that they can kind of finish anywhere between the first, second, third, or fourth. So 7% of the GMs think that Orlando could be the number one seed this year. 13% of the GMs think they could be the second seed. and 60% think Orlando can finish as the third seed and 13% think they’ll be the fourth seed. For Atlanta, only 3% of the GMs think Atlanta could go all the way up to the second seed. Uh 37% of them voted on that they could be a top four seed this year. For Detroit, 10% of the GMs across the league think the Detroit Pistons could be as high as the number three seed this year. But a bulk of them voted on the Pistons finishing as a top four seed at 23% of the votes coming in. Milwaukee, 3% of the uh the GMs voted that Milwaukee could finish as the second seed. Don’t really see it. Uh 10% voted on them finishing as high as a third seed. And a bulk of their votes came in at the four seed with 13% of the general managers voting on that. Uh Philly, 10% of the uh GMs voted thinking they could uh finish as a four seed. They just got to stay healthy, man. They really do. And then kind of finish this Boston, 3% of the GMs think that they could finish as a top four seed. But kind of cool seeing, you know, 10% of the GMs across the league think the Pistons could finish as a top three seed. But let’s keep going with this ranking. We can kind of skip past the Western Conference since this is a Detroit Pistons podcast. This where it gets fun. So, players who could win MVP. So, 67% of the GMs think it’s going to be Jokic. Uh 10% think it’s going to be Luca Donuch. Uh 8% think it’s going to be SGA. 7% think it’s going to be Victor WByama. You’re going to see a lot of Wim glazing in these uh just these uh voting from these GMs. It’s kind of crazy. Also receiving votes, Giannis, Anthony Edwards, and Donovan Mitchell. So, that’s what the GMs think in terms of most valuable player. Um, I said, “If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the NBA, who would it be?” 83% of the GMs decided that they would like to start a franchise with Victor Wenyama. 13% voted on SGA. Uh, only 3% actually voted on Nola Jokic, which is kind of crazy. It’s just wild to me. Um, which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments? 57% of the GMs voted on Nicole Jokic, 17% voted on Giannis, 13% voted on Stephen Curry, 10% voted on Luca Donuch, and 3% voted on SGA. Going into the next question, which player is most likely to have a breakout season? Amen. Thompson got 30% of the vote given Fred Van Fleet’s going to be out. No surprise there. Tied for second, Charlotte Hornets forward, Brandon Miller, also tied for second, Detroit Pistons forward, Assar Thompson. So they got the Thompson twins most likely to break out in 2526. I think Assar’s uh going to have a big year. Um also tied for second, Victor Wenyama fifth. Um we have Fran Wagner also receiving votes. You got Denny Aia from Portland, Stefan Castle from San Antonio, Jaylen Green from Phoenix, Jaylen Johnson from Atlanta, Tyrese Maxi from Philly, Alexar from Washington, Alper and Sangun from Houston, uh Reed Shepard from Houston, Jabari Smith from Houston, and Dian Williamson from the Pelicans. But pretty cool to see that Assar was in the top two, tied for second uh for a player most likely to have a breakout season, who’s the best point guard in the NBA. So, they got SGA 73% of the votes from the general managers. Voted for him. Uh, number two, Luca Donuch 17%. Stephen Curry got 7%. Tyrese Hallebertton got 3%. So, that’s what the GMs think. Uh, who is the best point guard in the NBA? Best shooting guard, Anthony Edwards. No surprise there. He got 70% of the votes. Donovan Mitchell got second place for 13% of the votes. Tied for third, Luca Donic at number seven. I don’t even know what to categorize Luca. I know this is off topic. Like I thought he was a forward. I thought he was a point guard, but they kind of have him at shooting guard. It’s just weird. Basketball’s all positionalist now. I don’t know what guys play. I don’t know what positions they are anymore. Uh tied for third. Um SGA at 7%, Stephen Curry at 3%. Like yeah, I thought Steph Curry was a point guard. Nothing happens as a shooting guard. Like NBA is so confusing sometimes, man. It really is. Uh who’s the best small forward? Luca Donic 40%. Jason Tatum coming in at second um with 20% of the votes. Uh number three, Kevin Durant at 17%. Tied for fourth, LeBron James at 7%. Tied for fourth, Kawhi Leonard at 7%. Also receiving votes, uh Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, Jaylen Williams, and that’s it for small forwards. Power forwards, who’s the best power forward in the NBA, 93% of the GMs voted on Giannis at Takumbbo from the Bucks. No surprise there. Evan Mobley got 7% of the vote uh for the best power forward in the NBA. So, shout