Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver likes ‘Bad Boys’ who are Boy Scouts

Detroit Pistons general manager Troy Weaver must prize his sleep. Since taking over last June, he has made a point of getting players who will not result in him getting a call at 3 a.m. starting off “Sir, could you come down to the station please?”.

While the Pistons revel in their reputation as ‘Bad Boys’, Weaver likes players who are good guys off the court. This year’s NBA Draft is a perfect example of how Weaver looks at players.

Look at the four players Detroit took in the draft: Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Livers, Luka Garza and Balsa Koprivica.

Now, we can debate each players skills, ceiling, fit and how they will do in the NBA (Garza particularly brings up a hornets nest of debate). But all the discussions are strictly on basketball.

However, there are no phrases like: ‘would have gone higher except for questions about his attitude’, ‘his off the court problems in college hopefully won’t follow him to the pros’ or ‘He finally found a good fit in the fourth college he transferred to’.

On 97.1 FM the morning after the draft, Weaver talked about Livers, but it goes for everyone he has drafted this year as well as last (courtesy Rod Beard of Detroit News).

People always say ‘You have to go with the talent’ when looking at players. Weaver obviously disagrees. He looks at the character, as well as the talent.

One of the reasons the Houston Rockets failed in their attempt to get the No. 1 draft pick from Detroit was, probably, that their most enticing player they could send the Pistons, Kevin Porter Jr.,  had some past problems in his first stop in Cleveland.

Weaver, if he does not have to, is not interested in players with baggage. Detroit is in the opening stages of a ‘restoration’. There are a lot of young, impressionable kids on the team, many of them not even old enough to (legally) drink, and very inexperienced in the ways of the NBA.

He has stated that “There will always be veterans on my teams” no matter the team’s record. The vets Weaver has had on the Pistons: like Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, Wayne Ellington, Mason Plumlee and Cory Joseph, were all good role models and willing mentors to the young players.

With free agency approaching, one can assume Weaver will continue to look for tough, but good, guys.

Having now made eight draft choices since becoming GM, and every one of them referred to as ‘high character’ is not a coincidence. This is the way Troy Weaver wants the Detroit Pistons to be.