Introductory Press Conference (Full)

[vic]

Weaver and Casey introduced the four draftees yesterday. Everyone was present (zoom) and spoke. One thing that became apparent listening to Weaver & Casey, is that rebuilding the culture was their focus over the last week, both in the draft and with the primary acquisitions of Plumlee & Grant. Lazarus Jackson surmised this in an article a couple days ago, https://www.detroitbadboys.com/2020/11/24/21591297/athleticism-over-assets-detroits-restoration-is-different-jerami-grant-killian-hayes-sekou-doumbouya, and he was right on. The RJ/Drummond era is over.

Watch on YouTube

Good article. Thanks for the share.

48 minute clip isn't all that great, nothing unusual in it tbh

The whole "hard working, high character, high bball IQ, competitive nature" stuff was rammed home throughout.

Pretty clear that's the organisation we're going to be or become now Gores has given up the playoff mandate.

One dude did ask about Wood & Weaver just said they'd address that later today and the presser was about the 4 rookies.

Only thing that seemed a little different to me was how much shine Stewart got compared to Hayes & Bey.

Maybe I wasn't paying full attention at all times? Anyone else watch it and got the vibe that Stewart was a much bigger "topic" than Hayes?

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- Stewart has a bigger personality and is a better interview so media people are going to instinctively target him with more questions to get better soundbites

- stewart was actually rated number 2 in his class just last year and has said he beats every other big in his class, and there was stuff he couldn't show in college, so he has developed a buzz of expectancy around himself

- Weaver himself said he had secret info on him that suggests he is way better than where he was ranked coming into the draft. Casey also expressed the exact same sentiments

- Weaver gave up a breakout stretch unicorn big man and drafted Stewart... that speaks very loud and clear that he thinks he doesn't need Wood (who had a breakout year with the Pistons) because Weaver thinks Stewart is going to be better/harder working/quicker feet than Wood. Thats the main reason Stewart is getting more attention.

So we'll see in 3 years if Weaver was right

[Piston Pete]

As a UM fan, I’m done with and put no stock into the hype machine.

Especially when I don’t see it in game tape.

Quit talking, let’s see it. If he’s the next big thing, “unicorn” type player that he’s being hyped up as, I doubt Washington would tell him to ‘tone it down’ and play less-than.

Until I see it, I’m not getting excited.

[Pharaoh]

Anyone else see that Emoni Bates might be reclassifying for 2021 draft? How’s that possible? It’s legit. Look it up. He’s mulling it. Said he’s going to play out this season and make a decision at the end..

If he ends up in the 2021 Class that just adds another stud at the top we could land

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[Pharaoh]

Weaver and Casey introduced the four draftees yesterday. Everyone was present (zoom) and spoke. One thing that became apparent listening to Weaver & Casey, is that rebuilding the culture was their focus over the last week, both in the draft and with the primary acquisitions of Plumlee & Grant. Lazarus Jackson surmised this in an article a couple days ago, https://www.detroitbadboys.com/2020/11/24/21591297/athleticism-over-assets-detroits-restoration-is-different-jerami-grant-killian-hayes-sekou-doumbouya, and he was right on. The RJ/Drummond era is over.

Watch on YouTube

Good article. Thanks for the share.

48 minute clip isn't all that great, nothing unusual in it tbh

The whole "hard working, high character, high bball IQ, competitive nature" stuff was rammed home throughout.

Pretty clear that's the organisation we're going to be or become now Gores has given up the playoff mandate.

One dude did ask about Wood & Weaver just said they'd address that later today and the presser was about the 4 rookies.

Only thing that seemed a little different to me was how much shine Stewart got compared to Hayes & Bey.

Maybe I wasn't paying full attention at all times? Anyone else watch it and got the vibe that Stewart was a much bigger "topic" than Hayes?

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

- Stewart has a bigger personality and is a better interview so media people are going to instinctively target him with more questions to get better soundbites

- stewart was actually rated number 2 in his class just last year and has said he beats every other big in his class, and there was stuff he couldn't show in college, so he has developed a buzz of expectancy around himself

- Weaver himself said he had secret info on him that suggests he is way better than where he was ranked coming into the draft. Casey also expressed the exact same sentiments

- Weaver gave up a breakout stretch unicorn big man and drafted Stewart... that speaks very loud and clear that he thinks he doesn't need Wood (who had a breakout year with the Pistons) because Weaver thinks Stewart is going to be better/harder working/quicker feet than Wood. Thats the main reason Stewart is getting more attention.

So we'll see in 3 years if Weaver was right

Or just maybe there was stuff off the floor or behind the scenes with Wood.

It's not Stewart v Wood for the Unicorn title! You've invented that on your own.

Considering we were on the same page prior to the Draft I'm surprised you in particular aren't happy with what Weaver has done!

You consistently mentioned wings were the key and now we've added Grant, Bey, Jackson and Musa...

Didn't realise all your hopes for the future depended on Wood

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[Pharaoh]

Do we KNOW Gores gave up the playoff mandate?

Assuming Plumlee, Griffin, Grant, Wright and Rose start this is the bench:

Okafor 24 years old
Stewart 19
Sekou 20
Bey 21
Musa 21
Svi 23
Jackson 23
Ellington 32
Hayes 19

Historically youth does not win in the NBA.

The make up & age of the roster suggests we're more likely to finish at the very bottom of the league than we are to make the playoffs!

We're not better than:

Boston
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Philly

Brooklyn gets KD this season so we'll see what happens there.

Indiana, Orlando and Washington are better than we are

Atlanta are obviously trying to make the playoffs.

Charlotte got better.

Chicago & New York should be better with their new coaches.

That leaves us & Cleveland...

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[Snakebites]

Do we KNOW Gores gave up the playoff mandate?

Assuming Plumlee, Griffin, Grant, Wright and Rose start this is the bench:

Okafor 24 years old
Stewart 19
Sekou 20
Bey 21
Musa 21
Svi 23
Jackson 23
Ellington 32
Hayes 19

Historically youth does not win in the NBA.

The make up & age of the roster suggests we're more likely to finish at the very bottom of the league than we are to make the playoffs!

We're not better than:

Boston
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Philly

Brooklyn gets KD this season so we'll see what happens there.

Indiana, Orlando and Washington are better than we are

Atlanta are obviously trying to make the playoffs.

Charlotte got better.

Chicago & New York should be better with their new coaches.

That leaves us & Cleveland...

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

You can certainly argue we aren’t SUCCESSFULLY building to complete, and be persuasive.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t an attempt. And what’s the value in the big contracts if we aren’t trying to compete? What do they get us, even in theory?

[Irate]

Anyone else see that Emoni Bates might be reclassifying for 2021 draft? How’s that possible? It’s legit. Look it up. He’s mulling it. Said he’s going to play out this season and make a decision at the end..

If he reclassifies to 2021 that means he graduates high school in 2021. He won't be eligible for the draft until 2022 unless they change the one and done rule.

Currently he is set to graduate high school in 2022 and be eligible for the NBA draft in 2023.

[Pharaoh]

Do we KNOW Gores gave up the playoff mandate?

Assuming Plumlee, Griffin, Grant, Wright and Rose start this is the bench:

Okafor 24 years old
Stewart 19
Sekou 20
Bey 21
Musa 21
Svi 23
Jackson 23
Ellington 32
Hayes 19

Historically youth does not win in the NBA.

The make up & age of the roster suggests we're more likely to finish at the very bottom of the league than we are to make the playoffs!

We're not better than:

Boston
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Philly

Brooklyn gets KD this season so we'll see what happens there.

Indiana, Orlando and Washington are better than we are

Atlanta are obviously trying to make the playoffs.

Charlotte got better.

Chicago & New York should be better with their new coaches.

That leaves us & Cleveland...

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

You can certainly argue we aren’t SUCCESSFULLY building to complete, and be persuasive.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t an attempt. And what’s the value in the big contracts if we aren’t trying to compete? What do they get us, even in theory?

Big contracts? We handed out 1 of those this off-season despite what people think of Plumlee's deal.

For his you can argue we paid the "Detroit tax" on that, getting a guy that from all reports is a "pro" in the Baynes mold.

His addition seems like a specfic choice from this FO.

The Grant deal is THE big one...and you can argue that it's a overpay for a high end role player when have zero need for because we don't have the pieces around him that will allow him to star in the role he should play.

OR not only is he betting on himself but this FO is betting on him being "more" than what he showed in Denver offensively.

They had Jokic and Murray in place and he was assigned a particular role and did star in it but is he capable of more?

We'll find out and worst case scenario he's a guy that can show Sekou, Bey, Musa and Jackson what they're capable of.

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[Pharaoh]

Given all we've seen, all these gymnastics with trades and what we're likely to end up with I just can't see us competing night after night against many teams, even with Blake and Rose being reasonably healthy.

We lack playmakers unless Hayes, Wright and Jackson are more ready than I believe them to be.

We lack shooters unless our guys surprise me.

We lack experience as a unit so on both ends there's likely to be a lot of issues despite Blake, Rose, Ellington & Plumlee being "pros".

