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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 9:13:54 GMT -6
1993-94
Detroit Pistons Pre-Season Presser (General Manager TrayWithAnA enters the room and sits down at the table.)TWA: Just to give you a rundown of how the schedule for this presser is going to go, we’ll do a review of the accomplishments last season, then we’ll bring in a few players for their preseason interview that I will let the media participate in.First off, we can’t stress enough how proud we are of the 1992-93 squad for finally putting it together and getting into the playoffs after two tough seasons before it. Last season, we saw a 22-win improvement in our record and the team acted like a well-oiled machine for most of the year. We went from last place in the Central to the best record in the East and a division title. We knew around mid-season that we had something special on our hands, and we kept the pedal to the metal for the rest of the season. In the playoffs, we were paired up with the Raptors and Bucks in the first two rounds. Both were equally difficult series as all games with a division rival are. It took 6 games to put away Toronto, and another 7 to eliminate Milwaukee. Going into the Conference Finals, we felt really good about our chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t coach our best game in that series and the supremely talented Boston Celtics made us look silly for the first time all season. The players shouldn’t hang their head in shame. They executed the game plan as requested and the Celtics were just better. If I had it to do over again, I would have stuck to the game plan that split the series in games 1 & 2. I thought that some drastic changes would expose some weaknesses in their game plan, but all it did was get me destroyed in Boston for games 3 & 4. By the time I changed the game plan back, it was too late and the Celtics protected their home court in game 6. To answer the question and get it out of the way before anyone else brings it up, we are a huge fan of Conroy and the job he did with the Boston Celtics. The improvement was huge and his team will be a threat for the title for years to come. However, even with the utmost respect to Conroy, we felt like the league got it wrong. We turned over our roster from the year before with 7 new players. We improved our record by 22 games. We won the division and finished first in the East. The Celtics finished 3rd in their division and sixth in the East. Out of all of the GM arguments, we felt the last one was the most compelling. Unfortunately, the votes didn’t go our way, and we are done whining about it. We don’t want to discuss it any further. We cheapened the award for Conroy and no matter who disagrees, they earned it.Looking forward to 1993-94, we found out just the other day that we would be bringing the whole band back together for another run at the championship. Adams gave us a very team friendly contract and we are glad to have him in a Detroit uniform for the next few years. Miller, Smith, and Laettner are the cornerstones of this team and luckily for us they will only keep getting better. Since the team is in tact, we should be able to hit the ground running when the season starts.I know you guys love writing your stories about ‘expectations.’ We have no other expectations this year except to be a tough draw for anyone in the playoffs. The division title should be harder to defend with both the Raptors and Hawks getting better, but looking at what the Celtics and Lakers were able to accomplish last year from the middle of the seeding, we just want to perfect a game plan by playoff time and unleash hell. Obviously our goal is to hang that second SLOE division banner, but we won’t be all consumed by it for the sake of the marathon we are trying to run this year.I’d like to bring in a few players and make them available for questioning. In this first wave, we have our co-captains, Reggie Miller and Steve Smith. We will bring in a few more starters later in the presser. Reggie? Steve? Do you guys have anything you’d like to add to this introduction?Reggie Miller: The wound of the playoff failure is still fresh. We know it’ll leave a few scars, but we hope to learn from it and use it as fuel to get better and have another shot at the Eastern Conference title. Overall, it was a great season that our fans are sure to remember for a while, but we’ll make our best effort to give them something more memorable this year.Steve Smith: Having only played two seasons in Sim-BA so far, I’ve seen both sides of the coin. Playoff success and playoff-missing failure. It’s obvious that the playoff success should be more fun, but it definitely hurts more to be this close to competing for a championship and miss out. There have been many sleepless nights in Detroit. We are very excited about having Michael Adams back in a Pistons jersey. He enjoys it here in Detroit and it should help with the chemistry of our squad in the 1993-94 season.TWA: With that being said, we turn the floor over to you for any questions. |
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Post by WigNosy on Mar 13, 2014 12:37:47 GMT -6
How concerned should fans of the Pistons be that nearly a third of your cap is tied up in mediocre centers? Are the Pistons prepared to pay the luxury tax over the next few seasons to keep the likes of Miller and Smith in the fold? Who do you see as the main challengers to your crown in the Central Division this season? How did you really feel about the league's Official Hairless Cat of Record giving your team an A- grade for its free agency period?
