Detroit Free Press

After 12 seasons as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team and a brief stint leading the Cleveland Cavaliers, John Beilein is back and heading to Detroit. The Detroit Pistons have hired Beilein as senior advisor/player development, league sources confirmed to the Free Press. Beilein was spotted in the stands at multiple Pistons

It’s only been six months since the 2020 NBA draft. The next one is already around the corner. The 2021 NBA draft lottery will take place on June 22. After going 20-52 this past season, the Detroit Pistons have the second-best lottery odds and a chance at their highest pick since they drafted second overall

Following his breakout season, Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant was a finalist for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. While he received significant support, he didn’t end up winning it. New York Knicks forward Julius Randle was named Most Improved, the NBA announced on Tuesday. Grant finished in second place with 140 total points, receiving two

For more than two decades, Jim Scholler has been a professional athletic sports trainer. That includes a 13-year stint with the NBA, including 10 years with the Grizzlies before joining the Detroit Pistons in 2018. This past season, Scholler added a new title to his job — one that he didn’t previously go to school

While more than half the league is gearing up for a 2021 NBA playoffs matchup, the Detroit Pistons and about a dozen other teams have their sights squarely set on the the lottery in June and the draft in July. Even though the balls don’t start popping for another four weeks, prognosticators are already sketching out their

The Detroit Pistons‘ 2020-21 season can’t be accurately summed up by their record. And there’s no question that their 20-52 mark, the second-worst in the NBA, was bad. But it was a season of growth, after Troy Weaver was hired as general manager last June and promptly proceeded to tear down and rebuild the roster

Aboard a recent flight from Detroit to his hometown of St. Louis, Tyler Cook found himself in a state of reflection about the whirlwind journey his basketball life has traveled over the past two years. The most prominent feeling that emerged in his heart: Gratefulness. Undrafted out of Iowa in 2019, Cook thought back to

Six months after Jerami Grant surprised many across the NBA by signing a three-year, $60 million contract with the Detroit Pistons, it’s safe to say the decision paid off for him. Figuratively and literally. The size of the deal alone was eye-popping, but also spoke to the confidence that general manager Troy Weaver had in

Jerami Grant put together the best season of his career with the Detroit Pistons this season. NBA awards voters took note. Grant is one of the three finalists for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, the league announced on Thursday. He’s competing with New York Knicks forward Julius Randle, and Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter

When asked about his biggest takeaway from his first NBA season, Killian Hayes’ response was succinct. The Pistons’ rookie point guard appeared in 19 of their final 24 games after missing three months of action with a torn hip labrum. He showed flashes of the player he can potentially become, and his focus is on

Another season of Detroit Pistons basketball, another year without a playoff win. That’s 13 consecutive seasons, but who’s counting? And yet, it was a good year for the Pistons, despite the second-worst record in the league in 2020-21. They finally got off the treadmill of mediocrity, and chose the rebuild restoring path. The franchise is surfacing again,

Hamidou Diallo was new to the Detroit Pistons when the organization acquired him from Oklahoma City in March. He wasn’t new to general manager Troy Weaver, though. The Thunder had traded for Hamidou Diallo on draft night in 2018, while Weaver was still an assistant general manager there. Weaver had scouted him since he was

Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver could have taken a victory lap on Monday after pulling off the unthinkable. In his first season in charge the Pistons, Weaver overhauled the roster, set a new culture, developed a core of young players, created an entertaining product, broke the endless chain of mediocrity and — this is

When Troy Weaver joined the Oklahoma City Thunder as assistant general manager in 2008, he endured a season of losing before the team emerged as an annual playoff contender. In 2008-09, the Thunder won just 23 games. The following season, they won 50 games and took the eventual NBA champion-Los Angeles Lakers to six games

Ben Wallace wasn’t just the best defender of his era. He wasn’t just a four-time, NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He wasn’t just a great rebounder who blocked shots and walled up bigger post players on the block. He was the best off-ball defensive big man of the last 30 years. Only Draymond Green might eventually take that

Last offseason was the longest in Detroit Pistons history, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. It could also be remembered as one of the franchises’ most consequential. New general manager Troy Weaver remade the roster with a flurry of trades. Five rookies joined the team. More than $90 million was spent in free agency. This offseason

Ben Wallace wasn’t just the best defender of his era. He wasn’t just a four-time, NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He wasn’t just a great rebounder who blocked shots and walled up bigger post players on the block. He was the best off-ball defensive big man of the last 30 years. Only Draymond Green might eventually take that

Today’s Michigan basketball players weren’t alive when Chris Webber played for the Wolverines. Neither was I. But we all have watched “The Fab Five,” ESPN’s 2011 documentary (as part of its “30 for 30 series) about the five freshmen that changed college basketball forever. And we all certainly know who Webber is — the former NBA All-Star

Editor’s note: This post will be updated each morning with the current NBA draft lottery standings With the Detroit Pistons in the midst of their worst season since 1980-81 — which led to the drafting of Isiah Lord Thomas III — missing the postseason for the second straight season, and running their postseason winless streak to 13 years, let’s devote our attention

Despite their 20-52 record, the 2020-21 season was a memorable one for the Detroit Pistons. All four 2020 draft picks — Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee — showed promise. Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee, Detroit’s two offseason splashes in free agency, delivered the best seasons of their careers. Several of the