Detroit Pistons

If the Detroit Pistons try to shop Blake Griffin in a trade this offseason, the potential return they might receive isn't likely to be significant.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on the most recent episode of The Lowe Post podcast (h/t HoopsHype.com) that the Pistons could have a market for Griffin, but added he doesn't "think it's gonna be strong."

Detroit acquired Griffin from the Los Angeles Clippers in January 2018 and had arguably the best year of his career in his first full season with the team. The Oklahoma alum averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists and shot 36.2 percent from three-point range in 75 games in 2018-19. 

Griffin's value would seem to be at its lowest point after injuries limited the six-time All-Star to 18 games last season. 

After Detroit's first-round playoff loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in April 2019, Griffin had an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee that kept him out for the first 10 games of the 2019-20 season. 

When Griffin was able to play, he looked like a diminished version of his former self. The 31-year-old averaged a career-low 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He only made 35.2 percent of his field goal attempts. 

Griffin is owed $36.6 million next season and has a $38.96 million player option for 2021-22.

The Pistons have the potential to enter a full-scale rebuild this offseason with nearly $59 million in salary coming off the books. Griffin, Derrick Rose and Tony Snell, who has a $12.2 million player option, will be their three highest-paid players. 

Detroit currently owns the No. 7 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft after going 20-46 in 2019-20. The franchise has finished with a record over .500 once since the 2008-09 season. 

Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey addressed the dwindling number of Black head coaches in the NBA on Friday.

According to ESPN's Eric Woodyard, Casey called the number of Black head coaches in the NBA "cyclical" and added that the current low number is "bad luck of the draw."

Pistons’ Dwane Casey called the dwindling number of black coaches in NBA “cyclical.” The black coaches are Casey, Doc Rivers (Sixers), Monty Williams (Suns), JB Bickerstaff (Cavs), Lloyd Pierce (Hawks), but Casey feels “it’s the bad luck of the draw more than anything else.” pic.twitter.com/t9Kan8dxSa

— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) October 2, 2020

The 63-year-old is currently one of only five Black NBA head coaches along with Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers, Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns, J.B. Bickerstaff of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lloyd Pierce of the Atlanta Hawks.

The number of Black NBA head coaches was down to four for a few days after Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers mutually parted ways Monday, but he soon caught on with a new team and signed a five-year deal to be the Philadelphia 76ers head coach on Thursday.

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, David Fizdale, Nate McMillan and Alvin Gentry were fired by the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and the New Orleans Pelicans, respectively. Jacque Vaughn took over as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets midseason, but Brooklyn hired Steve Nash as its new head coach.

There are currently five teams in need of a new head coach, and at least one of them is expected to hire a Black candidate in Tyronn Lue. The Clippers assistant is believed to be in the running for the Clippers and Pelicans openings.

Of the five current Black coaches in the league, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that four of them could be fired by the end of next season if their teams don't make the playoffs. Casey, Williams, Bickerstaff and Pierce could all conceivably be on the hot seat.

When it comes to raising the number of Black head coaches in the NBA, Casey stressed the importance of hiring Black assistants and grooming them to eventually assume head coaching roles. He also said he believes the NBA is doing a "good job of interviewing" Black candidates.

Casey added: "I just hope we don't go back to not hiring people on their merits versus people that people are familiar with."

Like many sports leagues, a lot of the same coaches seem to get recycled in the NBA. There are a number of highly touted Black assistants who have been getting interviews in recent years, but landing head coaching jobs has proved difficult.

Wes Unseld Jr. of the Denver Nuggets, Charles Lee and Darvin Ham of the Milwaukee Bucks, Adrian Griffin of the Toronto Raptors, Jarron Collins of the Golden State Warriors, Jamahl Mosley of the Dallas Mavericks and Ime Udoka of the San Antonio Spurs are among the Black assistants who could get looks as head coaches in the coming years.

As the Detroit Pistons embark on a full-scale roster rebuild, Blake Griffin is ready to play a role in the franchise's future. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Griffin said he looks "for the team to be competitive," but he's told the coaching staff and front office, "I'm here to do whatever they ask of me."

