A year ago at this time, the Pistons were reeling from the loss of Brandon Jennings and sitting on a 20-31 record with the All-Star break nearing. The “open for business” sign was burning in bright neon in Stan Van Gundy’s office window.
This year? Well, that sign is still plugged in, but the receptionist might let the phone ring a few times before picking up.
A few things go into the stance that makes the Pistons far less likely trade participants at this year’s deadline, which hits at 3 p.m. Feb. 18.
There’s no critical injury to prompt action this year. The Pistons appear to have dodged a bullet with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s diagnosis of a core muscle strain that will keep him out of the last two games before the All-Star break, but Stan Van Gundy expects him back when play resumes Feb. 19 at Washington. When Van Gundy was asked if Caldwell-Pope’s injury could alter his thinking before the diagnosis came back, he said, “It might.” But after getting good news, it changed to, “It won’t now.” Van Gundy brought in five free agents before his first season, made trades for Joel Anthony, Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Jackson during the season and then drafted two rookies, signed another free agent and made three more trades over last summer. He knows the Pistons aren’t quite a finished product yet, but he’d like to go forward with his core and supplement around the edges now, not continue with wholesale roster churning. “I think we’re at the point that it would have to be anything that we would view as almost a no-brainer, a major upgrade,” he said. “We’re not going to make any moves that would be lateral and we’re not going to move things we consider assets for guys on expiring contracts to just try to chase it for one year and then lose a guy. We’re still in the building phase and we’re going to protect our assets going forward.” He likes his team. The players like their team. They justifiably think they have enough to crack the playoff field this season and expect improvement over the final third of the schedule. “We’ve been doing well. Still building, Still pretty new to each other,” Jackson said. “A lot of acquisitions this summer, so pretty new team. But we’re getting to know each other and I think we’re in a good spot in this playoff race. If we continue to work together, I think we’ll be in a good spot. Let the front office take care of what they do, but I think we all enjoy each other, everybody that’s here, and we’re all working toward one goal.” The Caldwell-Pope injury could benefit the Pistons down the stretch, given the increased roles it provides for both rookies, Stanley Johnson and Darrun Hilliard. Johnson responded by making big plays down the stretch in last week’s win over New York – a time when he’d most likely have been on the bench if not for Caldwell-Pope’s absence – and came back with a double-double at Indiana on Saturday. Hilliard’s offensive potential intrigues Van Gundy and his season-best nine points at Indiana helped give the Pistons a chance to win after they fell 20 points behind early in the third quarter. A stretch of games with regular rotation minutes should make him better prepared to contribute when called upon when the back to backs – nine in the season’s final nine weeks coming out of the break – start piling up again. They’ll need the time away to recharge after going more than four weeks leading into the All-Star break with no more than a day off between games, 17 of them packed into 29 days. It’s the second such stretch of their season; the Pistons played 17 in 28 days from late November into December. Jackson’s one-year anniversary with the Pistons comes Feb. 19, but he already ranks right in the middle of the pack, eighth, in tenure among current players. Coming from Oklahoma City, where the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka has grown up together, he grasps the value of continuity. “Extremely important – can’t win without it,” he said. “You’ve got to really trust in the guy that’s across from you, trust in your teammates. They’ve got to believe in you and you’ve got to believe in them. If you don’t have any continuity, it’s going to be damn hard to really be successful.” Van Gundy, too, had his best success in Orlando with a team that had grown around the Dwight Howard-Jameer Nelson nucleus, supplementing with veterans like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. “It’s really important,” he said. “I think having continuity and continuing to build is the way to go.” And it’s very likely that’s the route this Pistons team takes – absent the “no-brainer” proposal that comes across his desk.
When Van Gundy was asked if Caldwell-Pope’s injury could alter his thinking before the diagnosis came back, he said, “It might.” But after getting good news, it changed to, “It won’t now.”
Van Gundy brought in five free agents before his first season, made trades for Joel Anthony, Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Jackson during the season and then drafted two rookies, signed another free agent and made three more trades over last summer. He knows the Pistons aren’t quite a finished product yet, but he’d like to go forward with his core and supplement around the edges now, not continue with wholesale roster churning. “I think we’re at the point that it would have to be anything that we would view as almost a no-brainer, a major upgrade,” he said. “We’re not going to make any moves that would be lateral and we’re not going to move things we consider assets for guys on expiring contracts to just try to chase it for one year and then lose a guy. We’re still in the building phase and we’re going to protect our assets going forward.” He likes his team. The players like their team. They justifiably think they have enough to crack the playoff field this season and expect improvement over the final third of the schedule. “We’ve been doing well. Still building, Still pretty new to each other,” Jackson said. “A lot of acquisitions this summer, so pretty new team. But we’re getting to know each other and I think we’re in a good spot in this playoff race. If we continue to work together, I think we’ll be in a good spot. Let the front office take care of what they do, but I think we all enjoy each other, everybody that’s here, and we’re all working toward one goal.” The Caldwell-Pope injury could benefit the Pistons down the stretch, given the increased roles it provides for both rookies, Stanley Johnson and Darrun Hilliard. Johnson responded by making big plays down the stretch in last week’s win over New York – a time when he’d most likely have been on the bench if not for Caldwell-Pope’s absence – and came back with a double-double at Indiana on Saturday. Hilliard’s offensive potential intrigues Van Gundy and his season-best nine points at Indiana helped give the Pistons a chance to win after they fell 20 points behind early in the third quarter. A stretch of games with regular rotation minutes should make him better prepared to contribute when called upon when the back to backs – nine in the season’s final nine weeks coming out of the break – start piling up again. They’ll need the time away to recharge after going more than four weeks leading into the All-Star break with no more than a day off between games, 17 of them packed into 29 days. It’s the second such stretch of their season; the Pistons played 17 in 28 days from late November into December. Jackson’s one-year anniversary with the Pistons comes Feb. 19, but he already ranks right in the middle of the pack, eighth, in tenure among current players. Coming from Oklahoma City, where the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka has grown up together, he grasps the value of continuity. “Extremely important – can’t win without it,” he said. “You’ve got to really trust in the guy that’s across from you, trust in your teammates. They’ve got to believe in you and you’ve got to believe in them. If you don’t have any continuity, it’s going to be damn hard to really be successful.” Van Gundy, too, had his best success in Orlando with a team that had grown around the Dwight Howard-Jameer Nelson nucleus, supplementing with veterans like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. “It’s really important,” he said. “I think having continuity and continuing to build is the way to go.” And it’s very likely that’s the route this Pistons team takes – absent the “no-brainer” proposal that comes across his desk.