out to Evan Mobley for even getting votes because we really don’t have like power forwards like we used to back in the day. Like when I was growing up as a kid, there were so many great power forwards. Like you had like Sheed, Kevin Gardette, Chris Weber. There there’s a lot of great power forwards. We don’t really have too many. Kind of shows you how the NBA game has changed so much. But going over to best center, Nicole Joic got 97% of the votes as the best center in the NBA. Uh Victor Webbyama got 3% of the votes as the best center in the NBA. High percentage of total votes for the positions. Jokic got the most votes. Giannis got the second most votes. SGA got the third most votes. Anthony Edwards got the fourth most votes coming at 14%. and Luca Donic got the fifth most votes. So, offseason moves, which team made the best overall moves this off season? The Hawks come in at number one at 53%, the Houston Rockets number two at 27%, Denver Nuggets 10%, which I I kind of think Denver should be higher just with their acquisitions. Uh, the Magic at 7% and the Celtics at 3%. Uh, which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact? 73% of the GMs voted that Kevin Durant will make the best impact for the Houston Rockets. Uh 17% of the GMs voted Desmond Bane will make a big impact for the Orlando Magic, which I tend to agree with. Also receiving votes, uh Cooper Flag from the Dallas Mavericks, um easily winning the lottery. He’s going to be really good. Drew Holiday uh for the Portland Trailblazers. Milwaukee Bucks with Miles Turner, which I’m still trying to process how Miles Turner is a Milwaukee Buck being in Indiana for so long. But hey, man, that’s that’s crazy. Another question they were asked, who is the most underrated player acquisition? Desmond Bane got first place with 17% of the votes. Cam Johnson, which I think was actually kind of an underrated uh trade for the Nuggets. 13% of the votes comes in at second. Christophs Porzingis, 10% of the votes that comes in at third for the Hawks. Tied for fourth, we got a four-way tie with Lonzo Ball, John Collins, Doria Finny Smith, R Holiday, and Luke Cornet. Um, also receiving votes, DeAndre Aton, I don’t really know about that one. Uh Bradley Beal with the Clippers, Jaylen Green with Phoenix, El Horford with Golden State, Cavan Lewi with the New Orleans Pelicans, Brook Lopez with the Clippers, Norman Pal with Miami, and Marcus Smart with the Lakers. Honestly, this offseason’s been so boring, I forgot Marcus Smart was even a Laker. It just kind of tells you like how bad this offseason’s been. Which team will be the most improved this season? 47% of the GMs think that the Magic are going to be taking that jump, which I kind of tend to agree. They just got to stay healthy. Tied for second. The Hawks and the San Antonio Spurs definitely could see the Spurs uh making a big impact. Victor Webbmanyama coming back from blood clots. You have Dear Fox. Um you know, they they have some pretty interesting pieces. They got Dylan Harper. I don’t even know how San Antonio got the number two pick in this draft. Kind of seems fixed to me, but hey, that’s just me. Uh, the Philadelphia 76ers come in at fourth with 10% of the votes. New Orleans Pelicans coming in at fifth with 3% of the votes. One of the other questions I asked him, which was the most surprising move this off season, Milwaukee waving and stretching Damen Lillard. Yeah, that had to be first because that still doesn’t make sense. Uh, from the Bucks standpoint, it really doesn’t. Miles Turner going to Milwaukee was shocking, too. 30%. Atlanta and New Orleans. Uh, draft trade. Um, yeah, that that trade I think it’s going to come back to bite New Orleans in the ass. I really do. But hey, man, Troy Weaver and Joe Dumar are doing their thing down there. Tie for third. Celtics breaking up their core. It shouldn’t really be too surprising given like what Boston would have to pay in luxury taxes. But I I get it. Uh, rookie and international players. They got Cooper Flag coming in number one with 97% of the votes. Uh, VJ Edgecom only getting 3% of the votes, which I’m kind of surprised. I think VJ Edgecom is actually going to be a pretty good rookie for the 76ers. I’ll be watching how he does this year for them. Uh, which rookie will be the best player in five years? Cooper flag. No surprise there. Also receiving votes, uh, VJ Edge come Philly, Dylan Harper, San Antonio. Okay. Uh, five years ago, James Wiseman, 36% of the votes. He actually came back from an Achilles injury. I just saw him the other day playing with the Pacers. So, good to see that James Wiseman still out there playing ball. Happy for him. Uh, which rookie was the biggest steel in the draft? Uh, so they got Casper from the Miami Heat. I’m not going to try to pronounce his uh last name because