Detroit Pistons: Erik Spoelstra has high praise for Bey and Stewart

Erik Spoelstra is one of the better and more successful coaches in the NBA right now. Some of his success is owed to LeBron James, while Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey can credit LeBron with his lack of playoff success.

Regardless of how Spoelstra achieved greatness, it’s always nice to hear praise from someone who is the best at their craft. Spoelstra is the head coach for the Team USA Select squad, which helps warm up the Olympic team for Tokyo. On his roster are two young Pistons, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart.

Detroit Pistons: Spoelstra is impressed with Bey, Stewart and the Pistons

In a recent media call, Spo had only good things to say about the Pistons’ organization, the young core, and the coaching staff.

"“They’re in a great program, particularly for development under Coach Casey. We saw it firsthand from where they were at the beginning of the year to where they were at the end. It’s a big credit to them and how committed they were to their development, their improvement, to accepting coaching. It’s clear it didn’t just happen. A lot of working behind the scenes to have that kind of improvement. Both of them have very promising futures.”"

As much as I’d like to say that Coach Spoelstra is the biggest Piston believer in the NBA world, that’s probably not true, but as Ansar Khan from MLive pointed out, Bey and Stewart have grown considerably in front of Spoelstra’s very eyes.

In Detroit’s first two matchups with Miami, Bey scored only five points in the first and zero in the second. He shot 1-4 from the field over both games.

Those two games were in January, but in May Bey dropped 22 points. Admittedly, his shooting was horrendous, but he grabbed five boards and dished four assists. He also put up a block and a steal. Talk about massive improvement.

Stewart put up a double-double in his debut against the Heat, but in game two he put up a goose egg and only grabbed two rebounds. He sat out in the third game against Miami.

Erik Spoelstra has seen Bey improve massively throughout the season, and he’s seen what Stewart is capable of. Now he gets to work with them all summer. Spo’s word means a lot in the NBA, so if he has high praise for Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, the whole league might be put on notice.

Things are looking good for the Detroit Pistons, who will add the first pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and have one of the best young cores in the NBA.