Detroit Pistons: New GM Troy Weaver has plenty of experience
By AJ Wiseman
The Detroit Pistons new General Manager has plenty of experience in the NBA world and is well equipped to take on his new position.
The Detroit Pistons as everyone knows have hired Troy Weaver to be their new General Manager. The question has been; who is Troy Weaver?
He coached for the successful AAU program DC Assault, winning the 1996 AAU Tournament of Champions. From 1996-1999 he was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh then an assistant at New Mexico from 1999-2000 (NBA.com).
In 2000 he joined Syracuse as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim.
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Weaver’s strong Baltimore-DC area ties helped Syracuse land Carmelo Anthony and ultimately win the 2003 NCAA National Championship. After that season Weaver left for his first NBA gig.
Yahoo! Sports Pete Thamel tweeted that if Weaver never left Syracuse they would have landed Kevin Durant a couple years later.
Great nugget from this Facebook live on the @Cuse_MBB title game from 2003. Jim Boeheim claims if former assistant Troy Weaver didn't leave for the NBA, Syracuse would have landed Kevin Durant. An intriguing what if.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 5, 2020
Exactly. It is an intriguing what if, but it is an example of Weaver’s ability to evaluate talent and develop relationships.
From 2004-2007 Weaver was Head Scout for the Utah Jazz. Then he was promoted to Director of Player personnel for the Jazz in 2007-2008.
Players drafted by the Jazz during this tenure include: Mo Williams (2nd round), C.J. Miles (2nd round), Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, and Paul Millsap (2nd round).
Weaver joined the Oklahoma City Thunder in May of 2008 and assisted General Manager Sam Presti with roster development and day-to-day basketball operations. He also coordinated the team’s player personnel matters including NBA Draft preparation, player free agency, and summer league roster (NBA.com).
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In the 2008 NBA Draft, his first with the Thunder, they selected Russell Westbrook with the 4th pick.
In the 2009 NBA Draft the Thunder drafted James Harden with the 3rd overall pick. They also grabbed Serge Ibaka with the 24th pick in the first round of that same draft.
The young Big 4 of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka eventually led Oklahoma City to the 2012 NBA Finals where they lost to the Miami Heat that featured their own Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh.
In his more recent Thunder seasons he was a part of the management that drafted Domantas Sabonis and eventually traded him to Indiana for Paul George.
Since the late 90’s he’s been involved in high level basketball. There is an excellent track record for Weaver throughout his years as either a scout or executive in the NBA. He’s worked his way up to this position and seems to have had other choices, but he chose Detroit.
Pistons fans should have confidence in their new GM with an important offseason coming up.
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