Other than being younger, longer, more athletic and more "high character" we actually lack so much...

With a season like this, with so many games in rapid succession you'd have to imagine that continuity matters, where auto pilot takes over helps.

Our guys don't have that auto pilot mode to go to simply because it's a brand new team, stocked with kids who will be busy trying to find their footing and battling other kids for minutes

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[tmorgan]

Oh we’re gonna get curb stomped most nights. No way around it.

[Snakebites]

Assuming Plumlee, Griffin, Grant, Wright and Rose start this is the bench:

Okafor 24 years old
Stewart 19
Sekou 20
Bey 21
Musa 21
Svi 23
Jackson 23
Ellington 32
Hayes 19

Historically youth does not win in the NBA.

The make up & age of the roster suggests we're more likely to finish at the very bottom of the league than we are to make the playoffs!

We're not better than:

Boston
Miami
Milwaukee
Toronto
Philly

Brooklyn gets KD this season so we'll see what happens there.

Indiana, Orlando and Washington are better than we are

Atlanta are obviously trying to make the playoffs.

Charlotte got better.

Chicago & New York should be better with their new coaches.

That leaves us & Cleveland...

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

You can certainly argue we aren’t SUCCESSFULLY building to complete, and be persuasive.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t an attempt. And what’s the value in the big contracts if we aren’t trying to compete? What do they get us, even in theory?

Big contracts? We handed out 1 of those this off-season despite what people think of Plumlee's deal.

For his you can argue we paid the "Detroit tax" on that, getting a guy that from all reports is a "pro" in the Baynes mold.

His addition seems like a specfic choice from this FO.

The Grant deal is THE big one...and you can argue that it's a overpay for a high end role player when have zero need for because we don't have the pieces around him that will allow him to star in the role he should play.

OR not only is he betting on himself but this FO is betting on him being "more" than what he showed in Denver offensively.

They had Jokic and Murray in place and he was assigned a particular role and did star in it but is he capable of more?

We'll find out and worst case scenario he's a guy that can show Sekou, Bey, Musa and Jackson what they're capable of.

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

We could sit here and quibble about what constitutes a “big” contract, but I see nothing to be gained by doing so.

The fact is that, even if you like Grant and Plumlee, they are at best complementary role players with more value to contenders than to us (in stretching that with Mason), who together will be making nearly 90 million dollars over 3 years- which extends them beyond the length of Blake’s contract.

That is counterproductive to a rebuild and only makes sense in the context of trying to win games.

As for Grant showing Bey/Sekou the ropes- that would be fine if we weren’t committed to 20 mill per year for the rest of their respective rookie deals.

I was convinced we were finally taking a rebuild seriously after the draft. Our free agency decisions fly in the face of that notion, even if you don’t believe wins will come of it.

[Pharaoh]

You can certainly argue we aren’t SUCCESSFULLY building to complete, and be persuasive.

That doesn’t mean this isn’t an attempt. And what’s the value in the big contracts if we aren’t trying to compete? What do they get us, even in theory?

Big contracts? We handed out 1 of those this off-season despite what people think of Plumlee's deal.

For his you can argue we paid the "Detroit tax" on that, getting a guy that from all reports is a "pro" in the Baynes mold.

His addition seems like a specfic choice from this FO.

The Grant deal is THE big one...and you can argue that it's a overpay for a high end role player when have zero need for because we don't have the pieces around him that will allow him to star in the role he should play.

OR not only is he betting on himself but this FO is betting on him being "more" than what he showed in Denver offensively.

They had Jokic and Murray in place and he was assigned a particular role and did star in it but is he capable of more?

We'll find out and worst case scenario he's a guy that can show Sekou, Bey, Musa and Jackson what they're capable of.

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

We could sit here and quibble about what constitutes a “big” contract, but I see nothing to be gained by doing so.

The fact is that, even if you like Grant and Plumlee, they are at best complementary role players with more value to contenders than to us (in stretching that with Mason), who together will be making nearly 90 million dollars over 3 years- which extends them beyond the length of Blake’s contract.

That is counterproductive to a rebuild and only makes sense in the context of trying to win games.

As for Grant showing Bey/Sekou the ropes- that would be fine if we weren’t committed to 20 mill per year for the rest of their respective rookie deals.

I was convinced we were finally taking a rebuild seriously after the draft. Our free agency decisions fly in the face of that notion, even if you don’t believe wins will come of it.

Think Grant is a shot at someone that may or may not be a 3rd option.

Let's say Hayes and Sekou just blow up...we got the compliment on board!

