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00:00Carson Anderson 97 won the ticket we mentioned we're at the Pistons
00:03Performance Center opening night is tomorrow night and joining us now John
00:07Blair Bickerstaff better known as JB welcome to Detroit head coach. Appreciate
00:12it full name make me feel like my mom's in town. You in trouble? I'm probably in
00:16trouble. So welcome what is your sense for the organization so far? It's been
00:24great so far you know working with the guys and spending as much time as we've
00:28been able to do with them getting to know them as people I feel like we have
00:33a really good group of guys you know high character guys that want to do the
00:37right thing want to help one another want to try to build this thing the
00:41right way then obviously my interactions with the front office have been
00:44phenomenal Trajan and I spent a ton of time together just trying to you know
00:49get to know each other better philosophy those types of things how we want to
00:53move forward and then having the support of Tom has been phenomenal also you know
00:58he really wants to be an asset he's available which isn't common with all
01:02owners so it's been really really good so far. Being the coach of Cleveland
01:07before coming here I imagine it that has its advantages knowing what you're
01:12getting yourself into coming to this to this organization and seeing the players
01:16up close and personal you haven't had a whole lot of time to work with these
01:19guys but has anything stood out and surprised you like oh I thought I knew
01:24this guy but it's even more or less than you were expecting. Yeah I think
01:28it's all the guys to be honest with you you know because when you watch teams
01:31from afar you know you're not always sure what a coach behind the scenes is
01:36asking those guys to do right you're not as involved in their system and you
01:40don't get to see them every day and you know being lucky enough to work with
01:44these guys and see it every single day you know just the way that they all
01:48approach the game and how they prepare we got some guys who really worked their
01:52tails off not just on the floor but in the weight room you know they want to be
01:56really really good and you don't get to see that if you're not around them
02:00watching their preparation every single day you know some of the guys you know
02:05you know like J.I. Speed like you get to see it you know on a game here there but
02:09like when you get to see it every single day and watch how impactful he can be
02:14you know how Cade sees the game and how he can organize and structure people and
02:18put them in the right places like those are all things that we've been really
02:21really impressed with. There's probably not anything that you can tangibly take
02:25from the present in Detroit but we just saw a Tiger team come out of nowhere and
02:30shock everybody and we got a Lions team that I don't know how much you followed
02:35the Detroit Lions the culture was bad for so many years and now it's good do
02:40you try to feed into that a little bit say all right guys look what the Tigers
02:45just did and and we're gonna set a culture like the Lions have completely
02:48changed things around are these things even remotely relevant to you? I mean
02:51they are but um you know it's kind of a similar thought coming into it anyway
02:55right like our responsibility to these guys is to put them in an environment
02:59where they can thrive that's what you do when you have young players so our focus
03:04is like every single day how do we make this building a place where guys feel
03:08being being comfortable right being the best versions of themselves because when
03:12you're comfortable you're confident you can go out and you can do special things
03:16like if you're you know if the environment's negative or there's you
03:19know it's not a positive experience for you it impacts the way you play so our
03:23focus is trying to make this building as positive as we can and then allow these
03:26guys to play with the ultimate confidence. I was told that you and
03:29Trajan actually went over and visited with the Lions? We went over and watched
03:32one of their practices yeah yeah yes yeah so you could see it I mean you could
03:36feel the like the spirit when they were out there competing but even small
03:41things like we watch when you know how are guys interacting when they're
03:44warming up right and you could see that there was a lot of positive energy a lot
03:49of great vibes you know they were laughing joking talking to one another
03:52but you could feel like there's a collectedness there where the only thing
03:56that matters to them is their group and then trying to do something special so
04:00it was great for us to be able to see that firsthand. When you were game
04:03planning against the Pistons in the past and the outside looking in you know what
04:07their strengths and weaknesses were that's from the team so now that you're
04:09with this team what did you want to improve on from day one what's what's
04:13the the number one goal? I mean for us it's always about defense that's one of
04:18the things that you know if you get the guys to buy in you can have an impact
04:22there you know you'll see how quickly it goes but like that's the first thing we
04:27wanted to focus on is the foundation in our mind of you know winning teams who
04:32sustain success their teams who can defend the basketball and get stops on
04:36command the offensive piece the guys are so talented and we'll put that system in
04:40obviously and continue to grow that but our focus was you know how can we make
04:44this team a better defensive team to impact winning games. How difficult
04:49is that to do to try to change the mindset of a team that may not been
04:52playing great defense to all of a sudden flip a switch and do it is it is it
04:55totally effort-based or is there a lot more to it? There's more to it but the
05:00buy-in and the want to is first and foremost right like you have to want to
05:04stop the guy who's in front of you you have to want to take the challenge of
05:08guarding the world's best players and trying to stop them so I think that's
05:12the first part of it and like I said getting to know these guys they have the
05:15want to and then we start to build the scheme you know some of the stuff we've
05:20done in the past but then have to tweak it a little bit based on personnel you
05:24know obviously we're a little bit different here with our you know the
05:26size of our team and those types of things so those are things that we can
05:29use to our advantage you know look to do more switching and things like that to
05:34erase triggers and always keep it more two-on-two instead of having to put an
05:39extra body in it and get to disadvantage situations and those types of things so
05:42again it's it's one of those things where you know it starts with the
05:46foundation of want to and then you build on the system from there. Where's Kate
