At media day, general manager Troy Weaver identified outside shooting and defense as two areas the Detroit Pistons should improve , and the team brought a familiar face to the Pistons Performance Center to help with the latter.
Newly christened Basketball Hall of Famer Ben Wallace will assist the Pistons through training camp, Dwane Casey said as camp opened Tuesday. His primary responsibility will be working with the big men on their post defense, but he also will be involved in scouting.
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After the team concluded practice, Wallace was in Isaiah Stewart’s ear offering guidance.
“Huge, huge,” Casey said of having Wallace around. “Just showing them tricks of the trade, post defense. Ben is going to be with us this week in training camp working with our big guys with post defense and showing them the tricks of the trade there. Just to have Ben around and have him as an example for Isaiah and Luka (Garza) and Kelly (Olynyk) is so important just because of his experience and what he’s done and what he means to this franchise.”
There are few people more qualified to teach post defense than Wallace, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year Award winner. Despite being an undersized center, Wallace’s defense was integral to the Pistons’ 2004 championship. His play on that end of the floor was the primary reason why he became the first undrafted player to make the Hall of Fame earlier this month.
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Wallace’s unofficial coaching role with the Pistons this week comes three months after he stated he’s interested in coaching full-time. He addressed the media at the Pistons’ practice facility June 22, about an hour before the NBA draft lottery.
Wallace represented the Pistons during the televised ceremony, and didn’t bring a good luck charm. He was the good luck charm, he said. It worked out well for Detroit, as they won the No. 1 pick.
Stewart was one of several Pistons players present at Wallace’s Hall of Fame speech. Some have drawn comparisons between the two players. Like Wallace, Stewart plays bigger than his size and takes pride in being an enforcer on the floor. Though they were previously acquainted, Tuesday was the first time Stewart had an extended conversation with Wallace.
He’s looking forward to having more of them.
“Today was probably the most I ever talked to Ben,” Stewart said. “I took advantage of the time and asked him as many questions as I can. But hearing that he’s going to be around more, he’s definitely going to be a guy who I’ll be picking his brain every day. Hopefully he doesn’t get tired of that.”
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Dwane Casey coy on starting lineup
Unlike last year, the Pistons have a familiar roster on the first day of camp. Of the 15 players on the main squad, 10 are returning players.
It gives us a good idea of who could start when the season opens Oct. 20. Jerami Grant started every game he played in last season and is Detroit’s best overall player. Saddiq Bey is one of the best shooters on the team and is the only other player on the roster to start more than 50 games last season.
But Casey isn’t setting anything into stone yet. The Pistons have several position battles that have to play out, and two-thirds of the roster is 23 years old or younger.
“It’s too early,” Casey said. “We have an idea, but I don’t want to make that public yet. It’s one of those things where, let’s have at least a couple days of competition before we start penciling in rotations and all that. We’re going to go through camp, and we’ll play with some different lineups with guys playing with each other and understand spacing in certain situations and different positions.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. The Free Press has started a new digital subscription model. Here’s how you can gain access to our most exclusive Pistons content.