Detroit — Multiple teams had their Media Day on Monday before the NBA preseason begins, with the Detroit Pistons being one of them.
The setting was different this time around. Last year, new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon and head coach J.B. Bickerstaff talked to media trying to build up an organization after a 14-win season in 2023-24. A year later, expectations are higher after 44 wins and a playoff appearance, but the Pistons went through the offseason in no rush.
Veterans like Tim Hardaway Jr, Dennis Schröder, and Malik Beasley were not brought back this season. Langdon didn’t mention those players by name, but while asked why he felt comfortable not bringing certain veterans back, said factors like “another team” or being “under investigation,” likely referring to an FBI investigation into Bealey that was dropped earlier during the offseason and the NBA’s current independent investigation of the former Piston, played a part in why those veterans weren’t brought back.
Of course, these decisions also are based on a belief of what the Pistons already have. Boasting one of the brightest young cores in the league in a conference where two of the best teams each saw their star player (Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Boston’s Jayson Tatum) suffer an Achilles injury in the postseason, there was pressure to make a big swing to catapult them into possible championship contention.
“I think overall, the understanding of where we’re at and our approach, we felt it was the right thing to stay where we were at, which is let these guys, our young core, continue to develop. I think we want to see where these guys can go and what their potential is and what their ceiling is, and right now we just don’t know,” Langdon said.
Langdon and the Pistons’ front office shored up the roster with new veterans for the upcoming season, bringing in Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert. It’s also a homecoming for both players, as Robinson and LeVert played together at Michigan.
“I think the best thing is they enjoy being here. They obviously played together 45 minutes from here in Ann Arbor, so they feel this is a full-circle moment for them,” Langdon said. “They’re two high-basketball IQ guys that can not only create for themselves, but can create for others, so we’re looking forward to and excited about how they’re going to compliment this group, and they’ve been incredible off the floor, blending in and just two high-character guys that we’re fortunate to have here.”
After being a part of the Miami Heat for seven seasons, Robinson now finds himself in Detroit. The Heat’s culture is well known throughout the league.
“I think one of the things that’s really jumped out to me is how close this group is,” Robinson said, “and how much fun they have, and the emphasis around enjoyment.”
Robinson said the NBA is a weird league in that while everyone is basically living a dream in some capacity, there are points where you can step into a locker room where everyone’s miserable. But in his limited time around the Pistons’ roster, Robinson is impressed by what he’s seen.
“From everything that I’ve gathered, this place knows how to enjoy and find enjoyment throughout the course of an NBA season, and I found it in the relationships that guys have. I found it in the way guys interact, coaches interact, so that’s a special thing, and I’m excited to be a part of that and hopefully bring my own dynamic to it as well,” Robinson said.
In addition to Robinson, LeVert also has ties to Bickerstaff, who coached him with the Cavaliers, and Langdon, who was the assistant general manager in Brooklyn when LeVert’s rights were traded to the Nets after the Indiana Pacers drafted him in 2016.
“When we acquired him, the first thing he told me is he’s adaptable, which is true. A lot of guys say that, but when the adaptation and there’s some up and down or fluctuation, then their attitudes tend to fluctuate also. And he never did,” Bickerstaff said. “He just continued to do everything that we asked him to, to the best of his ability. And (it) obviously impacted our growth there, and I expect him to do the same thing here.”
“I knew J.B. would bring a level of structure to the group. I knew the guys had a lot of talent, young guys who needed a little bit of direction like any young guys in the league would,” LeVert said. “I know that J.B. brings a level of just structure, professionalism and discipline to any organization he comes to.”
Just like Robinson, LeVert was impressed by the culture of the Pistons young group.
“The spirit is amazing, you feel it, and it’s real. It’s authentic. The guys like being around each other,” LeVert said. “Guys are eager to get better, guys are in the gym. So like I said, it’s a great atmosphere to get better, so I’m excited to join this group.”
Kameron Goodwill is a freelance writer.