The Pistons will rely heavily on Griffin next season, but the six-time All-Star has to prove he can stay healthy, as he'll be coming off an injury-plagued 2019-20 campaign. 

After sitting out the first 10 games following knee surgery in April 2019, Griffin appeared in 18 of the next 23 games for Detroit. He had an arthroscopic knee debridement on that same knee Jan. 7 and missed the rest of the season. 

Detroit's acquisition of Griffin in January 2018 did help the franchise make the postseason last year for just the second time since 2008-09, but the Milwaukee Bucks swept them in the first round. Their .303 winning percentage this season was the sixth-worst in franchise history. 

Griffin struggled to regain his form in the 18 games he played. The 31-year-old set career lows with 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest and a 35.2 shooting percentage. He is owed $36.6 million next season and has a $38.96 million player option for 2021-22, per Spotrac.

The Detroit Pistons went 20-46 this season as one of the most disappointing teams in the league. 

Maybe it won't hurt to give a 35-year-old rapper a tryout.

On Monday, the Pistons tweeted J. Cole should "hit us up for that tryout":

.@JColeNC we see you out here. You said they only got 12 slots on the Pistons.

Hit us up for that tryout. This is for all the dreamers @bleacherreport #Dreamville https://t.co/6K24xaI28b pic.twitter.com/GYuG5LvqDE

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) August 4, 2020

The tweet comes after Master P told TMZ Sports that J. Cole is training to be an NBA player and is serious about the pursuit. As Mitchell Peters of Billboard noted, Master P signed contracts with the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors in the 1990s and knows what it takes to reach such a level much better than most in the music business. 

Master P and J. Cole also combined for a Puma commercial recently that seems to suggest the latter is looking to make the NBA:

ALWAYS DREAMIN. NEVER SLEEPIN. @JColeNC KNOWS. NEW DROP TOMORROW pic.twitter.com/sFhixba2l8

— PUMA Basketball (@PUMAHoops) July 30, 2020

J. Cole even wrote an essay for The Players' Tribune explaining that he gave up an opportunity to play for St. John's to become a rap star.

The Pistons might give him a chance to follow his basketball dreams once again.

The Detroit Pistons announced Wednesday they've completed the purchase of the Northern Arizona Suns, the G League affiliate of the Phoenix Suns, and will relocate the organization to Detroit.

Play for the rebranded team is scheduled to begin during the 2021-22 G League season.

OFFICIAL: The @NBAGLeague is coming to Detroit!

The #Pistons are purchasing the Northern Arizona Suns from the Phoenix Suns and the rebranded team is expected to play in a new arena currently being constructed on the campus of @waynestate beginning in the 2021-22 season. pic.twitter.com/diXx8nTwzt

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) July 29, 2020

The formal announcement confirmed the squad will play its home games at the new arena being constructed at Wayne State University.

"This is another important investment in our franchise and in the city of Detroit," Pistons owner Tom Gores said. "Having an NBA G League team near our new performance center will be an advantage for our front office, our coaching staff and our young players. It will also generate more economic activity in the area and serve as a catalyst for additional development."

Detroit currently utilizes the Grand Rapids Drive, which is owned by SSJ Group, as its G League affiliate. The announcement confirmed that relationship will continue for the 2020-21 campaign.

"I'm excited to welcome Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons as NBA G League owners," G League president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "It's always bittersweet for a team to relocate, and I thank Robert Sarver and the Phoenix Suns for their time in this league and the fans in Northern Arizona for their ongoing commitment to the team. I'm sure the fans in Detroit will welcome the team with open arms and I look forward to watching NBA G League basketball at Wayne State for seasons to come."

The G League features 28 teams. It's scheduled to add an expansion franchise, the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico, beginning with the 2020-21 season.

Earlier this year, it announced the creation of a "professional path" program to give top prospects the option of jumping right to pro basketball out of high school during the one-year period before they can declare for the NBA draft.

The Drive have been associated with the Pistons since 2014.

The Palace of Auburn Hills, longtime home of the Detroit Pistons, was imploded on Saturday. 

Watch: The Palace of Auburn Hills imposion

The former home of the Pistons stands no more pic.twitter.com/aWuaKkEBqG

— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) July 11, 2020

Located in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the arena opened its doors for the first time in August 1988 for a Sting concert.

