The night before the 2022 NBA draft, Troy Weaver received a call from Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores. He had some advice for his general manager.
“(He) said, ‘Hey, I want you to be aggressive and go for it,’” Weaver said the night after the draft. “I didn’t know what the rest of the day would look like, but this is what the result of being aggressive and going for it is, and we’re thankful and grateful that we landed here. These moments will be inflection points for the restoration.”
Detroit got lucky on draft night by taking Jaden Ivey fifth overall, and then they made a big swing to acquire Jalen Duren from the New York Knicks with the 13th pick. The front office had both players ranked very highly on their draft board, and with Gores’ blessing, they made out like bandits on draft night.
On Wednesday, Gores had a front row seat to what that draft night aggression will mean for the Pistons, both in the short- and long-term. The Pistons kicked off their regular season with a 113-109 victory over the Orlando Magic at Little Caesars Arena, and Ivey and Duren played big roles. Ivey finished with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting and four assists, and Duren added 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in just under 22 minutes off of the bench.
It’s too early to say if the opener foretold the type of season the Pistons are in store for, but the rookie duo passed their first test. Gores, whose private equity firm Platinum Equity purchased the Pistons in 2011, has witnessed a lot of losing in his decade-plus owning the franchise.
He’s encouraged by what he saw on Wednesday.
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“I’m an optimistic person, but I think this team has the makings of something special, this team,” Gores said while addressing the media at halftime on Wednesday. “There’s no doubt about it. Their basketball talent and everything else, they have the makings of something very special.
Ivey and Duren were considered to be two of the best athletes in their class, and they produced numerous highlights Wednesday. Ivey may already be one of the NBA’s most dangerous transition players, thanks to his top-end speed. Orlando struggled to contain him, and once he found his outside touch, the floor opened up even more. He opened the third quarter with a dribble hand-off 3-pointer, and hit a pull-up 3 midway through it to extend Detroit’s lead to five.
After shooting just 34.1% overall in four preseason games, Ivey looked more in control during his NBA regular season debut. It helped him that the Pistons hit 14 of 28 3-pointers after missing their first 10. When the floor is open, defenses can do little to prevent him from attacking.
Duren initially wasn’t expected to have a big role for the Pistons this early into the season, but injuries have thrust him into the limelight. He’s 18, but he looks ready for the NBA. Four of his seven made baskets were dunks — a lob from Killian Hayes, a transition poster on Magic wing Chuma Okeke, a putback dunk off of a missed Kevin Knox layup and a cutting dunk following a pick-and-roll pass from Cade Cunningham.
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He may already be the best rebounder on Detroit’s roster. Five of his 10 were on the offensive end, and he grabbed double-digit rebounds in all three of his preseason games despite limited minutes.
The Pistons are still a rebuilding team, but Wednesday provided evidence that the rebuild is on the right track. The play of their two rookies is a big reason why.
“I actually have to tell everybody else, because this young team, they’re ready,” Gores said. “They are ready to go and do it. Talking to them the other night, I said to them ‘no limits, be patient with yourself. Don’t worry about the results, just go work hard and we take it from there.’”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.