The NBA Executive of the Year award is given to the executive with the most successful transactions that year. However, to truly respect the full makeover Troy Weaver has initiated for the Detroit Pistons we must look at the past.
Weaver was brought over from OKC to reload the Detroit Pistons from top to bottom. Although this team is far from a finished product, there are rumblings of greatness in the midst.
His first great move was trading Kennard for the draft pick that became Saddiq Bey. It looks like Bey will be at the least a good rotational scorer, and at most a Jaylen Brown type star, while Kennard is still an elite shooter who can’t guard anyone. It looks like a win for the Detroit Pistons, especially when you consider their respective salaries.
In that same draft, the Pistons grabbed Beef Stew and Killian Hayes. Hayes is still very much a work in progress, but has 6th Man of the Year type talent and potential. Stewart is also still developing but has flashed impressive defense at times and is starting to improve his offense game.
Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver becomes the Reaper
Along with drafting quality young players immediately after being hired, Troy Weaver spent the last few years cleaning house. Any player that seemed too expensive or unproductive was given the boot. There was even a meme going around, labeling him “Troy Reaper”, because nobody was safe from his wrath.
Weaver was impartial and unbiased when making moves. His only goal was to remodel the team into a version that could win, even if that didn’t make him very popular at first. Some of the players let go through his few years as GM were: Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, Delon Wright, Bruce Brown, Thon Maker, Sekou Doumbouya and Tony Snell. His aggressive approach was questioned, and firmly answered by Weaver in an interview according to beat reporter Rod Beard’s twitter:
"GM Troy Weaver on his aggressiveness: “I don’t put my toe in the water, I ride in the front of the roller coaster with my hands up … my clip is always empty.”"
Troy Weaver is a risk taker
Troy Weaver has a vision for the Detroit Pistons and confidence that he can pull it off. He will take the shot and live with the result. That’s a very important aspect of a GM with a plan. However, it’s also a characteristic of an executive with a death wish.
Weaver signed Jerami Grant (who was a 3-and-D role player) to a $60 million deal that many questioned at the time. He traded for an underachieving Marvin Bagley III, who had been a flop so far in his NBA career. Both moves have worked out so far and have shown an eye for talent, but they are also the types of moves that will get you fired if they don’t work out.
Detroit Pistons: The next phase
After using the first overall pick to snatch up Cade Cunningham, the Detroit Pistons are seemingly on the right track with a solid young core of Stewart, Bey and Cunningham, accompanied by 23 and 28 year old forwards Bagley III and Grant. The Pistons are on their way to sustained success but Weaver’s moves this offseason may ultimately determine if that happens.
I don’t believe it would be a stretch to call this year the most important one of his short tenure. He has important decisions to make on the futures of Jerami Grant and Marvin Bagley III, as well as Hamidou Diallo and Frank Jackson.
The Detroit Pistons have the 5th pick in the NBA Draft, which they need to nail to add another potential star next to Cade Cunningham. They will also have money to spend in free agency and can’t make the mistake of overpaying for the wrong guy.
If Troy Weaver pulls off another successful offseason, the Detroit Pistons could make a leap into the play-in tournament, proving that they are headed in the right direction.
If the Pistons can make such a leap, then Troy Weaver will be in line for Executive of the Year, as he will have completely torn down a terrible roster and rebuilt it into a playoff contender in just a few short years.