Weaver was introduced as the Pistons new GM via a Zoom conferencePISTONS
The Pistons officially introduced Troy Weaver as their new GM, and the franchise has "done something that feels right and makes sense," according to Jeff Seidel of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Pistons Owner Tom Gores during yesterday's introductory Zoom call said, "He's the best man, period, the best person, period, in the world for this job. His track record, his reputation, everything stood out." Weaver himself said, "This isn't a rebuild. This is a restoring." Seidel notes the move "comes at the perfect time," as the Pistons "could have a potential top-five pick" in the '20 NBA Draft and $30M in cap room. Since Gores bought the club in '11, he has seemingly "tried everything to fix this franchise," including "different arenas, different front-office structures, different coaches, going with a general manager and without -- and he even tried to combine everything into one, bringing in a coach who was also the team president" in Stan Van Gundy. But this has produced "nothing but mediocrity and constant change." Now, there is "one lingering question: How is this going to work?" The Pistons "don't really have a traditional team president," but they they do have senior advisor Ed Stefanski and Vice Chair Arn Tellem. Seidel: "Who is going to call the shots? How much of a voice will Stefanski and Tellem have? How will Weaver work with those two?" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/23).
THE RIGHT FIT: Gores said that Weaver is "the 'final piece,' someone the organization can trust in leading day-to-day operations and bringing the franchise back to its former glory." In Detroit, Omari Sankofa II notes team execs "believe Weaver is the right guy to lead their decision-making process." Tellem recently said that "more than 75% of Detroit’s future success will come from the draft" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/23). Gores: "We just felt it was time to go big or go home -- let's just go get the best" (DETROIT NEWS, 6/23). The FREE PRESS' Sankofa writes it "didn’t take long" for Weaver to "buy into the vision sold" by Gores and the rest of the front office for the team's future. Weaver said, "When I met Tom on Zoom, I was blown away” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/23).