I’ll butcher it. Ace Bailey tied for second with Carter Bryant and tied for fourth. Uh, Yon Bernier from Minnesota who’s just going to be a really good center, really good defensive center, probably Rudy Goar’s replacement in a few years. Uh Liam McNeely with Charlotte and uh Asa Newuel uh with the Hawks. Uh this draft was weird, man. It really was. Um especially for us because we didn’t have a first round draft pick. But let’s kind of wrap up this um list from the NBA uh GM surveys. Who’s the best international player? Cole Joic, no surprise there. Luca Donic and SGA also got some votes. Uh who’s the best international player? They’re not in the NBA. Don’t even know who any of these guys are. I know Kendrick Nun and Nicole Miritic and Sed Yasmin. I don’t know who the first place guy is. Um because I don’t really follow international ball too deeply. Uh defense, who’s the best defender in the NBA? Victor Wenyama got 80% of the votes. Rudy Goar and Evan Mobley tied for second with 7% of the votes. Giannis Lud Dort um got a couple of votes as well, but not enough to actually uh place in the top five in this list. Who was the best perimeter defender in the NBA? Tyson Daniels got first place with 31% of the votes. Alex Caruso got 24% of the votes with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Amen Thompson got 22% of the votes from the Houston Rockets. Lou Dort 14% uh came in fourth place. Drew Holiday comes in at five with 7% of the votes. Asar Thompson got 2% of the votes. What’s kind of funny though is Assar Thompson was actually touted to be the better defender out of the Thompson twins. It’ll be interesting to see where Assar is ranked next year going into the season as you know the best perimeter defender in the NBA. I mean, if you ask him right now, he thinks he is. Um, who is the best interior defender in the NBA? Wimby coming in number one 80%. Rudy Go Bear uh came in at second at 10% of the votes. Also receiving votes, Anthony Davis, Evan Moley, Avasa Eubox uh coming in as the best interior defender in the NBA. Who’s the most versatile defender in the NBA? Uh Amen Thompson again coming in at number one with 18% of the votes. Draymond Green comes in at second with 17% of the votes. Jana Satumbbo comes in at third with 13% of the votes. four-way tie or three-way tie coming in at fourth. You have Dyson Daniels, Evan Mobley, and Victor Wanyyama all receiving 10% of the votes. Tied for seventh, Ojanobi, and Lou Dort got 7% of the votes. Also receiving votes, uh, Tammani Kamar from Portland. He had a really good rookie season last year. Honestly, um, I think he saved Johny Bop’s job personally. Really good defender. Tari Een from the Houston Rockets and Assar Thompson from the Detroit Pistons. So, Assar is getting a little bit of respect as a good defender as he should. Uh, which is the best defensive team in the NBA? Oklahoma City Thunder comes in at 1 and 83%. And then we have a two-way tie between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic. And the Houston Rockets come in at fourth with 3% of the votes. Now, we’re getting into the coaches. Who is the best head coach in the NBA? Eric Spolster comes in at first with 52% of the votes. Mark Danol gets 34% of the votes coming in in second place. Tyron Lou 7% coming in at third place. Also receiving votes, Rick Carile from Indiana, Nick Nurse from Philly. I don’t think Nick Nurse is a good coach. I don’t know why people voted for him. I just don’t. I That’s is me though, man. I don’t I don’t I don’t get the Nick Nurse like love. Uh, which head coach is the best manager motivator of people? Eric Spolster comes in at first at 28%. Uh, Udoka from Houston comes in at second place with 24%. Tied for third, Steve Kerr and Joe Missoula receiving 14% of the votes. Tyron Lou coming in fifth place with 7% of the votes. Also receiving votes, Kenny Atinson, JB Bickerstaff from the Pistons, Rick Carile from the Pacers, and Jamal Mosley from the Orlando Magic. Kind of surprised JB’s actually not higher on this kind of considering like what the Pistons did last year, but hey, I’m happy they got a mention. Which head coach makes the best iname adjustments? So, we got Tyron Lou coming in at number one with 40% of the votes. Number two, Mark Datnel at 23% coming in second place. In time for third, Rick Carile and Eric Spolstra receiving 13% of the votes. Also receiving votes, Kenny Atinson, Chris Finch, and uh Udoka from the Houston Rockets. Tyron Moo got first in this uh question last year as well. Which head coach runs the best offense? So, we got Rick Carile coming in at number one. No surprise there. 