The Detroit slippers are bringing a G League team into town. Here because

Troy Weaver and Dwane Casey know firsthand how useful it will be for Detroit Pistons has a G League team in the immediate vicinity.

As a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder front office, Weaver (now GM of the Pistons) was present when their G League affiliate, Tulsa 66ers, moved to Oklahoma City and became Blue in 2014.

There were immediate benefits to having their G League team in the same city, Weaver said. It allowed young players to move between the Thunder and Blue structures with relative ease, compared to the 90-minute drive from Tulsa.

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Last season, the strengthened connection between the two teams helped the development of Lou Dort, who signed a two-way contract with Thunder last summer after going out of service. The injuries paved the way for Dort to be called back and receive extended minutes with Thunder, and ended up starting 21 games before the NBA ended in March. The Thunder signed it for a multi-year deal in June.

“He must have played 24 games with our G League team and been able to gain confidence, develop and learn the system,” said Weaver. “Then he had a seamless transition to Thunder. And now he’s playing terrible basketball. ”

As head coach of the Toronto Raptors from 2011-18, Casey oversaw the development of several players who split the time between Raptors and Raptors 905, their G League affiliate located in the Toronto metropolitan area, including Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. The two teams share a practice structure, which allows Siakam, VanVleet and others to practice with the Raptors in the morning and the Raptors 905 in the same afternoon.

This degree of collaboration has helped the Raptors to become famous for the development of their players. Like the Raptors and Thunder, the Pistons will soon have their G League team nearby.

The Pistons have decided to buy the northern Arizona suns, the team announced Wednesday. The team will be renamed and play in the new Wayne State basketball arena, which is being built in Warren and Trumbull; will open before the 2021-22 season.

Grand Rapids Drive, which moved from Springfield, Massachusetts to Grand Rapids in 2014 and has since had a “hybrid” affiliation with the Pistons, will continue with the Pistons throughout the 2020-21 season. Subsequently, the unit will be independent, except for any affiliations, properties or related changes.

Drive previously announced that it had no plans to move to Detroit. Thus, the Pistons acquired their G League franchise instead.

It was a priority for owner Tom Gores and vice president Arn Tellem. The renamed G League team will share the Pistons training facility in Midtown, allowing for a greater level of collaboration between the roster. The practical facility, which opened in the fall of 2019, already has a designated locker room for a G League team.

“We have a great collaboration in Grand Rapids but we really felt, from two aspects, from the basketball point of view, that we had to have our team, because when we build a young team, we have so many players that have to develop,” Tellem said told reporters during a conference call on Wednesday. “We felt it was necessary to be close to our NBA team in Detroit. And for us to promote our efforts in the community, we have seen the G League franchise as an opportunity to amplify our involvement in making a difference in the community. And our partnership with Wayne State does both of these things. ”

In addition to paying the rent to Wayne State to use its new $ 25 million, 700,000 square foot, 3,000 seat facility that the Pistons have teamed up with the WSU to build, the WSU team and administrators will create programs and opportunities. internship for students in various fields, including sports marketing, community relations, physical therapy, rehabilitation and commercial and entertainment activities.

Outside of its developmental side, Casey also said that having a G League team hosted within the same facility will help rehabilitation efforts by veteran players. The Pistons will have three new structures built within five years when Wayne State’s new arena opens in 2021 – something Casey believes will help recruit free agents.

All in all, Casey is excited about the next change.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘frustrating’, but it was a little inconvenient because you’re asking a young man to practice or jump in the car and drive two and a half hours,” said Casey. “Grand Rapids, the fan base was good and it was good for our show. This will make everything much easier. Suppose we have a veteran player who needs to train in rehabilitation or practice, and doesn’t have to spend two and a half hours or jump on a plane to go anywhere. He can simply go out to practice, not in a gym, to rehabilitate with our G League affiliate. We can also use it for that. It is a great advantage to have it there. ”

“The G League coaches’ office will be right there, so we can meet, talk about something they are doing, maybe try something offensive or defensive with the G League team, try doing some analysis until trying things. analytically with them, “he continued.” They are right here, we can talk about them. There are so many advantages having them right here under the same roof as us and we don’t have to travel two and a half hours … It’s a huge advantage all around. “

Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa. Read more about Detroit slippers and sign up for ours Pistons newsletter.