The Pistons hosted their first regular-season game at the Palace on Nov. 5, 1988, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 94-85. They went on to win the first of two straight NBA championships that season. 

It was also the scene of the infamous "Malice at the Palace," which resulted in criminal charges against five Indiana Pacers players after a brawl between them and Pistons players saw members of the Pacers enter the stands to fight with spectators. Five fans were also charged with assault and battery.

After the Pistons moved into the Little Caesars Arena before the 2017-18 season, the Palace closed its doors for good in October 2017. 

In addition to the Pistons, the arena also served as the home to several professional sports teams in Detroit, including the WNBA's Detroit Shock (1998-09) and Arena Football League's Detroit Fury (2001-04).

Too fragile to buy high. Too good to sell low. And at this point, probably too late to do either.

That's the predicament the Detroit Pistons find themselves in with 2010-11 NBA MVP Derrick Rose, who in his career has gone from franchise cornerstone to injury-plagued afterthought to All-Star contender in the last two seasons by simply proving he still could make an impact.

"He reappeared and did it in a really good way," one rival team president said. As in, his return to stardom occurred on non-marquee teams (Timberwolves, Pistons) in smaller markets (Minneapolis, Detroit), and rather than grouse about being disrespected or having to prove himself on a basketball court all over again, he expressed profound gratitude for the chance to show he was still an NBA-caliber point guard. So much so that the Pistons felt they could acquire a first-round pick for Rose only to be rebuffed at the trade deadline this season.

Neither his attitude nor accomplishment, though, makes the job of the Pistons' new general manager, Troy Weaver, any easier. Or that of head coach Dwane Casey. Rose certainly demonstrated at times over the last two seasons that he can be as effective as he was in leading the Chicago Bulls to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons, including all the way to the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals.

That Rose seemed practically indestructible, missing only six of 246 regular-season games while averaging 37.1 minutes per game and upping that to 41.9 minutes in the playoffs. They were particularly demanding minutes as well, what without another All-Star playmaker on the roster.

To be sure, this Rose is no longer that Rose. While last season he had his first career 50-point performance for the Minnesota Timberwolves to beat the Utah Jazz, he also had four games in which he played 16 minutes or fewer and then wasn't available the next game. Overall, he appeared in 51 of 82 games.

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30 teams, 30 days: The biggest story from each NBA team ahead of the league's return.

Atl | Bos | Bkn | Cha | Chi | Cle
Dal | Den | Det | GS | Hou | Ind
LAC | LAL | Mem | Mia | Mil | Min
NO | NY | OKC | Orl | Phi | Pho
Por | Sac | SA | Tor | Uta | Was

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This year was only slightly better durability-wise. His usage percentage—an estimate of how many Pistons plays involved him when he was on the floor—mirrored LeBron James' with the Lakers this season (31.6). He led Detroit in both points (18.1) and assists (5.6) while shooting a career-high 49 percent from the field despite averaging a modest 26 minutes, good enough to inspire talk of All-Star recognition after an eight-year hiatus and Sixth Man of the Year consideration. But whereas LeBron played 60 of the Lakers' 63 games, Rose appeared in 50 of the Pistons' 66.

"You can't fall into thinking he can still play 36 minutes a night 75 nights a year," a Western Conference executive said. "Those days are over."

That he has recaptured any semblance of his former self is a revelation. No league MVP has ever been subsequently discarded more times. Then again, no league MVP, other than Bill Walton, has suffered a similar run of injuries in his prime, either.

Over his eight-year career with the Bulls, Rose missed 257 games, including a span of four seasons in which he missed 220, largely because of a torn ACL in his left knee and torn cartilage (twice) in his right knee. Reluctant to build around him after his slew of injuries, the Bulls, his hometown team, traded him to the New York Knicks in June 2016. The Knicks let his contract run out and did not re-sign him after one season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers signed him to a minimum deal the next season, only to trade him seven months later to the Jazz, who summarily waived him. The rest of the league took a collective pass on him for nearly a month before his former coach, Tom Thibodeau, enlisted him for the last few weeks of the 2017-18 season to help drag the Timberwolves to their only playoff appearance in the last 16 seasons.

