The NBA Draft is Weird, Monty Williams' Coaching Staff, and NBA Legends | The Weekly Drive
Nobody knows what the Pistons should or will do on NBA Draft night.
Happy Monday Pistons fans, and welcome to this week’s edition of The Weekly Drive. Detroit continues to evaluate NBA Draft prospects, Monty Williams updates, and we remember Jerry West and Bill Walton. It’s a lighter week, but let’s get to it.
NBA Draft Update
We are now just a few short weeks away from the NBA Draft, and the Pistons continue to evaluate what to do with the fifth-overall pick. Detroit is in an interesting position, without a General Manager and in limbo with their head coach. But here is a roundup of draft news as it relates to the Pistons:
Sources say Detroit had Matas Buzelis in for a workout in front of key Pistons decision-makers - which did not include the head coach. Per sources, those in attendance included new President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon, executives Dwane Casey and Michael Blackstone, assistant coaches Stephen Silas and Jarrett Jack, and Cade Cunningham and his camp.
Those same sources also said the Pistons worked out Zaccharie Risacher on Saturday. Risacher, another French prospect with true “3-and-D” characteristics, would be an ideal fit for the shooting-needy Pistons. Jasper Apollonia broke down Risacher and his skill set as well as how it would work in Motown.
Bleacher Report reported that Colorado forward Cody Williams, brother of Oklahoma City Thunder star Jaylen Williams, is in play with the fourth or fifth pick.
Jonathan Wassermann reports that the Pistons held a private workout with Tidjane Salaun, a high-upside French forward who is just 18 years old.
There is more talk of teams wanting to move up on the draft, including the Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This is a weird NBA Draft cycle, so much so that the top eight picks seem fluid just more than a week out. Trades, players falling and rising, and still impending coaching changes makes this year’s draft a little extra bizarre than normal.
Monty Williams Update
There isn’t one. Move on.
No, but seriously, there isn’t one. Read about Jerry West.
Ugh, fine. The Pistons made a strange move with the hiring of Fred Vinson, the former shooting coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. Vinson, who was with the Pelicans for 14 seasons, is a very well-respected shooting expert who has helped the likes of Lonzo Ball, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy. The Pistons have some, shall we say shooting-challenged players, who could benefit from Vinson’s expertise.
Why is this strange? Well, the Pistons added to Williams’ staff by sidestepping him. The reporting around the hiring of Vinson has not been framed as Williams’ adding to his staff, it has been Langdon or the Pistons, in general, adding to it. That wording is strange.
RIP, Jerry West, and Bill Walton
The basketball world lost yet another legend this past week with the passing of decorated Hall of Fame guard Jerry West. To say West was just influential to the game of basketball is an insult: to many, he was the game of basketball. After all, the NBA’s iconic logo is unofficially modeled after West dribbling a ball.
For as adept he was on the court - a 10-time All-Star, 1972 NBA Champion, 1969 NBA Finals MVP, and defensive wizard - he was also a titan in his second career as a head coach and executive. As General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, West helped to build the dynastic “Showtime” era of the purple and gold. He drafted Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Then, more than a decade later, he traded for Kobe Bryant and signed Shaquille O’Neal - in the same week in the summer of 1996. The rest is history.
West meant far more to the game of basketball than he realized, but he more than understood what it meant to him personally. In his 2011 memoir, West said his childhood was filled with anger due to an abusive father. He channeled that pain into his game, using it to fuel him for decades and decades. The result was one of the most legendary and revered basketball stories ever written. West leaves behind a big hole in the NBA, but his impact on the game is immeasurable.
I would be remiss for not also mentioning that the NBA lost another legend in the 6-foot-11 form of Bill Walton. One of the greatest centers of all time, Walton may be most fondly and recently remembered as quite literally the definition of a color commentator. His infectious personality, hilarious on-air antics, and big heart will be remembered always. Here is a compilation of his best moments as a commentator, mostly tormenting his partner Dave Pasch. You’ll be missed too, Bill.
That will do it for this week’s Weekly Drive, an admittedly lighter one with the NBA Finals nearing their merciful conclusion. See you next week.