53% of the votes. Got a two-way tie between Kenny Atinson and Chris Finch. They got 10% of the votes. And tied for fourth, Mark Datnol and Steve Kerr with 7%. Also receiving votes, Mike Brown, Tyron Lou, Quinn Snyder, and Eric Bolstra. Which head coach makes the or has the best defensive schemes? Excuse me. There got Mark Datnel coming in at number one with 37% of the votes. You got Udoka coming in at second with 23% of the votes. Eric Spolstra at 13%. And then tied for fourth, we got Tyron Lou and Joe Missoula with 10% of the votes. Also receiving votes, JB Bicker Staff and Chris Finch. So shout out to JB for getting another mention in these NBA GM surveys of being a coach that has the best defensive schemes. Who has the best assistant coach in the NBA? I always find these weird because we we really don’t know like how good an assistant would actually be an NBA coach, but Michael Nory uh 25% of the votes. He was actually a Pistons assistant under Dwayne Casey. Uh number two, Jeff Van Gundy with the Clippers. Number three, Royal Ivy from the Houston Rockets. And tied for fourth, Sam Cassell and Chris Quinn with the Miami Heat. Uh there’s a lot of mentions uh with these assistant coaches. Most of these guys you probably don’t even know, so I’m not going going to read. Uh, also receiving wells in this one. Uh, which active player would make the best head coach. Uh, 27% said Chris Paul tied for second. Mike Connley and TJ McConnell coming in at fourth, Fred Van Vleet with 13% of the votes. Garrett Temple number five. I didn’t even know he was still playing with the Toronto Raptors with 10% of the votes. And Drew Holiday coming in at number seven. Also got some votes. Kyle Anderson, Luke Cornet, Andrew Nebart. Interesting. Interesting. Uh miscellaneous. Which team is the most fun to watch? Uh Nuggets and the Thunder tied for first with 27% of the votes. Uh Indiana Pacers 20%. Golden State and Minnesota each got 7%. Pistons also got some votes in this one as one of the most fun teams to watch along with the Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, and Orlando Magic. I think the Pistons will actually be in the top three as the most fun team to watch just because it’s chaos. You guys, you guys remember I was calling the the Pistons last year the Cardiac kids, but which team has the best homecourt advantage? Tied for first, uh, Nuggets and Thunder again, they got 43% of the votes. Knicks got 7% of the votes. Uh Celtics and the Cavs also received some votes from these general managers. Uh which team will have the league’s most efficient offense? Cavs come in at number one at 40%, OKC Thunder 30%, Nuggets 20%. Also receiving votes, Pacers, Timberwolves, and Knicks. Which team’s level of success this season is the toughest to predict? It’s Philly, man. It has to be Philly. It’s a health thing. We have uh like a fiveway tie or sixway tie um with the Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, LA Clippers, LA Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, uh and the Pelicans. Those are just teams that people have a big question mark with and I get it. Uh which team has the most promising young core? Uh OKC, which is why they even have this conversation, 50% of the votes. San Antonio Spurs, 27% of the votes. tied for third, the Detroit Pistons have 10% of the votes along with the Houston Rockets. Magic got 3%. Um, the fact that OKC is in number one still kind of boggles my mind because they just won a championship, but you look at the roster, they’re still pretty young. Uh, cool to see the Pistons get a nod there, tie for third with you, Houston Rockets. Um, which player is the most athletic? Amen. Thompson came in at number one, 58% of the votes. Anthony Edwards came in at second, which is kind of crazy to think about cuz I feel like every time I watched Ant-Man this year, he was always posterizing someone on a dunk, but he got 23% of the votes coming in second place. Also receiving votes, you got Giannis, LeBron, John Morant, uh Shaden Sharp, Assar Thompson, Victor Webbyama. So Asar uh gets a nod here. Um I think Assar is actually going to put a lot of people on this year. I think a lot of people are going to be tuning into the Detroit Pistons games just to watch Assar Thompson. Uh, which player is the best pure shooter? Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. No surprise. One and two. Uh, which player is the fastest with the ball? Got De’arra Fox at 53%. John Morant at 33%. Darius Maxi gets 7%. Jade Ivy gets some love. He also received the vote. And so did Amen Thompson. I honestly think Jade Ivy is just as fast as the AR box if you ask me. You’re just talking about a speed test. I think they’re pretty damn close. Fox is probably maybe a smidge faster, but I I would I would definitely place a wager just to see those two just have a race when Ivy’s like 100% healthy. Um, which player is the best moving without the ball. Steph Curry, no surprise there. Also receiving votes, Desmond Bane from the Magic, Michael Porter Jr. uh, from