"The biggest blessing I ever had was going to New York," Rose said in the fall on a podcast with me. "Going to New York, I figured out a way to be the third option and play a totally different way. It showed me I didn't have to be the first or second option. ... It helped me play with a little bit more poise. It helped me figure out to be more efficient ... and find out ways to affect the game by not only just scoring."

His injury history wasn't the only reason teams steered clear of signing him. In 2015, a woman filed a civil lawsuit accusing Rose and two of his friends of raping her while she was intoxicated in 2013. A jury deemed the allegation not credible, but further questions were raised during the trial when Rose admitted he didn't know the meaning of consent.

Then there were his curious disappearances from both the Knicks and Cavs as he struggled to recapture his love for the game and adjust to a far more limited role, a crisis of confidence that had him contemplating quitting.

"It has something to do with me, for sure," he said on the podcast of his month as a basketball outcast. "I left New York; I didn't tell anyone. I'm man enough to ... accept that."

He stopped viewing himself as a former MVP and three-time All-Star in Minnesota and stopped worrying about reclaiming that status. He also read up on how mental stress is related to physical health.

"I said from now on, just be a professional about whatever situation I'm in," Rose said. "... I had to put all those accolades in the past and just start over. I know I won't be the last Derrick Rose, with all the injuries and whatever. So I could be the example for the next guy that's going through something ... or the next kid. ... If I can get through it, I believe anybody can get through it."

Thibodeau was dismissed by the Timberwolves midway through the following season, and the team failed to make it two postseason appearances in a row, but Rose's 50-point game, career-high three-point shooting percentage (37) and willingness to play behind a far less accomplished point guard (Jeff Teague) prompted the league to reset its view on him.

Instead of the focus being on what he no longer was, it shifted to what he still could be. He was no longer the humble kid fearlessly stepping into Michael Jordan's shoes, determined to lead his hometown Bulls back to glory. But while the mission had to be revised and the signature explosive drives rationed, the fearlessness and humility remained.

"I look at him like Lou Williams, an explosive scorer off the bench," the Western Conference executive said. "Or Dennis Schroder, a monster in a three-guard lineup."

The Pistons saw him the same way when they signed him last summer to a two-year, $15 million deal. They were hoping that a combination of power forward Blake Griffin, center Andre Drummond, small forward Markieff Morris, combo guard Reggie Jackson and Rose would be good enough to secure a second straight trip to the playoffs and possibly even lead to winning a postseason series.

"A lot of people didn't understand my decision with coming to Detroit," he said on the podcast. "... I see something with the team that nobody else sees with us being in the East."

Those plans were crushed by knee issues that limited All-Star Griffin to 18 games and prompted season-ending surgery in January. The Pistons pivoted and dealt Drummond to the Cavs, waived Jackson and bought out Morris. They also explored trading Rose, league sources say, hoping to pluck a first-round pick from a team looking to bolster its playoff chances by adding Rose, as the Timberwolves once did.

The Lakers were supposedly interested, several league sources said, but salary-cap rules prevented them from trading this year's first-round pick because they dealt their 2021 pick to New Orleans, in part, to acquire Anthony Davis.

They weren't alone in their interest, but according to an Eastern Conference GM, those teams were trying to get him on the cheap. "You had people calling for him, but when it came to paying..."

Apparently no team was willing to pay, at least not enough to satisfy the Pistons.

The rival team president, who was not in the market for a point guard at the time, expressed surprise at that. "I thought he would have more value," he said. "He can't defend at a high level, but he can score with the best of them." Indeed, his ability to make big plays in big moments remains intact—he had several game-winning shots this season, including a game-winner against New Orleans that completed a 17-point fourth quarter for Rose.

In hindsight, the Pistons, the Western Conference executive said, should've taken whatever they could have gotten. Whether it was simply getting a younger quality player or a couple of second-round picks, adding to their relatively limited trove of rebuilding resources would've been the smart play. Detroit has its own first-round picks for the foreseeable future, but the Pistons don't have a 2020 second-round pick. Their only second-round pick in 2021 is from the Lakers. They also have the lesser second-round pick between Golden State's and Cleveland's in 2023, acquired in the Drummond deal. They don't have the rights to their own second-round pick until 2024.

