Detroit Pistons open training camp with something not felt in a long time: Anticipation

Can you feel it? Good. Because it’s out there. It’s been a while, too.

So long that it’s hard to remember the sensation. The Detroit Pistons are opening their training camp. And bunches of you can’t wait.

I don’t blame you. Neither can I.

Not just for the storylines and the incoming No. 1 pick, but for the second year of the Troy Weaver rebuilding project.

Wait, that word isn’t quite right. Nor is retooling or tweaking or refortifying.

No, Weaver has another word in mind for the job of lifting this franchise from the cellar:

Restore.

Which makes sense if you consider the modern history of the NBA. Aside from the glamour markets on the coasts — sorry, Portland — the list of franchises wedged deep into the back eddy of NBA fandom is short:

Chicago and (maybe) San Antonio — the Bulls because of Michael Jordan, the Spurs because of winning?

That’s it.

Except, of course, for your Pistons. Take a trip outside this state and that logo still resonates, mostly because of the Bad Boys, but also because of the Goin’ to Work crew.

Those teams won three titles between them, though they did more than just win: they won with an identity, and when Weaver talks about “restoring” this franchise, this is what he means.

So, it’s no surprise that the team’s general manager said “defense and energy and effort” when asked what he wanted to see most from this year’s squad.

“Defense has to be the way to step it up,” he said Monday during the team’s news conference to kick off the NBA’s media day.

Weaver is intent on building this franchise back in its own image. He got off to a quick start a year ago, finding two gems in Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart and a potential third in Killian Hayes in the draft, and trading for Jerami Grant.

This year’s draft looks as promising, if not more, with No. 1 pick, Cade Cunningham, and second-round pick Luka Garza. If Isaiah Livers, another second round pick, also finds a role, well, when was the last time a GM knocked consecutive drafts out of the park?

When the Pistons open their season later this month, they will do so without a single player from the previous regime. (Sekou Doumbouya was the last and he was traded this summer.)

Weaver didn’t intend to flip the entire roster so quickly. He did, however, intend to upend the culture and find certain kinds of players.

The beginning of that change was easy to spot last season. From Grant’s emergence as a leading man to Bey and Stewart’s two-way hustle, the team became compelling nearly overnight, even though they didn’t win.

Weaver admitted the progress this season will be judged by development and habits more than the scoreboard, at least internally. Which is an admission that the Eastern Conference is deep and the teams that made the playoffs a season ago are just as good or got better.

For this season, that should be enough, mostly because there will be a handful of interesting storylines:

Can Cunningham and Hayes become one of the better defensive backcourts in the league?

Can Grant take another leap from role player to leading man?

Can Bey become a secondary playmaker?

Can Stewart expand his offensive repertoire?

Can Kelly Olynyk space the floor and open up more driving lanes for Grant, Cunningham and Hayes?

Can Hayes finish? And improve his deep-range shooting? And play with consistent confidence?

There are other questions, of course, notably whether Cunningham will show flashes of future stardom?

In a way, this winter will resemble this summer, when the Detroit Tigers rolled off three straight months of winning baseball and re-awakened one of the grand old baseball towns. The difference is that the Tigers shook off a horrific start and surprised us; few expected much last spring.

The Pistons, meanwhile, begin training camp with a bit more expectation. Not to make the playoffs, necessarily, but to win a few more of the close games they lost last season and to continue marking the lines of their identity.

This team earned attention last year because of the way it competed and because of its move to all that youth. Josh Jackson, another sneaky find by Weaver, joked Monday about being one of the old guys at 24.

But as head coach Dwane Casey noted, there will be nights when some of the youngsters look like stars and nights when they look like teenagers.

Or near teenagers.

Because they are.

Still, the returning youngsters showed promise and the incoming youngsters suggest promise. And while the lack of experience will lead to frustrating nights, it will lead to hopeful nights, too.

It’s hard to remember the last time an NBA season began around here with something close to anticipation. Not just because of Cunningham, but because of what Weaver — and Casey — are doing.

The Pistons have a plan. More important, they are offering a touch of hope.

As Casey said:

“There’s no reason to put limits on how high we can go.”

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.

This article was originally published by Freep.com. Read the original article here.