the Brooklyn Nets, and Duncan Robinson got a little vote there. So, newly acquired Piston Duncan Robinson got a vote. Which is the which player is the best passer? Nicole Jokic got 80% of the votes. Mr. Triple Double, no surprise there. Luca Donuch got 10% of the votes. Trey Young got 7% of the votes. Um, and James Harden got 3% of the votes. Just kind of wrapping up with this GM survey, you guys. Which player is the best leader? Uh, Stephen Curry got 43% of the votes. Jaylen Brunson got 13% coming in at second. Nicole Joic came in at third, 10% of the votes. Then you have a three-way tie for fourth with Giannis SJ in LeBron. Um Mike Connley from Minnesota, Anthony Edwards from Minnesota, Jason Tatum from Boston, and Fred Vanl from Houston. Uh who is the most versatile player in the NBA? Uh you have Giannis and Victor Wmanyama tied for first for 30% of the votes. Uh then you have a three-way tie with LeBron, Evan Mobley, and Jaylen Williams coming in at se uh 7%. And Kate Cunningham gets some love here along with Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Nicole Joic, Kawhi Leonard, Jason Tatum. So cool to see Kate in the conversation with most versatile player in the in the NBA, which he is. I mean, he was playing off ball in the last preseason game. Like Assar was actually playing point guard, which we’ll kind of talk about the preseason in a little bit, you guys. Uh, which player has the best basketball IQ? Joic comes in at number one. No surprise there. 80% of the votes. Uh, LeBron James with the Lakers, 17% of the votes. And Chris Paul got 3% of the votes coming in in third place. Um, which player would you want taking a shot with the game on the line? Steph Curry. I think most most people would have Steph Curry. He’s done it so many times. Uh, he’s in first place. Coming in second place, Kevin Durant. Uh, number three, Tyrese Hallebertton. The fact that like he’s not a little bit higher on this list is kind of crazy, especially the playoffs he had. I feel like he he was just on a tear in the playoffs. Uh, he got 13% of the votes coming in the third. Uh, Luca Donic came in at fourth with 10% of the votes. SGA got 7% of the votes. Uh, Jaylen Brunson and Jokic also got some votes with which player you would want taking the last shot if the game was on the line. And I think this this one was a kind of an interesting uh question. It says, “What rule regarding play schedule, draft lottery, playoff format, roster construction most needs to change?” Number one, they voted on roster construction. Apron rules too harsh. Add a cap discount for own drafted players allowing trading partial salaries. Make minimum contracts the same. 26% of the general managers voted on it. I actually like this. Um maybe it’s something in the future they will add. It says add a cap discount for own drafted players. I actually kind of like that. Like I if because we’re we’re we’ve talked about Jaden Ivy and Jaylen Duran and contract extensions. Like if you could get a cap discount for signing guys that you drafted to get contract extensions, I think that would actually kind of be cool. Number two that the GMs voted on was draft schedule. Uh, back to one day, only one draft lottery day and after free agency 19%. Here’s the thing, man. No one wants to stay up for eight hours on a freaking NBA draft. I don’t I don’t really like that. I think the two days is fine, though. Uh, number three, game flow, continuous faster reviews, hockey style subs. Oh, no live ball timeouts. Hockey style subs would be kind of crazy. Could you Can you imagine that? Like you got Isaiah Stewart uh coming into the game for Jaylen Dur and he accidentally body checks someone. Dude, that would be hilarious. I don’t think the NBA will ever have hockey style subs. I don’t think it would be like that crazy though. That’s just where my mind goes because I’m I’m just thinking of hockey players like hip checking people into the bench. Um that would actually be kind of like funny and entertaining. Um this just as a basketball fan. Uh, number four, playoff format. One through 16 seeds, top seeds, choose opponents, change uh, the playin format. I don’t want to see one through 16 seeds. Keep that in college. I think that’s stupid. Uh, tied for fifth draft system. Can’t draft in the top six three years straight. Shouldn’t reward losing. 