The NBA season is almost here and fans will get to see how offseason moves have made an impact on the restoration of the Detroit Pistons.
A lot has happened since the Pistons wrapped up the 2020-21 season on May 16. The team parted ways with several members of the front office and seemingly overhauled its coaching staff. In July, the Pistons added a franchise star in Cade Cunningham and brought aboard even more young talent to bolster their young roster.
By the end of August, the Pistons in some ways completed the turnover of their roster from the season before. They traded two players, including their then longest-tenured player. Now, they head into training camp with an open roster spot, and time will tell who earns it.
Here is a breakdown of all the moves that have occurred this offseason up until this point:
In June, the Pistons parted ways with their senior director of player personnel, Gregg Polinsky, who worked with the team since 2018. One week later, they parted ways with assistant general manager David Mincberg, who was hired shortly after general manager Troy Weaver joined the organization.
The Pistons brought on former Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein to advise the team on player development. He works closely with Detroit’s coaching staff and development coaches to analyze, implement and execute player skill development programs.
Along with Beilein joining the staff, the Pistons added a number of assistant coaches to head coach Dwane Casey’s staff, bringing in Rex Kalamian, Jerome Allen and Bill Bayno, while last season’s assistants found homes elsewhere.
Kalamian reunites with Casey after spending last season as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. He spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers and was a part of Casey’s staff in Toronto from 2015-18. His other stops in the NBA as an assistant coach include Oklahoma City (2009-15), Sacramento (2007-09), Minnesota (2005-07), Denver (2004-05) and the Clippers (1995-03). Kalamian also served as a scout for the Clippers (1992-95) and Philadelphia 76ers (2003-04).
Allen spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics and was the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania for five seasons before that.
Bayno spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers after two seasons (2013-15) on Casey’s staff with the Raptors. He also worked with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2011-13) and had two stints (2005-08 and 2009-11) with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Former Pistons assistant Sean Sweeney joined Jason Kidd’s staff with the Dallas Mavericks, Sidney Lowe will serve as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Micah Nori was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Pistons continued to round out their coaching staff in July. They hired Andrew Jones as a player development coach ahead of the NBA draft.
Six days later, the team selected Cade Cunningham with the top pick. The Pistons kept their plans close to the vest up until the day before the draft when ESPN reported their intentions.
In addition to Cunningham, the Pistons also selected Isaiah Livers, Luka Garza and Balsa Koprivica.
The Pistons acquired Koprivica as part of a draft-night trade that sent center Mason Plumlee and the No. 37 pick to the Charlotte Hornets for the 57th pick.
In August, Cunningham and Livers both signed guaranteed contracts while Garza signed a two-way contract during Detroit’s stop at Las Vegas Summer League. Koprivica signed with KK Partizan in Belgrade, Serbia, and the Pistons still retain his draft rights if he returns to the NBA.
Since the Pistons plan is to focus on internal development, the team had a mostly quiet free agency period. They added veteran forward/center Kelly Olynyk to provide depth and shooting, as well as forward Trey Lyles. They waived and then re-signed guards Cory Joseph and Rodney McGruder to more team-friendly deals that allowed them to target the team’s restricted free agents.
They then re-signed Saben Lee, Frank Jackson and Hamidou Diallo.
Months after parting with Mincberg, the team re-hired George David as its assistant general manager. The longtime Pistons executive previously spent 19 seasons with the Pistons’ front office before leaving to work on the player rep side with Wasserman in 2015.
This month, Weaver continued reshaping the roster, dealing both Sekou Doumbouya and Jahlil Okafor to the Brooklyn Nets. Detroit received veteran center DeAndre Jordan, four second-round picks and cash. The Pistons eventually waived Jordan and now have an open roster spot heading into training camp.
With the Pistons training camp roster and front office all but rounded out, the team made the hires of its assistant coaches official. They announced the hiring of Kalamian, Allen, Bayno and Jones as well as Jim Moran.
Moran spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach with Portland after one season as the team’s associate video coordinator. He began his coaching career as a player development coach for the Maine Red Claws of the then-NBA Development League in 2013.
In addition to announcing the new assistants, the Pistons disclosed the promotions of Jordan Brink and Austin Dufault to player development coaches. Brink and Dufault served as video coordinator and assistant video coordinator, respectively, with the Pistons before their promotions.
Detroit opens training camp Sept. 28 and has four preseason games, starting on Oct. 6. The Pistons open their regular season Oct. 20 against the Chicago Bulls at Little Caesars Arena.
More:
Pistons have options to alleviate crowded roster after re-signing Hamidou Diallo
Pistons, Cade Cunningham open 2021-22 season versus Bulls Oct. 20
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