Dwane

Casey

Casey took over as Detroit’s head coach in 2018 and was given a five-year contract. They signed him to an extension through next season in May of 2021, but he’ll move into the front office before that expires. After leading them to a 41-41 record in his first season, with that year ending with a first round exit, Casey won a total of 80 games of their last four seasons. Initial reports indicate that Ime Udoka and Charles Lee are targets for the position that features plenty of young, budding stars and the best odds at the top pick in this year’s draft.

“I think there’s tremendous players all along the board. Length — everyone wants to add length and size. We’re gonna pick the best player for us,” Weaver said. “Length, size, speed, it really doesn’t matter. We’ll pick the best player for the Pistons. We’re very comfortable with the guys that are all along the board in the lottery.” The Pistons will select at No. 5 and most mocks point to them taking Jaden Ivey or Keegan Murray.

Casey will be away from the team for at least one game. Assistant Rex Kalamian will serve as acting head coach.

Casey has guided the Pistons to a 20-50 record so far this season, worst in the Eastern Conference. You might think that would put his job in jeopardy, but he’s filled the organization’s goals by steadily developing young players, keeping veterans content, and giving his franchise the best possible draft-lottery odds. The Pistons haven’t been a good fantasy team this season, placing just one guy into the top-100 on a per-game value (Jerami Grant), but that doesn’t mean managers won’t still target Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes and others.

Add another game to the list of postponements due to COVID-19. Contact tracing within the Pistons roster is the reason for this one. Denver hosted Utah on Sunday, while Detroit last played Saturday night against Golden State. The Pistons are scheduled to visit the Jazz Tuesday night, and that game may be in jeopardy due to this development. Denver isn’t scheduled to play again until Thursday against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Lineup changes are “something [Casey] is keeping an eye on,” according to beat writer James Edwards III. It remains to be seen which players might be impacted if Casey does alter his rotations, but Josh Jackson’s minutes have plummeted recently, even as Saddiq Bey has played more minutes off the bench. With Detroit off to a 2-8 start this season, we’d assume everything is on the table.

Weaver beat out other notable candidates including Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson and Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson. “Troy is an outstanding executive with an exceptional track record for identifying and developing talent,” said owner Tom Gores. The Pistons finished with a 20-46 record this season and they only have four players with fully-guaranteed contracts for 2020-21. They need to ward off suitors for rising star Christian Wood, too, so Weaver should be very busy in the coming months.

Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson and Thunder VP of Basketball Operations Troy Weaver are the top candidates, but there’s no timetable for when a decision will be made. Whoever wins the job will work closely with senior advisor Ed Stefanski on personnel matters and coach Dwane Casey has been told that he will have a say as well.

The Pistons have been slowly reshaping their front office since firing Stan Van Gundy in 2018 who operated as both a coach and GM. According to Woj, Detroit will begin contacting candidates this week to work closely with senior advisor Ed Stefanski. Stefanski, head coach Dwane Casey and whoever they hire as a GM will handle the personnel matters in Detroit as they continue what should be a grueling rebuild.

“First we want to win — that’s the bottom line. We want to make the playoffs — that’s our charge,” Casey said. “Our give-a-crap level has to be high and if not, we have to find eight guys who give a crap to come out and compete. That’s the bottom line.” With a record of 21-26, the Pistons sit just 1.5 games out of the playoffs, so it’s not outlandish to think that Casey could get this team back to the postseason during his first year in Detroit.