7% of the GMs voted for that. Uh, damn. Well, I’m glad we’re back on track because like if that was a thing that got like approved and we were top five, you know, we had the fifth overall pick, fifth overall pick, fifth overall pick. If that ever got implemented, man, that would be tough. That would be tough. Higher penalties for cap circumvention. Hm. I wonder why they’re voting on that with the Kawaii stuff and the aspiration stuff going on right now. And then tied for fifth. Also, the schedule fewer backto backs. No home road backtobacks. Yeah, home road backtobacks are kind of wild to me. Also receiving votes um a more G-League experimentation. No disqualification on six foul one shot plus ball last year roster construction and apron rolls. So that was basically the GM survey. We talked for about 27 minutes about it. Um, really interesting. The the last one was probably my favorite, the the hockey style subs. I I’m still thinking about it. I think it would be so much fun. Uh, but we’re going to get into the Bleacher Report um, articles and their mock trades that they do have for the Detroit Pistons. I mentioned at the top of the podcast would be going over a Bleacher Report article. Now, this one, honestly, I think is a a crazy idea. I don’t think it would ever happen. And there have been a lot of crazy ideas on this podcast today. The hockey lineups and now this one trade every team would make if the deadline was before the season. Can you imagine if the NBA trading deadline wasn’t in February? It was in October. Like you can’t make any trades during the season. You have to make it before the season. That would be chaotic. I’m here for it. Doubt Adam Silver does anything that diabolical, but man, a trading deadline before the season would be crazy. All right, so there are two Pistons trades in this article. If you guys are interested of uh reading this, um it is over at bleachreport.com. We’re going to go to the Charlotte Hornets because that’s the first mention of a Detroit Pistons player in this one. And so the trade that they cooked up, and they didn’t really cook up in my opinion, if you’re a Piston fan watching this, is Miles Bridges for Tobias Harris in a lottery protected 2031 first round pick. And their explanation for why Charlotte might do something like this is the Hornets are another team that isn’t likely to push for the postseason birth anytime soon. So they could pursue the same goal as Brooklyn, turn a vet into a future pick. In this case, Charlotte also gets the added benefit of picking up an expiring contract that won’t encumber the team’s books beyond this season. The Detroit Pis the Pistons, meanwhile, get a little more explosive option at the four who can play some twoman game with Kate Cunningham. Now, Miles Bridges, I I I know I know you guys. Michigan State product. He He’s been on the Detroit Pistons radar, not just with you guys, not just with the Detroit Pistons fan base. There are some people in the organization that really liked Miles Bridges. They’ve liked him since the draft process. I’ve talked to people in the Pistons front office and all all the reports that we heard saying like, “Hey, um, Pistons are interested in Miles Bridges.” All those reports were true. Uh, there are some people that really like Miles Bridges. Now, I’m not really sure if I would do a trade like this. Yeah, obviously Tobias is on an expiring. I think the season would have to go absolutely south for the Pistons to even trade Tobias. Not just because of like you’re talking about from a contract standpoint, this season would have to go south, but they’re not even in the playoffs for the Pistons to do this because the organization views Tobias in such a positive light for his off the court, his mentorship, and what he does in the community. I I think those are a lot of things that the Pistons organization loves about Tobias Harris. But Miles Bridges is younger. He’s more explosive. His shooting is kind of dropped off a little bit in a sense. The pick is intriguing to me, but it is protected in 2031 and it’s what 5 years out, 6 years out. So there’s no guarantee that pick conveys. But this was the first trade that Bleacher Report did come up with. The final trade that Bleacher Report came up with was a Pistons Utah Jazz trade. Now, we’ve done Lori Mark and reaction mock trades on this YouTube channel before and on this podcast. So, I’m intrigued to see what they came up with with another trade. So, let’s look at it. So, we got Tobias Harris, Jade Ivy, Bobby Clipman, a 2031st and a top five protected 2032 first for Lori Markin. Now, I think this is almost identical to the last one we reacted to. Uh I think if you’re trading for Lori Markin, there’s probably more draft picks involved. You obviously are adding Tobias Harris for the salary. Jaden Ivy. I I I don’t really see a fit or a need for them to trade for another combo guard when they have several on their roster. Now, Bobb’s a young and tricky player. They might want that. But here’s my thing with it. I think I would be out just because that’s quite a bit to actually give up. But, you know, their explanation says that in the event the Utah Jazz make Lorie Mark available, which maybe should have happened a while ago, uh, there should be plenty of suitors around the league