Veteran talent adds excitement, competition for new-look Pistons Media Day for the Detroit Pistons. Hmm. What to ask? As I pondered that question, I took stock of where the franchise found itself. Coming off a season that featured the worst record in the NBA. The team used a war chest to trade for some veteran talent. There was a coaching change, with the Pistons adding a respected veteran coach with playoff pedigree. They also added the No. 5 overall pick to a roster featuring plenty of other young talent. The date? Oct. 2, 2023. Oh, you were wondering about 2024 Media Day? Ahhh. Got it. Yeah, it’s pretty much the same this year for the Pistons. But as player after player took the microphone, it was interesting how this year compared to last. The players were saying largely the same thing, but this time you could get a sense they felt the truth in their own words. Will that truth translate to better play on the floor, long-hoped-for progress for a young team, more wins, and a path back toward relevancy? You’re not going to get answers to those $100,000 questions by talking to players for 10 minutes. But the players are saying the right thing about this year’s new coach, JB Bickerstaff, who replaced last year’s new coach, Monty Williams. More importantly, this year’s veteran additions talk like players who are not just here to fill a role and set an example. They are here to mentor young players and, when necessary, to steal their minutes. Crucially, the young guys also seem enthused about veteran additions playing big roles on this team turn the page and not just in service of helping the young guys learn how to create their own offense. The trio of Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Stewart, and Ausar Thompson started 144 of their 185 games last year. None is promised a starting role this season, and it didn’t phase any of them. All you heard from them was genuine enthusiasm for how eager the vets seemed in being a member of the Pistons, in playing a leadership role, and in putting the young players in positions to succeed. Beef Stew spoke diplomatically about how he took on the challenge of becoming a power forward because that’s what was asked of him, and also how excited he was to get back to his roots as a center, grabbing offensive rebounds, and doing the dirty work. Ivey discussed his excitement for being put in a position to succeed and freedom to play to the best of his abilities, even if it meant doing more with the ball in his hands in bench lineups. Ausar Thompson, who is still not cleared for basketball activities as he works with the NBA Players Association on returning from his blood clot issues of last season, discussed open driving lanes veteran shooters will create, his chance to handle the ball more in bench lineups, and his chance to showcase more of his on- and off-ball defensive skills. That’s not to say that the Pistons are thinking adding the likes of Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. is magically going to turn this team into a playoff contender. But each discussed their roles as a leader, as a shooter, as someone who can help settle an offense, and as someone who can show young players the seriousness and focus needed to play 2,000 minutes every season. While taking pains to ensure they weren’t bad-mouthing last year’s former veterans, every time someone 24 and younger came to the mic, it was clear the appreciated how much this year’s crew wants to be with the team and wants to engage with the young players. It helps that they can also play, and play often. Harris, who signed a two-year $52 million deal this offseason to serve as a steadying presence on both ends of the floor. He also has played nearly every game of the season since he left Detroit in 2018. That already is a big difference from the previous regime’s MASH unit of veterans who were so often stuck on the sidelines in street clothes. The same could be said of Hardaway Jr., the former Michigan Wolverine, who plays 2,000 minutes nearly every season, and will serve as a reliable, high-volume 3-point shooter. Malik Beasley is even more dangerous from deep than Hardaway, and could start alongside Cade Cunningham if the team wants to go all-in on spacing around its new max player. In speaking to the media, new president Trajan Langdon talked about development, not wins and losses, being the focus of the season. That’s another thing we’ve heard before. But under Troy Weaver, it seemed development could only come by throwing young guys on the floor and letting them figure it out. No matter how well they fit together, no matter what the spacing looked like, and no matter if they were up to the challenge. New president Trajan Langdon is taking the long view in the sense that, to get the development he needs to see from this young team, he will need to put them in the right lineup combinations and the right spots on the floor. Put in positions to do the things they do well at the NBA level. While also creating the kind of competition, and consequences for poor play, that seemed completely absent in the Troy Weaver era. There’s a new crew in charge, again, in Detroit. We’ll see how it all works out, but at least they are saying the right things.