05:50Cunningham right now in terms of his development ready to take a big step? I
05:53believe so you know again he's a really good player who I feel like had a really
05:57good year last year you know at the end of the day the way our league is like
06:01you earn the respect of your peers and all those things and the glory by
06:05impacting winning so it's our responsibility as an organization to
06:10help grow him but also make sure we're putting the people around a guy like
06:13that that are gonna make him be successful that's why I think the
06:16additions of Tobias, Tim Hardaway, and Malik Beasley were so big right those
06:21guys veteran players who know who they are they help our young players you know
06:27become the best players that they can possibly be as well. Do you like where
06:30the league is now the way that the game is played it's become such a shooters
06:33league do you do you like that are you more old-school and and roll your sleeves
06:38up again? Yeah I am it's like you're trying to find that balance of you know
06:43where we all kind of came from to where we are now and you have to continue to
06:47you know adjust to the league one of the things that we try not to do is become a
06:51part of the copycat pattern we try not to just do things that everybody else in
06:56the league is doing just because that's what everybody else in the league is
06:59doing you know so I do think the talent level is at an extremely high place you
07:07know maybe top to bottom the talent level may be as good as it's ever been
07:11and spread throughout the league I think that's why you've seen so many different
07:15champions over the past few years is because the talent level is so spread
07:19out you know I think there's a difference like we're teaching guys how
07:23to play basketball you know in the past all guys did was play basketball in the
07:28summer they would just play five on five or three on three and I think we've
07:32lost a little bit of that where now it's a lot of individual workouts and stuff
07:35so individual skill level is high but now we're teaching guys how to play the
07:39game of basketball the right way. Two draft picks Ron Holland Bobby
07:42Klintman any update on where they might fit in if this year at all? Yeah I think
07:48Ron has earned the opportunity to be a part of our rotation he's a guy who just
07:53competes at a high level he's not one of those young guys who feels like he's
07:57got to come in and score score score to impact the game you know I think you saw
08:01our first game here at home how impactful he was when he came in off the
08:05bench and kind of changed the energy versus Milwaukee and it wasn't you know
08:09go take this shot go get that shot it was get an offensive rebound get a steal
08:12get out in transition so for a young guy he figured out early how to impact the
08:19team and that was his priority it wasn't about okay I got to get mine I got to do
08:24my thing it was no no no let me go out here compete to try to win Bobby's
08:28situation has been a little different because he's banged up with the calf
08:31injury so we just got to go through that process of getting him healthy and then
08:35go from there. You mentioned Jaden Ivey's speed it's just off the charts when he
08:39seated up close was he the player or is there a player that you were really
08:43excited to get your hands on when you came to Detroit? It's hard to just say
08:47the one guy right I think I'd be doing all the guys a disservice I think all of
08:51our guys have upsides. We're all big guys, we understand. Our feelings aren't going to be I'm speaking on behalf of the basketball team like I know.
08:57But it's it's one of those things where you look at it and then you know part of
09:01the reason why I'm here is because the cupboard wasn't bare you know you look
09:05at J.D. you know with his upside and the potential that he has as a big and a
09:11playmaker and a defensive rebound and those types of things like Kate
09:14obviously you know J.I. we talked about but all those guys we want to invest in
09:19Asar like when I watch him play or just in practice and watching him in one-on-one
09:23stuff I don't know if I've seen a guy as athletically gifted as he is and as
09:27fluid and smooth as he is it's like when he takes off he's got about eight or
09:32nine seconds to make different decisions while he's still in the air and then he
09:35goes and finishes it or dunks it or whatever it is so you know all these
09:38young guys I'm excited to be a part of their future and be a part of their
09:42progress. J.B. Bickerstaff before we let you go take us back way back you're a
09:47young player and Chauncey Billups is on your AAU team and rival high schools
09:51obviously a Detroit legend what can you tell us about those battles or when you
09:55teamed up back yeah they weren't battles I'll tell you that he definitely had the
10:00advantage but no it was so we grew up together in the Denver area and I'll
10:06never forget my first experience we're playing in a tournament at the
10:09University of Denver and we just finished our game I think we were on the
10:13third or fourth court and all you heard in the building is smooths on court one
10:17smooths on court one and I was like who the hell is smooth and he was in the
10:23eighth grade at the time so everybody rushes crowds the floor to see him and
10:28he's probably you know six threes at that time and built like a grown man and
10:34was just out there dominating the game and then that next summer we ended up
10:39playing on the same AAU team one of our coaches would always make us play up a
10:43year and he would get guys that were a year older to play with us so Chauncey
10:47was on you know on those teams in every single game parents were asking to see
10:52his birth certificate because he was just so big and so dominant you know and
10:57so he and I you know continued to have a great relationship but my favorite thing
11:01about Chauncey is like he was always the same guy he didn't have to be you know
11:07kind to us he didn't have to take time to be with us and you know hang out with
11:11us being an older guy but he never let how good he was impact him as a person
11:17and he's still the same way like he's like a big brother to me now is like
11:21he'll call check on me reach out see how I'm doing those types of things so he's
11:26one of the guys that I couldn't be more happy to see all the success and things
11:30that he's had come his way the championships the winning the Hall of
11:33Fame like you know he deserves all that stuff what was he like with hair you
11:38know I'm trying to remember I don't think he ever had hair I'm trying to I'm
11:42thinking about it now and I don't remember if he ever I think he may have
11:46always been bald or he may had a little slope or something at one point time
11:50like he was still kicking tail I know that coach appreciate your time good
11:55luck we'll be watching a root no problem thank you guys for having me thanks
11:58coach JB Becker staff from the Pistons more to come
12:00Carson Anderson 97 won the ticket