Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver is in the running for Executive of the Year

The Detroit Pistons are finally headed in the right direction and Troy Weaver deserves credit.

When Troy Weaver took over as the GM of the Detroit Pistons, he inherited a hot mess.

The roster was not good, there was little young talent and he was saddled with one of the worst contracts in the NBA in Blake Griffin.

Not exactly a recipe for success.

But Weaver has made the most of it, mostly through his eye for talent. We can argue all day about draft picks and it will take years before we know if Weaver made the right call on Killian Hayes, but otherwise, it’s been a series of home runs.

Weaver clearly understands what he is looking for in a player, which are guys who are not only talented but tough, guys who will change the culture so that the Detroit Pistons are consistent winners.

After just one offseason, Weaver looks like he knows what he is doing and should be in the running for Executive of the Year.

Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver has an eye for talent

Hitting a home run in free agency and the draft in the same offseason? I’m not sure I recognize this team.

It’s been so long since Detroit had any kind of payoff from a free agent or draft pick that we’d forgotten what a good one looks like.

Troy Weaver went hard after Jerami Grant and took plenty of heat for it. Grant was a role player on the Nuggets and many questioned whether he was worth a big contract.

No one is questioning that now, as Grant has to be the frontrunner for Most Improved Player and is making Troy Weaver look like a genius.

There are a whole lot of teams who are now wishing they had taken the same chance, but they didn’t and Weaver deserves credit for identifying an undervalued talent and getting him.

Same with Saddiq Bey, who is looking like the steal of the draft. He is playing great defense already, evidenced by the fact that he is a rookie getting minutes under coach Dwane Casey, who does not hand out time to anyone who hasn’t earned it.

Bey was another move many people questioned, especially the fans of Luke Kennard, who thought it was crazy to trade their guy for an unproven draft pick.

Weaver’s eye for talent once again won the day, as Kennard is now an 8-point-per-game role player who is making $16 million a year and Saddiq Bey is already better.

When you throw in Isaiah Stewart, who is second among rookies in rebounding, it looks like the Pistons have some foundational pieces to build around.

And it’s not like they fell into Weaver’s lap, he had to be aggressive to get Grant and Bey, and he was.

Weaver deserves credit for being able to identify talent and to go after it when he does. The Pistons aren’t going to the playoffs, but Weaver might still take home some hardware for a rebuild that is going a lot faster than expected.