Ed Stefanski Puns

TIL: today I learned that our exec Ed Stefanski’s son Kevin is the head coach for the Cleveland Browns

For me, I would try and trade Andre to the Celtics for the shell of Gordon Hayward and a first round pick.

With the draft soon approaching, I figured it would be a good idea to see how the Pistons current GM, Ed Stefanski, has performed in past drafts. He's been the GM of three teams (the Brooklyn Nets, the Toronto Raptors and our beloved Detroit Pistons) and has presided over 7 drafts. For those who like to wonder what could have been, I also added a list of notable players drafter after Stefanski's selections.

TORONTO RAPTORS

2005

Selections: SG/SF Antoine Wright (1st round, 15th pick) and Mile Ilic (2nd round, 43rd pick)

Notable Players Selected After Picks: Danny Granger (1st Rd, 17th Overall), Nate Robinson (1st Rd, 21st Overall), Monta Ellis (2nd Rd, 40th Overall), and Marcin Gortat (2nd Rd, 56th Overall)

Outcome: Antoine Wright played for 8 seasons in NBA (his last season he played 7 games), playing 20+ MPG in about 4 of them and averaging 5.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1 APG on 41%/30%/67% shooting. On his third season, he was traded to the NJ Nets as part of the package to acquire Jason Kidd from the Dallas Mavericks and then to the Toronto Raptors the season after. Mike Ilic played in 5 games in the NBA for a total of 6 minutes.

2006

Selections: Selected PG Marcus Williams (1st round, 22nd pick), PF/C Josh Boone (1st round, 23rd pick) and SG Hassan Adams (2nd round, 54th pick)

Notable Players Selected After Picks: Kyle Lowry (1st Rd, 24th Overall), PJ Tucker (2nd Rd, 35th Overall) and Paul Millsap (2nd Rd, 47th Pick)

Outcome: Both Williams and Boone played in the league for 4 seasons each playing back-end rotational roles. Williams was traded after his 2nd season to Golden State, while Boone played all 4 years for the Nets. Adams in the league for 2 years and a total 73 games.

2007

Selections: Selected PF/C Sean Williams (1st round, 17th pick) in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Notable Players Selected After Picks: Jared Dudley (1st Rd, 22nd Overall), Wilson Chandler (st Rd, 23rd Overall), Marc Gasol (2nd Rd, 48th Overall)

Outcome: Williams played a total of 6

There's been a lot of vitriol floated this team's way in recent days and weeks. Much of it to do with the team building process that has led to us being an afterthought/mediocre team for the entirety of this decade. Dumars and SVG seemingly whiffed nonstop and here we are -- cap strapped with few assets. Now, do we think Ed Stefanski/friends is the answer? Can they bring us out of mediocrity?

Unfortunately, due to SVG's mismanagement of the Cap/Blake deal (not saying it was bad or good), Ed/co. didn't have a ton to work with in their first offseason. They had no 1st rd pick and no cap space. However, since then, they've hinted at their overall philosophy for the teambuilding process, which seems to be geared towards NOT mortgaging the future for marginal short-term gains. They didn't use the MLE to overpay for mid-level talent on long-term contracts in the offseason, and he traded the one obvious tradeable (expiring) player asset we had at the deadline.

From what I can tell, it seemed as if the FO wanted to get a good look at this team with one year under Casey and then go from there. GRIII, Calderon, and Zaza were all 1-year deals (GRIII w/ a team option), and then the last chunk of MLE went towards Wayne Ellington's contract after his buyout from Phoenix. The other 2 players added were the 2nd round picks of Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas. Consider all the low-cost commitment options there, as well as the Bullock/Stanley trades, and I think we have a front office that is geared more towards a slower build than a short-term fix.

We do not have a ton of results to grade the FO's performance on, so far. They haven't made a 1st round pick, they haven't had the opportunity to spend money or sign extensions (maybe Bullock is an example? Opted to trade instead of overpaying?), and haven't had a lot of big trade opportunities unless you count the rumored Grizzlies deals that didn't occur. However, I think we can confidently say what their teambuilding philosophy is. They're clearly not trying to go all-in on this roster, or at least didn't when they had the chance (I think the rumored Conley trades would've been an all-in dive). We 100% know they're not tanking, but they clearly weren't willing to go all-in on this team, either. Obviously, this upcoming offseason will give us a glimpse at what we're headed for, and the 2020 offseason will probably decide where we'll be for much of the next decade.

Personally, I think we're in good hands, but I understand why

Ed Stefanski (de-facto General Manager for the Pistons) was interviewed yesterday on the Wired: Pistons Podcast. I jotted down some notes for those of you who don't want to listen to the entire 15-minute interview. A link to the postcast is here.

Here's what Stefanski had to say:

 

######About the trade deadline

• The front office hasn’t yet made any decisions about the trade deadline. Stefanski will make his recommendations to Tom Gores in the days prior to the deadline. Until then, the Pistons are holding course.
• The front office is mulling Reggie Bullock’s future with the team, knowing that he’ll be a free agent this summer and will garner significant interest on the trade deadline marketplace. If they believe that the Pistons are still in the race come the deadline, however, it’s extremely unlikely they’ll move Bullock. The same goes for Stanley Johnson. Right now, the focus is still on making the playoffs.
• He is adamantly against making what he calls an “instant relief” trade that will improve this team this season at the cost of the future. Says that the Pistons must absolutely avoid the urge toward immediate gratification on the trade market.
• The Pistons won’t trade this season’s first-round pick unless an opportunity arises that could really change things for the roster. He’s fully aware of the importance of having good players on affordable rookie-scale contracts.

 

######About the future

• Says that the Pistons are in a bad cap situation. That no fan wants to be patient, but in the Pistons’ situation, there’s nothing else to do but be patient.
• He is against tanking (and wouldn’t even use the word itself in the interview). As he puts it, he isn't a fan of trying to break the roster down and starting over again, because it's a process in which you need to get lucky, one that can mean "years of heartbreak" if you don’t get lucky, and the Pistons “don’t need to be there.”
• Notes that the NBA has changed a tremendous amount in the past few years, with the emphasis on three-point shooting and the rules protecting scorers. Says it’s now a scorer’s league, that defense remains important but the game now strongly favors offense, that winning is largely about having the right playmakers and scorers, and that the Pistons have to figure out how to bring in more of those in the long-term.

 

######About the roster

• Believes the team has struggl

Give reasoning as well. Personally I would give him a solid 8.5/10. He hasn't made any blockbuster moves (but he can't really with our financial situation atm), but he has made very smart moves imo. Signing GRIII for his upside and to balance the roster more efficiently, signing proven backups in Calderon and ZaZa (whether you like him or not, he is a massive upgrade over Moreland), and a very solid looking draft considering we didn't even have a 1st round pick this year (thanks svg!). He hasn't overpaid for any of these players and has actually saved us some cap space. He has done plenty good but nothing that I think makes us contenders yet but he is putting us on the right track.