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PaulyP
Junior Member
Posts: 605 
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Post by PaulyP on Mar 13, 2014 12:49:27 GMT -6
Jon Snow, WSN. Congrats on your Central Division banner, very deserving. My question is will David Wesley get an increased role this year? You gave a hefty 4 year deal to Mike Adams in the offseason and he's already 30. Are you worried about your finances, present and future?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 13:06:59 GMT -6
How concerned should fans of the Pistons be that nearly a third of your cap is tied up in mediocre centers? Are the Pistons prepared to pay the luxury tax over the next few seasons to keep the likes of Miller and Smith in the fold? Who do you see as the main challengers to your crown in the Central Division this season? How did you really feel about the league's Official Hairless Cat of Record giving your team an A- grade for its free agency period? At least Dudley is a green/green that doesn't steal shots from the offense on my team. Both of those contracts expire in two years and then that $7.1M will be available for Smith's max. We very much plan on keeping Miller and Smith and have even gone as far as running the numbers on Laettner getting a super max too. Year - % of cap used - # of players 1993 - 103% - 12 1994 - 120% - 11 1995 - 101% - 7 1996 - 120% - 5 1997 - 101% - 3 1998 - 111% - 3 Obviously cap and maxes will go up, but Laettner and Smith will still earn no more than 25% in year 1 of their new contracts, so the cap number should be about the same. Also, Laettner is not a given for a max deal. Just wanted to run the worst case scenario numbers. Not too worried about it for now. Projecting the tax bill combined for the next two years is 29 points and that could decrease with a jump in the salary cap next year. We see the Raptors and Hawks as the main challengers for our title. The Hawks have been here before and the Raptors went all in for a star studded roster. Obviously the Pacers and Bucks should be back to normal, and the Cavs and Bulls could be good, but we still see the biggest threat coming from Toronto and Atlanta. How confident we are really depends on the growth we expect from Miller, Smith, Wesley, and Dehere and the decline we hope to avoid from Adams, Dudley, West and Catledge. These are all huge question marks, but I guess TC could be just as rough on our opponents too, so we'll see what happens. We felt like Mr. Bigglesworth evaluation was pretty spot on. Our only real need was at PG and I could see that grade being higher if we somehow spent less on Adams or being way lower had we maxed Adams. The risk on years 3 & 4 on that deal are high, but we could see growth from Wesley at that point that justifies a PG competition. We'd love to not have that problem, but growth from Wesley and decline from Adams should be expected. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 13:15:40 GMT -6
Jon Snow, WSN. Congrats on your Central Division banner, very deserving. My question is will David Wesley get an increased role this year? You gave a hefty 4 year deal to Mike Adams in the offseason and he's already 30. Are you worried about your finances, present and future? As I was answering the question from Atlanta, I sort of addressed this one too. But I'll go a little more into it. Adams and Wesley both have blue potential. We could see them meeting in the middle in the next few years. A bunch of greens in year three would be welcome results of TC. We do know there has been a lot of interest in Wesley and Laettner and of course I think everyone would pursue Miller or Smith if they were available. If this team falters and doesn't produce like they have proven they are capable of in the next few years then we could see a lot of options for us to get back into a rebuild mode quickly. I think we should be able to play out Adams contract and avoid too much of a cap/tax problem. Next year won't be as interesting a free agency period as last year since most guys from round 1 of the creation draft should be retained by the teams that hold them now. Our biggest concern is our other starting front court position in the coming years. Dudley could stay green and be a viable option at the 5 in the future or he could decline and we wouldn't have a lot of money to address his position in 1995. We'll address that when it comes along. |
