Like workers in any industry, NBA players talk among themselves about which place is nicer to work for than others. The Detroit Pistons did some things this season that will be getting kudos from players. That could pay off in the future.
As anyone who has watched the end of an NBA game knows, once the final buzzer sounds, the tough game-faces turn into friendly smiles among the players, as they commingle after games.
In the age of COVID-19, the league decided the players were getting a little too chummy after the games.
Beginning tonight, NBA teams’ security will be stationed at halfcourt for compliance of rules regarding pre- and post-game interactions, the league informed teams. NBA and NBPA agreed on players maintaining six feet of distance, refraining from hugs/handshakes, and wearing masks.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 20, 2021
After a while, the NBA players union kind of stepped in and the security guards went away. But you get the idea, players on different teams talk.
And among the things they will talk about is what their team is like, or what they heard about other teams.
And you better believe that Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver realizes it!
How to generate positive talk among NBA players can help the Detroit Pistons
Of course, the most famous instance of players talking amongst themselves on where to play came in 2010, when LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to join their friend Dwanye Wade with the Miami Heat. Championships ensued (although not every year).
But players influencing other players on where they should go happens all the time, and not necessarily having them come to their team.
The Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are two the NBA’s glamour franchises, players who are free agents should be streaming to them, yet NBA player gossip affected even them in the recent past.
Before LeBron came, the Lakers had been for the previous four years one of the worst teams in the league. Part of the reason was, it was rumored at the time, that players who did not like then-coach Byron Scott, were giving negative feedback to those considering the Lakers for free agency.
Coincidentally or not, when Scott and the Lakers front office was given the boot (including owner Jeanie Buss firing her own brother), all of sudden, free agents began signing with The Lake Show again.
If you live in New York, you know there is no question who the most popular team in the city is: the Knicks are the team, the Nets merely a sideshow.
However, this past off-season, two of the NBA’s biggest stars chose the Nets over the Knicks. Why?
Players talk
The total dysfunction of the Knicks has been a long-standing talking point. From (in their eyes), the mistreatment of Carmelo Anthony, the mishandling of a young star like Kristaps Porzingis to even the poor handling of honored ex-players like Charles Oakley.
It was a vibe of negativity emanating from Madison Square Garden, and the players around the league discussed it.
That has undoubtedly played a part in the Knicks getting no big-name free agents to sign there in a while. (Julius Randle, at the time, was not considered a big signing, the Lakers renounced his rights to put him on the free agent market a couple years earlier).
While the Pistons have done a lot of things that pleased the fans on the court (including not winning a lot, but coming real close), they have also done some things to make themselves look good to other NBA players.
The Pistons have five free agents from this year’s team, many of whom Weaver wants to bring back, as well as adding a few new players. Talk may be cheap but positive talk about Detroit could pay off big time if players think it is a good place to play.
Here are some of the ways the Detroit Pistons have made themselves look good to those in the NBA chat-lines: