Detroit Pistons: Quick reactions from Media Day 2018

The Detroit Pistons held their media day at Little Caesars Arena on Monday afternoon. Here are my quick reactions to what went down at the annual event.

Promotional footage and individual portraits were shot instead of basketballs. Players and personnel all dressed in their game-day attire. And while there was no game to be played, it was (at least) a start.

The Detroit Pistons held their annual media day at Little Caesars Arena on Monday. It was the first time this season that the entire team appeared together at a publicized event. Training camp is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with the preseason beginning on Oct. 3.

But in the meantime, here’s a look at what stood out from Media Day 2018.

Training camp roster

The Detroit Pistons revealed the 19 players that will make up their 2018 training camp roster. Most of the names on this list (such as the starters and rotation players) shouldn’t come as a surprise. Others will.

Keenan Evans, Johnny Hamilton and Zach Lofton are all undrafted rookies. Reggie Hearn is entering his second with the Pistons. He played in just three games last year, spending most of his time in the G League with the Grand Rapids Drive.

All four will likely end up in Grand Rapids. Second-round draft picks Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas have a much better shot at making the Pistons’ regular season roster. But if Detroit’s core remains healthy, they too could see plenty of action in the G League.

Reggie Jackson’s health

One of the major topics brought up during media day was the current status of Reggie Jackson.

Back on Sep. 19, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reported that Jackson hadn’t set foot on a basketball court all summer. Last year’s ankle injury had lingered to the point where it still bothered him during the off-season.

There was no timetable given for Jackson’s return. Detroit Pistons’ senior adviser Ed Stefanski was asked about the starting point guard on Monday.

From the tweets seen above, Jackson’s 2017-18 injuries are now a thing of the past. All that’s left to wonder is whether or not he’ll be in “basketball shape” come Oct. 17.

He spoke with reporters at length on Monday, detailing what he’s gone through over the summer, and how he’s approaching the 2018-19 campaign.

As for the possibility of Jackson playing in the preseason? That appears to be up in the air at this point.

Andre Drummond’s 3-point shot

Dwane Casey has been clear from the get-go: the Pistons need to make 3-point shooting a priority on offense.

That goes for Andre Drummond as well.

Much like he did with Jonas Valanciunas in Toronto, Casey hopes to use Drummond’s 3-point shot as a way to space the floor and keep defenders honest.  As optimistic as Casey was, he didn’t get carried away.

The 25-year-old center has committed himself to becoming a long-range threat. This was evident by the various social media videos posted over the summer, which showed Drummond working on pull-up triples in different scenarios.

On Monday, he gave reporters an update on his progress.

Drummond appeared to be on the same page as Casey, saying that his 3-point attempts will be “opportunity threes.” To put it bluntly, he won’t be chucking them up at the rate of Josh Smith.

I think it’s only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt at this point in his career. Drummond is entering Year No. 7, and he’s done nothing but improve during his tenure as a Piston.

Nobody thought his free-throw shooting percentage would ever rise above 50 percent. Yet he blew that out of the water last season.

While I understand that a free throw is vastly different from a 3-pointer, he’s proven that he can adjust for the better.

What stood out to you the most during media day? Was there something that you thought deserved more attention?

Let us know in the comment section below!