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logpmess
Junior Member
Miami Heat
Posts: 557
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Post by logpmess on Mar 13, 2014 16:29:13 GMT -6
Every team is always looking to improve: in general and in production. You mentioned your faults during the post season. What adjustments do you think you can make to improve on your regular season for your players and as a team as a whole?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 16:36:41 GMT -6
Every team is always looking to improve: in general and in production. You mentioned your faults during the post season. What adjustments do you think you can make to improve on your regular season for your players and as a team as a whole? We are swapping Smith and Miller. Smith is a better ball handler and should be able to help as a guard in ways that he couldn't as a 3. Miller will be closer to the goal as he is a better inside guy and I imagine 3pt shooters better at the wing. It worked in a small sample during the playoffs and we're looking forward to giving it another shot. We also shipped off some terrible minute stealers from the backups we wanted to see of the floor. If they aren't on the team, my coach can't put them in. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2014 16:38:52 GMT -6
Jack Philson here from the L.A. Times. I won't waste your time asking a mundane question the like expectations. Last season you made headlines in predicting a 4-0 sweep of the hated rival Bucks. You didn't live up to that in the regular season. You then got a shot at them in the playoffs and they brought you to a game 7. Is it fair to say your disrespect towards them was unwarranted and off base? Do you have any more bold predictions for the world or did the Bucks humble you? Do you suspect the Bucks after the drama last offseason as a main culprit of GMOY*gate?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 16:45:25 GMT -6
(Person rushes in the conference and leans into TWA's ear)
Anon: (whisper)
TWA: WHAT?!?
Anon: (shakes head)
TWA: Why am I surprised? I'm the GM. It was accepted?
Anon: (shakes head again)
TWA: PSA BITCHES!!! LANGS TERRIBLE CONTRACT IS GONE!!! GMOY THAT CONROY!!!
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 13, 2014 16:53:10 GMT -6
Jack Philson here from the L.A. Times. I won't waste your time asking a mundane question the like expectations. Last season you made headlines in predicting a 4-0 sweep of the hated rival Bucks. You didn't live up to that in the regular season. You then got a shot at them in the playoffs and they brought you to a game 7. Is it fair to say your disrespect towards them was unwarranted and off base? Do you have any more bold predictions for the world or did the Bucks humble you? Do you suspect the Bucks after the drama last offseason as a main culprit of GMOY*gate? That prediction should have been thrown out. We only played 3 times in the regular season. All joking aside. We felt we were a better team and we proved it for the most part by going 2-1 against them in the regular season, finishing 5 games better, and winning our playoff series. We did underestimate them for sure. They were a lot better than our scouts led us to believe. I got a message from him regarding his GMOY vote so I don't suspect he had anything to do with it. It was a noble gesture to even reach out after I blasted him verbally all year. We'll do our best to be less controversial this year. Pistons 3-0 and 4 games better this year. Book it. |
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Post by gmessi2 on Mar 13, 2014 17:03:57 GMT -6
What role will your newly acquired Blackman have?
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Post by gmessi2 on Mar 13, 2014 17:04:38 GMT -6
Well that question sounded racist. I guess I should've used his first name too. My b.
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Post by Conroy on Mar 14, 2014 8:22:22 GMT -6
Bill Simmons, Sports Guy here. I can come out of my hiding place now that Zo has broken the ROY TC curse. Much has been said about the GMOY controversy, but very little has been said about the actual Conference Finals versus the Celtics. I think I read you had some regrets about major gameplanning changes, but can you talk a little bit about a potential "friendly" rivalry brewing.
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 8:50:07 GMT -6
Bill Simmons, Sports Guy here. I can come out of my hiding place now that Zo has broken the ROY TC curse. Much has been said about the GMOY controversy, but very little has been said about the actual Conference Finals versus the Celtics. I think I read you had some regrets about major gameplanning changes, but can you talk a little bit about a potential "friendly" rivalry brewing. Before now, we've had our natural rivals in division, but we didn't have much of anything outside of the division. I think that it is safe to say that we in Detroit can't wait till we face Boston this year. As we both mentioned, we still have a bit of a chip on our shoulder about GMOY and we felt we were the better team in the ECF and got outplayed and out couched. Since it can be argued that we are still the two best teams in the east, I think the events of last year feed the new rivalry not only for us the losers but also for Boston the disrespected winners. Boston wants to prove it was no fluke that they were voted GMOY and won the ECF. I haven't circled the dates on the calendar yet, but I will soon. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 8:52:43 GMT -6
What role will your newly acquired Blackman have? He is going to have a small role on our team this year. He just happened to be the lesser of two evils when it comes to bad contracts. The trade took us from having a 29 point tax the next two years to having an 11 point tax over the next two years. We were hoping to train someone with that savings but we'll see if we get the chance now. |
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Post by Conroy on Mar 14, 2014 9:45:43 GMT -6
Bill Simmons, Sports Guy here. I can come out of my hiding place now that Zo has broken the ROY TC curse. Much has been said about the GMOY controversy, but very little has been said about the actual Conference Finals versus the Celtics. I think I read you had some regrets about major gameplanning changes, but can you talk a little bit about a potential "friendly" rivalry brewing. Before now, we've had our natural rivals in division, but we didn't have much of anything outside of the division. I think that it is safe to say that we in Detroit can't wait till we face Boston this year. As we both mentioned, we still have a bit of a chip on our shoulder about GMOY and we felt we were the better team in the ECF and got outplayed and out couched. Since it can be argued that we are still the two best teams in the east, I think the events of last year feed the new rivalry not only for us the losers but also for Boston the disrespected winners. Boston wants to prove it was no fluke that they were voted GMOY and won the ECF. I haven't circled the dates on the calendar yet, but I will soon. 12/18/93, 12/19/93, 1/2/94, 3/16/94. Also it's been leaked around the Boston Media, that several of your Public Relations staff and speech writers have been let go and have attached themselves to a Chicago based hip hop / rap producer, let me find the name oh yes. Kanye West? IMMA LET YOU FINISH, IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT DETROIT HAD THE BEST REGULAR SEASON TURN AROUND OF ALL TIME!! |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 9:57:19 GMT -6
Before now, we've had our natural rivals in division, but we didn't have much of anything outside of the division. I think that it is safe to say that we in Detroit can't wait till we face Boston this year. As we both mentioned, we still have a bit of a chip on our shoulder about GMOY and we felt we were the better team in the ECF and got outplayed and out couched. Since it can be argued that we are still the two best teams in the east, I think the events of last year feed the new rivalry not only for us the losers but also for Boston the disrespected winners. Boston wants to prove it was no fluke that they were voted GMOY and won the ECF. I haven't circled the dates on the calendar yet, but I will soon. 12/18/93, 12/19/93, 1/2/94, 3/16/94. Also it's been leaked around the Boston Media, that several of your Public Relations staff and speech writers have been let go and have attached themselves to a Chicago based hip hop / rap producer, let me find the name oh yes. Kanye West? IMMA LET YOU FINISH, IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT DETROIT HAD THE BEST REGULAR SEASON TURN AROUND OF ALL TIME!! I can neither confirm nor deny that. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 12:16:13 GMT -6
How concerned should fans of the Pistons be that nearly a third of your cap is tied up in mediocre centers? Are the Pistons prepared to pay the luxury tax over the next few seasons to keep the likes of Miller and Smith in the fold? Who do you see as the main challengers to your crown in the Central Division this season? How did you really feel about the league's Official Hairless Cat of Record giving your team an A- grade for its free agency period? At least Dudley is a green/green that doesn't steal shots from the offense on my team. Both of those contracts expire in two years and then that $7.1M will be available for Smith's max. We very much plan on keeping Miller and Smith and have even gone as far as running the numbers on Laettner getting a super max too. Year - % of cap used - # of players 1993 - 103% - 12 1994 - 120% - 11 1995 - 101% - 7 1996 - 120% - 5 1997 - 101% - 3 1998 - 111% - 3 Obviously cap and maxes will go up, but Laettner and Smith will still earn no more than 25% in year 1 of their new contracts, so the cap number should be about the same. Also, Laettner is not a given for a max deal. Just wanted to run the worst case scenario numbers. Not too worried about it for now. Projecting the tax bill combined for the next two years is 29 points and that could decrease with a jump in the salary cap next year. We see the Raptors and Hawks as the main challengers for our title. The Hawks have been here before and the Raptors went all in for a star studded roster. Obviously the Pacers and Bucks should be back to normal, and the Cavs and Bulls could be good, but we still see the biggest threat coming from Toronto and Atlanta. How confident we are really depends on the growth we expect from Miller, Smith, Wesley, and Dehere and the decline we hope to avoid from Adams, Dudley, West and Catledge. These are all huge question marks, but I guess TC could be just as rough on our opponents too, so we'll see what happens. We felt like Mr. Bigglesworth evaluation was pretty spot on. Our only real need was at PG and I could see that grade being higher if we somehow spent less on Adams or being way lower had we maxed Adams. The risk on years 3 & 4 on that deal are high, but we could see growth from Wesley at that point that justifies a PG competition. We'd love to not have that problem, but growth from Wesley and decline from Adams should be expected. Updated with Bucks rebuild under consideration |
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Soundwave
Full Member
Toronto Raptors
Winter is coming
Posts: 2,465
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Post by Soundwave on Mar 14, 2014 12:38:17 GMT -6
Clark Kent, Daily Planet
Do you feel you have lifted the curse of Toronto?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on Mar 14, 2014 15:32:23 GMT -6
Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Notable in your brief assessment of the central before that the only team you excluded was the Charlotte Hornets. I won't go into details as to why you think you doubt that they could at the very least challenge you when they face off next season ahead so I'll just keep it to my question about your squad.
With the long term signing of Michael Adams to run the point in Detroit for the foreseeable future, now kind of piggy-backing off of Jon Snow's question sort of, do you only see Wesley as a backup guard or do you see him maybe transitioning at the 2 for this season considering the other options you have at that position?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 22:19:12 GMT -6
Clark Kent, Daily Planet Do you feel you have lifted the curse of Toronto? There is a lot wins left to be had before we feel like we are on par with Toronto's past success against us. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 22:21:54 GMT -6
Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Notable in your brief assessment of the central before that the only team you excluded was the Charlotte Hornets. I won't go into details as to why you think you doubt that they could at the very least challenge you when they face off next season ahead so I'll just keep it to my question about your squad. With the long term signing of Michael Adams to run the point in Detroit for the foreseeable future, now kind of piggy-backing off of Jon Snow's question sort of, do you only see Wesley as a backup guard or do you see him maybe transitioning at the 2 for this season considering the other options you have at that position? I am still very hopeful for Wesley. He is a solid sixth man type and should transition into the starting PG role by the time we re-up him. we can't stress enough with how excited we are for his growth, but he has always been our combo-guard backup. Especially with Smith and Miller as our long-term 2/3 combo. He should have a chance to make an argument for himself soon enough. |
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 14, 2014 22:22:44 GMT -6
BTW, we acquired the shell of Larry Johnson. Feel much better about him there instead of Lang. Try and convince me otherwise there.
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Post by bowtothebill23 on Mar 15, 2014 7:43:05 GMT -6
Jack Markson, Golden Take. Why do Eastern Conference teams insist on giving the Lakers good draft picks? Also how do you expect Laettner and Johnson to split minutes?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on Mar 15, 2014 7:54:34 GMT -6
Jack Markson, Golden Take. Why do Eastern Conference teams insist on giving the Lakers good draft picks? Also how do you expect Laettner and Johnson to split minutes? Johnson will come off the bench as a 3/4. Probably sixth man but we are really looking forward to kicking the tires of Wesley at sixth man. We didn't value that pick as much as we did shoring up a championship caliber team. If Johnson and Laettner have reached their peak, and they don't decline much more, they will be our starting front court in the future. With two maxes coming to Miller and Smith, they could be just the filler to our cap problem that we need. Now about the pick, it was top 10 protected in the deep 1994 draft which the Nuggets will hold up on their end of the deal and keep it. We think it will be lottery bound in 1995 but that draft isn't as deep and we wouldn't be guaranteed to address the missing front court player in that draft. For that reason, we took the chance. |
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credit loco for photoshop