for one of its best, most unique finishers. Uh the Finn’s ability to dominate on either catch and shoot three-pointer threat or above the rim cutting and his willingness to do it without dominating the ball or over dribbling would be put to good use by Kate Cunningham. These two along with Jaylen Dasar Thompson would give the Detroit Pistons a team that could win in the East as early as this season. On the side, on the Jazz side, fans may be hoping for more draft capital for marketing, but prying Jade Ivy from the Pistons would be no small feat. There’s always a mild concern when a player is coming back from a season ending injury. But Iivey is just 23 and a average 17 points in the 24-2 season and has shown more of a star level upside than Keonte George or Isaiah Kolier. Okay, I get Bleacher Report’s stance from both sides. I think from the Piston standpoint, yes, Lori Markin fits next to Kate Cunningham. A lot of players fit next to Kate Cunningham. What they’re not really taking into consideration or even discussing for that matter is Lori Markin is on a insanely huge contract that he just signed. It’s on average around $50 million. Okay, if the Detroit Pistons are going to trade for a guy that’s making $40, $50 million, for me personally, it’s going to have to be for a more like an all-star type player, right? Not saying that Lori Markin couldn’t be an all-star next to Kate Cunningham. I I think the pick and pops would be deadly stretch four, but the guy doesn’t play defense. for $50 million. I I I think I’m out. I know he had a resurgence under JB Bickerstaff. But again, like Jade Ivy, Tobias, a first and then a protected first and Bobby Clipman, I I think I would be out. I don’t even know what the Jazz really want to do with Lori Markin. Obviously, he had a really good Euro League. Looked like he was just, you know, getting back to his old self. But I kind of disagree in the standpoint of the Utah Jazz having several suitors from player from teams across the league wanting to trade for Lorie Markin. One because of the contract and two who the general manager is. Danny A is asking price is ridiculous for all of his players. Like how many times have we come up here and we’re not talking about Pistons. We’ll talk about the NBA sometimes on this podcast and we’re talking about Walker Kesler and this guy wants two, three first round picks for Walker Kesler. No disrespect to him, but he’s not worth two, three first round picks, maybe one. Uh I can’t imagine what his asking price would be for Lori Markin. I I know the writer at Bleach Report tried to cook up a trade that he thinks that Danny A might want to look at. I don’t even think he would want uh a Tobias Harris when I I think they have a lot of power forwards on on their roster. Obviously, you have to do it because of the money, but like they probably don’t want Jade Ivy. Uh they they just drafted another combo guard and Walter Clayton Jr. Um, I think they’re kind of selling Keonte George a little short. Give him a little bit more time. Um, you know, Jaden Ivy would be a really good get for Utah if they could. But I if if I’m the Detroit Pistons, absolutely not. I think what would be a little bit more difficult to resign Assar and Jaylen Duran to contract extensions in the event of a trade like this even like going down. Uh, but I would probably be out on the Lori sweep stakes. I told you guys before, like if if I’m trading that many assets for a guy that’s making $40, $50 million, you know, I I’d rather go all in for like uh I don’t even know there there’s not like a lot of guys in the market that I would just look at the young prospects that I have and just like kind of push my chips in the on the table to say um obviously I know we can’t keep all these guys. I know someone will be a casualty. You might trade her one or two, but um I don’t know, man. I I I really don’t I think the Pistons will make moves. I really do. Um but I don’t know if it’s going to be for a a player like a a Lori Markin. Oops, there we go. Went black for my screen went black for a minute. But I did kind of want to transition over to the final segment of this podcast, you guys. And it’s preseason, right? So, we’ve had two preseason basketball games so far. Uh, one win, one loss. Uh, most recently was a loss against the Bucks. But I I did want to kind of touch on, you know, Kate Cunningham. And I think a lot of the conversations that we had is, you know, just, you know, whatifs, uh, you know, just kind of having like fun conversations throughout the offseason. But with Cade, what I was really impressed with in these two preseason games, he’s averaging 19 minutes a game, and he’s putting up over 20 points a game. Uh, put 20 points up in the first preseason game in 19 minutes. Put 26 points up in 19 minutes against the Milwaukee