“I think we’re at the point that it would have to be anything that we would view as almost a no-brainer, a major upgrade,” he said. “We’re not going to make any moves that would be lateral and we’re not going to move things we consider assets for guys on expiring contracts to just try to chase it for one year and then lose a guy. We’re still in the building phase and we’re going to protect our assets going forward.”
He likes his team. The players like their team. They justifiably think they have enough to crack the playoff field this season and expect improvement over the final third of the schedule. “We’ve been doing well. Still building, Still pretty new to each other,” Jackson said. “A lot of acquisitions this summer, so pretty new team. But we’re getting to know each other and I think we’re in a good spot in this playoff race. If we continue to work together, I think we’ll be in a good spot. Let the front office take care of what they do, but I think we all enjoy each other, everybody that’s here, and we’re all working toward one goal.” The Caldwell-Pope injury could benefit the Pistons down the stretch, given the increased roles it provides for both rookies, Stanley Johnson and Darrun Hilliard. Johnson responded by making big plays down the stretch in last week’s win over New York – a time when he’d most likely have been on the bench if not for Caldwell-Pope’s absence – and came back with a double-double at Indiana on Saturday. Hilliard’s offensive potential intrigues Van Gundy and his season-best nine points at Indiana helped give the Pistons a chance to win after they fell 20 points behind early in the third quarter. A stretch of games with regular rotation minutes should make him better prepared to contribute when called upon when the back to backs – nine in the season’s final nine weeks coming out of the break – start piling up again. They’ll need the time away to recharge after going more than four weeks leading into the All-Star break with no more than a day off between games, 17 of them packed into 29 days. It’s the second such stretch of their season; the Pistons played 17 in 28 days from late November into December. Jackson’s one-year anniversary with the Pistons comes Feb. 19, but he already ranks right in the middle of the pack, eighth, in tenure among current players. Coming from Oklahoma City, where the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka has grown up together, he grasps the value of continuity. “Extremely important – can’t win without it,” he said. “You’ve got to really trust in the guy that’s across from you, trust in your teammates. They’ve got to believe in you and you’ve got to believe in them. If you don’t have any continuity, it’s going to be damn hard to really be successful.” Van Gundy, too, had his best success in Orlando with a team that had grown around the Dwight Howard-Jameer Nelson nucleus, supplementing with veterans like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. “It’s really important,” he said. “I think having continuity and continuing to build is the way to go.” And it’s very likely that’s the route this Pistons team takes – absent the “no-brainer” proposal that comes across his desk.
“We’ve been doing well. Still building, Still pretty new to each other,” Jackson said. “A lot of acquisitions this summer, so pretty new team. But we’re getting to know each other and I think we’re in a good spot in this playoff race. If we continue to work together, I think we’ll be in a good spot. Let the front office take care of what they do, but I think we all enjoy each other, everybody that’s here, and we’re all working toward one goal.”
The Caldwell-Pope injury could benefit the Pistons down the stretch, given the increased roles it provides for both rookies, Stanley Johnson and Darrun Hilliard.
Johnson responded by making big plays down the stretch in last week’s win over New York – a time when he’d most likely have been on the bench if not for Caldwell-Pope’s absence – and came back with a double-double at Indiana on Saturday. Hilliard’s offensive potential intrigues Van Gundy and his season-best nine points at Indiana helped give the Pistons a chance to win after they fell 20 points behind early in the third quarter. A stretch of games with regular rotation minutes should make him better prepared to contribute when called upon when the back to backs – nine in the season’s final nine weeks coming out of the break – start piling up again.
They’ll need the time away to recharge after going more than four weeks leading into the All-Star break with no more than a day off between games, 17 of them packed into 29 days. It’s the second such stretch of their season; the Pistons played 17 in 28 days from late November into December.
Jackson’s one-year anniversary with the Pistons comes Feb. 19, but he already ranks right in the middle of the pack, eighth, in tenure among current players. Coming from Oklahoma City, where the core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka has grown up together, he grasps the value of continuity.
“Extremely important – can’t win without it,” he said. “You’ve got to really trust in the guy that’s across from you, trust in your teammates. They’ve got to believe in you and you’ve got to believe in them. If you don’t have any continuity, it’s going to be damn hard to really be successful.”
Van Gundy, too, had his best success in Orlando with a team that had grown around the Dwight Howard-Jameer Nelson nucleus, supplementing with veterans like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu.
“It’s really important,” he said. “I think having continuity and continuing to build is the way to go.”
And it’s very likely that’s the route this Pistons team takes – absent the “no-brainer” proposal that comes across his desk.