"The ask was too great," the Western Conference executive said. "They totally mishandled that. It was the perfect time to move him. He was the ultimate rental at the trade deadline. You could keep him fresh for the playoffs and still have him next year on a very cap-friendly deal. He would've made a first-round playoff team into a second-round team, and he would've put the Lakers or the Clippers over the top."

Even if the Pistons had found a deal to their liking, it may not have been easy to pull off given Rose's longstanding relationship with Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, who previously was the vice chairman of Wasserman Media Group, which represents Rose. BJ Armstrong, Rose's agent, worked with Tellem at WMG and was a Tellem client during his playing days.

Point being: Ed Stefanski, a senior adviser to Pistons owner Tom Gores who handled the GM duties until Weaver's hiring last month, undoubtedly did not have clearance to trade Rose without Tellem's—and perhaps even Rose's—OK.

Preserving the relationship, however, left the Pistons without the goods to do much else. "They don't have any [other] assets," the Western Conference executive said. "Derrick is the only thing that gets you something."

The Pistons do have the fifth-worst record this season, which gives them a shot at a top pick in the draft. They were also projected to have $30 million in salary-cap room, though the financial impact of the coronavirus shutdown could change that.

Considering Rose's popularity and the uncertainty surrounding Griffin's health, one Eastern Conference GM would understand if Weaver opted to keep Rose rather than sell him for whatever he can get. Rose turns 32 in October.

"Can he be 35-minute-a-night Derrick Rose?" the GM asked. "No. But can he be Derrick Rose at 25-27 minutes a night for two, three more seasons? He's older, but in a way he's not older because he missed so much time. That's years of wear and tear he didn't put on his body."

That Rose chose to be in Detroit is another consideration. Most NBA veterans with options are looking to live in locales with better weather and more robust social and business scenes than the Motor City. But Rose feels a connection with Detroit.

"It's a gritty city. It's kind of like how I play and what I represent—the struggle—and I can just relate," he said on the podcast.

Don't underestimate the value of that for selling tickets, the Eastern Conference GM said. The Pistons have a new downtown arena to fill, and convincing their more affluent fans, who live closer to their old arena in Auburn Hills, to make the trek requires a drawing card.

"He fits the market," the GM said. "People in Detroit identify with him. It just depends on what you put around him. It's worth the gamble."

   

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @RicBucher.

Bucher hosts the podcast Bucher & Friends with NFL veteran Will Blackmon and former NBA center Ryan Hollins, available on iTunes.

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Two-time NBA champion and Inside The NBA on TNT co-host, Kenny "The Jet" Smith joins The Full 48 with Howard Beck to discuss the NBA restart, the bubble, which teams are likely contenders for the title and Kenny's early playing days with the Sacramento Kings.

While all eyes are on the upcoming NBA season restart at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida on July 30, many players and teams are already looking to free agency and next season.

Gerald Green is one of those people.

Denver waived Green after he was traded to the team by Houston in February. The veteran swingman didn't play at all in the 2019-20 season, after suffering what was believed to be a season-ending foot injury in the preseason.

Since then, the free agent has received medical clearance to play and drew interest from multiple teams, according to the New York Time's Marc Stein:

One free agent who drew interest from multiple teams before the NBA's transaction window shut June 30, league sources say, was veteran swingman Gerald Green

Sources say Green elected not to play in the Fla. restart for family reasons, among them an expected childbirth in August

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 6, 2020

A team that seems to be a likely landing spot for the veteran in free agency come October is the Rockets.

Green—a Houston native—averaged 10.3 points for his hometown team from 2017-19. He played valuable minutes off the bench (21.1), shooting 36 percent from beyond the arch and 40.3 percent from the field, generally.

While some people thought there was a chance Green could return to Houston to play in the rest, NBA rules don't allow Green to "return to the team that traded him until the next league year," according to Rockets Wire.

Daryl Morey on Reddit: "Sadly we cannot sign Gerald [Green] back by NBA rule" #Rockets https://t.co/rC7DS7bP4v pic.twitter.com/cB1JhiSBXN

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) June 19, 2020

Before the NBA's transaction window closed on June 30, the wing shooter had interest from more than just one team. The Athletic's John Hollinger reported that other "wing-needy" teams that could benefit from adding Green would be Oklahoma City, Indiana, and Utah.