Let's say we suck cause Blake & Rose can't stay healthy? Grant ain't winning games here on his own so we land a stud in the 2021 Draft then that kid, Hayes, Sekou & Grant become whatever they do.

I look at him as a complimentary piece we chose over Kennard tbh but I obviously view this off-season different to the majority.

I think we're tanking big time but not a full Hinkie "**** culture, **** attitude, **** work ethic" kinda thing.

I think we've deliberately gone for hard workers with some shots in the dark and eliminated the possibility of "win now" moves.

Capped out while the kids grow and learn? Cool! That stops Gores wanting another swing

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[Invictus88]

Big contracts? We handed out 1 of those this off-season despite what people think of Plumlee's deal.

For his you can argue we paid the "Detroit tax" on that, getting a guy that from all reports is a "pro" in the Baynes mold.

His addition seems like a specfic choice from this FO.

The Grant deal is THE big one...and you can argue that it's a overpay for a high end role player when have zero need for because we don't have the pieces around him that will allow him to star in the role he should play.

OR not only is he betting on himself but this FO is betting on him being "more" than what he showed in Denver offensively.

They had Jokic and Murray in place and he was assigned a particular role and did star in it but is he capable of more?

We'll find out and worst case scenario he's a guy that can show Sekou, Bey, Musa and Jackson what they're capable of.

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

We could sit here and quibble about what constitutes a “big” contract, but I see nothing to be gained by doing so.

The fact is that, even if you like Grant and Plumlee, they are at best complementary role players with more value to contenders than to us (in stretching that with Mason), who together will be making nearly 90 million dollars over 3 years- which extends them beyond the length of Blake’s contract.

That is counterproductive to a rebuild and only makes sense in the context of trying to win games.

As for Grant showing Bey/Sekou the ropes- that would be fine if we weren’t committed to 20 mill per year for the rest of their respective rookie deals.

I was convinced we were finally taking a rebuild seriously after the draft. Our free agency decisions fly in the face of that notion, even if you don’t believe wins will come of it.

Think Grant is a shot at someone that may or may not be a 3rd option.

Let's say Hayes and Sekou just blow up...we got the compliment on board!

Let's say we suck cause Blake & Rose can't stay healthy? Grant ain't winning games here on his own so we land a stud in the 2021 Draft then that kid, Hayes, Sekou & Grant become whatever they do.

I look at him as a complimentary piece we chose over Kennard tbh but I obviously view this off-season different to the majority.

I think we're tanking big time but not a full Hinkie "**** culture, **** attitude, **** work ethic" kinda thing.

I think we've deliberately gone for hard workers with some shots in the dark and eliminated the possibility of "win now" moves.

Capped out while the kids grow and learn? Cool! That stops Gores wanting another swing

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

You don't pay 20 million per for a complimentary 3rd piece unless pieces 1 and 2 are superstars and you are building a 'big three' type of scenario. We aren't even close to that.

Saying you are happy we are capped out so Gores doesn't make any more dumb moves is stupid. -- they just made two in signing Plumlee and Grant. Three if you count the trade/waive/stretch of Dedmon.

We could have just eaten a big contract with the cap space taken by all 3 of those moves and gained a first or two out of the deal. The player coming back wouldn't even have to be any good. That still would be WAY better off than the moves actually made.

[vic]

Good article. Thanks for the share.

48 minute clip isn't all that great, nothing unusual in it tbh

The whole "hard working, high character, high bball IQ, competitive nature" stuff was rammed home throughout.

Pretty clear that's the organisation we're going to be or become now Gores has given up the playoff mandate.

One dude did ask about Wood & Weaver just said they'd address that later today and the presser was about the 4 rookies.

Only thing that seemed a little different to me was how much shine Stewart got compared to Hayes & Bey.

Maybe I wasn't paying full attention at all times? Anyone else watch it and got the vibe that Stewart was a much bigger "topic" than Hayes?

Sent from my SM-A520F using RealGM mobile app

- Stewart has a bigger personality and is a better interview so media people are going to instinctively target him with more questions to get better soundbites

- stewart was actually rated number 2 in his class just last year and has said he beats every other big in his class, and there was stuff he couldn't show in college, so he has developed a buzz of expectancy around himself

- Weaver himself said he had secret info on him that suggests he is way better than where he was ranked coming into the draft. Casey also expressed the exact same sentiments

- Weaver gave up a breakout stretch unicorn big man and drafted Stewart... that speaks very loud and clear that he thinks he doesn't need Wood (who had a breakout year with the Pistons) because Weaver thinks Stewart is going to be better/harder working/quicker feet than Wood. Thats the main reason Stewart is getting more attention.