Bucks. Kade looks like he’s ready for the season to start. If the season started tomorrow, K would be ready. He’s in great shape right now. I I think going through that New York Knicks series really just lit a fire under his ass. And that’s great for us Pistons fans because he was so good last season, especially once Jaden Ivy went down. I think he founds a whole another gear that not saying that he couldn’t get there, but I think it was actually a blessing in disguise from the standpoint of this. Kate knows if we want to win, I got to score 30. He’s got that in his mindset now. And he had 26 points in 19 minutes in a preseason game, mind you. I I know preseason is you don’t want to take too much stock into it, but he looks really good out there. I think there’s some other players in the preseason that I’ve been really impressed with. Paul Reed, he’s been rebounding the basketball at such a great rate. Um, obviously he’s a third string center. I don’t know how much we’re going to get to see Paul Reid considering Jaylen Duran, Isaiah Stewart are your starting center and your backup center, but I think Paul Reed does deserve a little bit of a shout out and some shine. I’ve been really impressed with Adonis Jenkins. Obviously, he did struggle against the Milwaukee Bucks starters, but overall, you know, the first preseason game, he looked good. Uh to Smith has had his moments so far. Um Chaz Laneir, really like what I’m seeing out of him. Bobby Clipman had a good game uh against the Bucks. Um hoping to see, you know, more consistent play out of him in these final two preseason games. And you know, we do have two preseason games next week. One on Tuesday, uh against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland, and George Blaha will be calling that game uh and it will be on FanDuel. There won’t be any simal cast. Um, and we’ll finish the preseason with the only home preseason game against the Washington Wizards on Thursday. And that’ll kind of wrap up the preseason until the NBA season does start. We’re what 11 10 days until opening night. And I’m so excited. But I did want to touch on the preseason uh for a couple of minutes. We’ve only had two games. We have two more uh going into uh this week. But really excited to see um you know some of the guys that may not make the roster, they might make the G- League team, how they do fare. Um you know how Chaz does, how Bobby does. Um what kind of lineups is JB going to roll out uh for the final two games? Uh he went like really crazy uh last game because Jaden Ivy, Caris Levert, and Jaylen Duran uh decided just to not play. Uh Duran was obviously a hamstring injury and the other two was rest. But Duran was playing in the uh open practice uh last week. So that is a good sign if you are a Detroit Pistons fan. But um do want to wrap up this podcast you guys. Obviously this isn’t a live stream. This is a pre-recorded. Uh tried to get a guest on this week but it was just so chaotic. I know uh just just in my life and I’m sure you guys don’t care. I’ve just been having like uh service guys come to my house cuz I I bought a furnace and someone didn’t know how to install it and uh was blowing cold air. Finally got a service guy to actually fix it. Um so the guys that installed it actually did it backwards which is just my luck, right? Um I do have some news to share with you guys though pretty soon. Monday it’ll be official. Um, but big things are going to be happening on the podcast. Uh, and I I I I can’t say anymore. Um, I’m really excited for it. Um, nothing is changing on the podcast, by the way. It’s just, um, I’m getting more help behind the scenes and, uh, I’ll be able to do more podcast um, you know, produ produce more content. So, I’m really excited about that. But I do appreciate you guys watching me for over the past hour or so. I hope you guys uh are having a great weekend. Um and I will see you guys uh Tuesday and Thursday for the Detroit Pistons postgame shows that we’re doing all season long. By the way, this is not just a preseason thing. We’ll be doing it for every Detroit Pistons home and away game. Doesn’t matter if it’s a freaking West Coast trip at 3:00 a.m. You’ll see my face reacting after the game. But hope you guys are having a great night and talk to you soon. As always, go Pistons. Peace.

oday on the Pistons Talk Podcast, we discuss the Detroit Pistons being ranked as the 8th seed in ESPN’s Eastern Conference projections, dive into the NBA GM survey results, and finish the podcast with some Bleacher Report mock trade proposals.

0:00-1:11 – Show Intro
1:12- 23:18 ESPN Eastern Conference Rankings 1st-10th Seeds
23:56-51:25 NBA GM Survey
51:27-1:07:13 Bleacher Report Mock Trades
1:09:00-1:06:42 Preseason Talk & Announcement to Podcast

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