However, we'll have to wait a while longer for Green's return to basketball. Stein noted that sources told him that "Green elected not to play in the Fla. restart for family reasons." So, we'll see where the loyal Houstonian ends up when October rolls around.

Like Green, Detroit is also more focused on the future.

Despite not being one of the 22 teams selected to finish the NBA regular season, the team may be able to still practice this summer, as the league is interested in creating a second "bubble" for the eight teams not invited to Orlando.

Even if that does come to fruition, the Pistons are directing their attention to their future and reshaping their front office.

This began on Sunday, when ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that assistant general manager Pat Garrity would no longer be with Detroit:

Detroit Pistons assistant GM Pat Garrity will be departing the organization, sources tell ESPN. His contract was expiring and new GM Troy Weaver is starting to reshape the front office.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 5, 2020

Garrity's exit follows the departure of Detroit's other assistant GM, Malik Rose, last month.

General manager Troy Weaver will now have a clean slate to build the front office however he'd like. The 12-year front office veteran out of Oklahoma City signed a four-year deal with the Pistons in June, after being blocked from pursuing him back in 2018.

"You know I have been campaigning for Troy Weaver for the longest," ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "Troy Weaver has one of the best eyes for talents in the NBA. This time is way overdue for him. Detroit has struck gold with this one."

The Pistons could hire "up to two assistant GMs to work under Weaver, league sources told the Free Press. Additionally, the paper reports that the Grizzlies' Tayshaun Prince is a candidate to join Detroit's front office.

The following few months will be an exciting time for the league, as the shortened regular season is followed by the playoffs, which is immediately followed by the beginning of free agency. It will be really interesting to see how teams, such as the Pistons and the Rockets, proceed.

   

Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference. 

The Detroit Pistons are hiring David Mincberg to be an assistant general manager, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Mincberg has worked as the Milwaukee Bucks' director of basketball strategy, joining the organization ahead of the 2017-18 NBA season.

Mincberg will work under Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, who joined the organization in June after spending 12 seasons in the Oklahoma City Thunder front office. According to the Detroit Free Press' Omari Sankofa II, the team is planning for "at least" two more additions to its front office.

Before taking a role with the Bucks, Mincberg was the Memphis Grizzlies' director of scouting for five years.

When the Grizzlies fired CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash in May 2014, USA Today's Sam Amick noted Mincberg was the Grizzlies' lead attorney and that he had "been pushing for an increased role for quite some time and appears to have won this front-office war."

Weaver and Mincberg are inheriting what looks to be a long-term rebuild. The Pistons finished the 2019-20 season with the third-worst record (20-46) in the Eastern Conference, and they have little in the way of franchise cornerstones.

Blake Griffin will also make $36.6 million in 2020-21 and has a $39 million player option for the following season.

It could be a few years before Weaver and Mincberg's work yields tangible progress.

Detroit Pistons assistant general manager Pat Garrity is leaving the team, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Per that report, Garrity's "contract was expiring and new general manager Troy Weaver is starting to reshape the front office."

Garrity, 43, spent 10 seasons in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic, averaging 7.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. After his career ended following the 2007-08 season he transitioned into the business world, working for a Connecticut hedge fund.

His former coach in Orlando, Stan Van Gundy, brought him into the fold with the Pistons in 2014 as the team's director of strategic planning. He was then promoted to associate general manager and by 2016 had been promoted to assistant general manager under Van Gundy.

But with Weaver hired in June after serving as the vice president and assistant general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder (2008-2017) and vice president of basketball operations (2017-2020), a front-office shake-up was always likely.

"It's an honor for me to join a franchise with the history and tradition of the Detroit Pistons," he said in June, per NBA.com. "I'm excited for the challenge of building this team into a consistent winner and assembling the pieces to compete at a very high level. We'll get to work right away, evaluating opportunities and installing systems that will make us all successful."

Weaver will have his work cut out for him. The Pistons have made the postseason just twice in the past 11 years and aren't one of the 22 teams participating in the NBA's restart in late July.