Rumors

NBA on ESPN: "We love you and we need you." —Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff on the advice he would give De'Aaron Fox 👏

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What was your message to him when he was fired by the Magic? JB Bickerstaff: We talk about everything all the time. I told him that his next job was going to be his best job. When you get a job as a first-time coach, you’re kind of at the organization’s whim because they have to choose you. When you go into your next job after having the success that he had, you get an opportunity to choose. You get an opportunity to ask questions that first-time head coaches don’t get to ask. It’s important that you know the people that you’re working with.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

What makes Mosley a good coach? JB Bickerstaff: The way that he cares about the people he works with. His willingness to sacrifice of himself for the greater good and for the players he’s coaching and the organization as a whole. I think that’s where it starts. But then you look at his teams and his teams are always well coached. Defensively, they are always really good, really sound. Offensively, they had a plan. You had to game-plan to beat his teams. His teams didn’t beat themselves.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Although Detroit collapsed in the second round, the front office’s confidence in Bickerstaff, who signed a contract extension the day after the Pistons ousted the Magic in the first round, hasn’t wavered. The Pistons view him as the coach of the future, and the expectation, per league sources, is for Bickerstaff to be around long term. He’s established meaningful relationships throughout the locker room and has cultivated a culture that the organization believes is sustainable, given the team’s youth.

New York Times

Veteran Tobias Harris was Detroit’s second scoring option. The 33-year-old, whom Bickerstaff has routinely referred to as his “safety blanket,” averaged 18.1 points per game, good for the second most in his playoff career. But Harris scored a combined 11 points on 2-of-13 shooting in the final two games of the second round. Harris will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. As valuable as Harris was to start the postseason, he couldn’t sustain his level of offensive production as the playoffs pushed on. Harris will likely have multiple suitors around the league, in addition to the Pistons, this summer.

New York Times

Ausar Thompson is also extension eligible. Per a league source, Detroit views Thompson as part of its core and will seek to get a rookie-scale extension done with the third-year wing in the offseason. Thompson tallied more “stocks” than anyone in the postseason (28 steals and 25 blocks), and his impact was undeniable despite his offensive limitations. “People can judge however they want to judge, but you’re looking at this big picture and long term,” Bickerstaff said ahead of Game 6 when asked if he’d considered a lineup change away from Thompson and Duren. “Those guys are going to be a huge part of what we do for a long time. What does it say about us, if in their difficult times, we choose to give up on them? That’s not building the environment we want to build.

New York Times

Although Detroit collapsed in the second round, the front office’s confidence in JB Bickerstaff, who signed a contract extension the day after the Pistons ousted the Magic in the first round, hasn’t wavered. The Pistons view him as the coach of the future, and the expectation, per league sources, is for Bickerstaff to be around long term. He’s established meaningful relationships throughout the locker room and has cultivated a culture that the organization believes is sustainable, given the team’s youth.

New York Times

Hunter Patterson: J.B. on whether this season was a disappointment: “It’s not a disappointment at all. Not ever will I be disappointed in these guys. These guys, every single day, give us what they’ve got. … It’s a loss, it’s a tough loss. But that adjective will never be used with this group.”

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Omari Sankofa II: JB: “For us, the focus has always just been the moment and it’s just one game. That's the way we’ve treated these playoffs since being down 3-1 against Orlando. It wasn’t this huge thing we had to overcome. It was just, you had to win one game.”

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Hunter Patterson: J.B. on whether Jalen Duren got rolling in Game 6 because Stew and Reed played early: “I’m not sure if it was the timing of those guys’ minutes. We were able to find more space for him to operate. … I think he found something that he liked and that he can replicate.”

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Hunter Patterson: J.B. on starting Daniss last game: “Even with Ausar in that lineup you’re seeing there are three guys who bring the ball up. So they can’t just hone in on where (Cade) is gonna be. We can move him around more freely, the point of attack changes. … Hope it works again tonight.”

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"This is why 'Vert is here," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "He isn't afraid of the moment. He is a two-way impactful player. He can put a ton of pressure on defenses. He has that off-rhythm cadence to his game, which makes him hard to guard. He can get to the paint and make shots. Defensively, he is a pest. He can put his hands on people. He is digging at the ball. He can get deflections, get steals, and take one-on-ones. This is why we wanted 'Vert to be with us this year, because we knew what he is capable of in moments like this."

Detroit News

J.B. Bickerstaff on James Harden: "He has an unbelievable ability to manipulate what the rules are. We would play 1 on 1 when I coached in Houston and he would foul bait me."

reddit

Omari Sankofa II: JB on changing lineups vs trusting guys to figure it out: "You’re looking at this big picture and longterm. Those guys are gonna be a huge part of what we do for a long time, and what does it say about us if in their difficult times, we choose to give up on them?"

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