So we'll see in 3 years if Weaver was right

Or just maybe there was stuff off the floor or behind the scenes with Wood.

It's not Stewart v Wood for the Unicorn title! You've invented that on your own.

Considering we were on the same page prior to the Draft I'm surprised you in particular aren't happy with what Weaver has done!

You consistently mentioned wings were the key and now we've added Grant, Bey, Jackson and Musa...

Didn't realise all your hopes for the future depended on Wood

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You're imagining I said lots of things I never said.

- I never said I hated all Troy's moves. I just don't like that he didn't keep Wood.
- I love the extra picks, the Bey pick, the Killian pick, the Stewart pick, the Saben pick, the emphasis on skill, toughness, defense, iq
- love bringing Josh home, and i like Grant as a complementary 3& D Forward
- all I did was answer your question on why Stewart was getting more attention.
- those are my answers to your question.

It's logical if you listen to the details of what they said that they think Stewart is more their type of big than Wood, and that made Wood expendable.

Im not saying i agree with them. Whether that's true or not, time will tell.

As for the hype on Stewart, we'll see. Looking at His HS vids, he looks promising. Plus looking how he did vs Onyeka, etc, he looks promising. His jumpshot and ft% looks promising.

A general rule of thumb for scouting is that the high school playing "style" of a prospect is more similar to their nba playing "style".

Because the NBA floor has more space and more free flowing offense than NCAA coaches tend to allow.

So if you want to see the true "style" that a player has, look at their Hs games. It doesn't mean they will have the same production at the nba level, it just shows the style they are most comfortable playing.

Even AD, Tyler Herro, Devin Booker didn't do half the stuff in the NCAA that they do now in the NBA. But you would have seen their true style of play in their HS games.

[440BB]

My impression from the press conference is that Weaver and Casey are on the same page on how to go about this rebuild. They'll be evaluating and turning over players and assets to build a foundation that should be established by the end of year two. One thing for sure, they're likely to confuse and frustrate some of us. It's almost like a 72 game tryout for the youngsters this season. I like the overall direction and "tanking" 2020 style, with the new lottery rules, looks more likely to succeed with good veteran leadership.

[NYPiston]

Maybe it's just me but Weaver is a horrible speaker. A million "uhhs", he sounds nervous and not that articulate. If we played a drinking game taking a shot everytime he said "uh", we'd be dead in 5 minutes. Just listen to Casey in comparison, far better in that regard.
It doesn't mean he'll be a bad GM, I mean Belichick is a horrible speaker as well, but his pressers are hard to listen to IMO.

[BJK1]

Maybe it's just me but Weaver is a horrible speaker. A million "uhhs", he sounds nervous and not that articulate. If we played a drinking game taking a shot everytime he said "uh", we'd be dead in 5 minutes.
It doesn't mean he'll be a bad GM, I mean Belichick is a horrible speaker as well, but his pressers are hard to listen to IMO.

Yeah, I agree. The “uhhs” are really annoying. Some people aren’t the most gifted public speakers, but they know of what they (try to) speak. I hope Weaver is one of those people.

[mattao313]

Maybe it's just me but Weaver is a horrible speaker. A million "uhhs", he sounds nervous and not that articulate. If we played a drinking game taking a shot everytime he said "uh", we'd be dead in 5 minutes.
It doesn't mean he'll be a bad GM, I mean Belichick is a horrible speaker as well, but his pressers are hard to listen to IMO.

Yeah, I agree. The “uhhs” are really annoying. Some people aren’t the most gifted public speakers, but they know of what they (try to) speak. I hope Weaver is one of those people.

lol I noticed it too but I have no room to talk Im horrible talking in front of a crowd. I used to skip speech class in HS ahh the memories.

[The Moose]

Maybe it's just me but Weaver is a horrible speaker. A million "uhhs", he sounds nervous and not that articulate. If we played a drinking game taking a shot everytime he said "uh", we'd be dead in 5 minutes. Just listen to Casey in comparison, far better in that regard.
It doesn't mean he'll be a bad GM, I mean Belichick is a horrible speaker as well, but his pressers are hard to listen to IMO.

100% agree, he is quite an awful speaker and I find his voice irritating, mind you neither really have a lot to with his job.

[NYPiston]

Yeah, I agree. The “uhhs” are really annoying. Some people aren’t the most gifted public speakers, but they know of what they (try to) speak. I hope Weaver is one of those people.

Yeah, I'm trying to talk myself into believing the theory that bad public speakers in the sports world don't equate to being bad at their job but man, his pressers don't inspire a lot of confidence haha.
Then again, SVG was a really good speaker and we saw how that went.