Laughable, promising and cryptic quotes from Pistons exit interviews
The Detroit Pistons took the stage for player exit interviews following a disappointing season that ended as the worst in franchise history.
The Pistons have already begun the process of revamping the front office, but it was the players who were first to face up to the media.
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There were some interesting snippets ranging from things that made me laugh, to things that gave me hope and a cryptic response from Cade Cunningham.
The Detroit Pistons were red hot!
*Thanks to James Edwards III of The Athletic for the quotes and for a great season of coverage.
The first came from Jalen Duren, who lamented early injuries that stalled a hot start from Detroit.
Duren: "The 28 games, man ... in the beginning we started hot and then had an injury or two."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 15, 2024
Said this was the year to build the chemistry with Cade coming back healthy. "We're all young and trying to gain that knowledge and experience."
Who could forget the Pistons’ 2-1 start, what a run! Unfortunately, a 28-game losing streak was close behind, which undid those brilliant two victories over Bulls and Hornets to start the season.
The Pistons did have early-season injuries to contend with, including both of their veteran shooters in Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks but those two were also there for a big chunk of the losing streak.
The phrase “we started hot” made me laugh knowing what happened next.
Simone Fontecchio on staying in Detroit
Fontecchio filled a role as a shooter from the wing and was one of the bright spots of the season, a nice pickup by Troy Weaver.
Fontecchio will be a restricted free agent and it sounds like he has every intention of staying in Detroit. He praised Cade Cunningham and stated his intention directly:
"Everyone this summer is going to work toward me staying here longterm. That's what I want." https://t.co/x6gEL9uBSa
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 15, 2024
Regardless of the other changes to the roster, Fontecchio is at least a solid bench player who spreads the floor and gives effort on both ends. Hopefully, he and the Pistons can come to a team-friendly agreement that keeps him in Detroit
Cade Cunningham on the future
Cade Cunningham was asked about his upcoming extension and gave a canned and cryptic response that didn’t reveal much.
Asked Cade on if he hopes to sign an extension this summer: "I've had that on my mind. That's obvious. I make sure I don't get ahead of myself. If I got in a car crash and wasn't able to play anymore, those things don't happen. I take it day by day."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 15, 2024
He added that he will “worry about the extension when the time comes", which is a perfectly valid and healthy response, though I would add that this season might already qualify as a "car crash." I don’t read too much into this, as Cunningham wasn’t going to get into the details of the negotiations, but I do wonder if he’ll have “input” on offseason moves as part of the process.
Asked Cade if he feels he is in a position to give input to the powers that be about what he thinks the team needs: "Yeah, for sure. I'm very comfortable and confident in how I see the games and players. I feel like I have a great sense for what guys are made of."
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 15, 2024
The exit interviews are over, now comes the hard part, ensuing that the team isn’t perpetually giving them before the playoffs start.
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