A record 28-game losing streak and three wins in the first 35 games of the fourth season of the Pistons' so-called restoration under GM Troy Weaver: "I didn't see this coming," Weaver said. "But it's where we landed."
Speaking publicly for the first time since the Pistons' media day prior to the start of the season, Weaver told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod this week, "Nobody's happy with this. It's been a tough road for the players, coaches, the organization, for our fans. Nobody wanted to be here, but we're here and we're going to continue to fight our way through it. (Owner) Tom (Gores) has come out and said things that are spot-on with the way we view it: We're not happy.
"He is on me every day making sure we turn over every stone, making sure we are looking at every way to improve this team to get the Pistons back to being competitive."
Weaver said on media day that the Pistons, who have the most losses in the NBA since he took over, were "expecting to take a big step forward" this year and that the goal was "to be in contention for the entire season." Instead they've taken a giant step back. What's gone wrong, besides basically everything?
For one, Weaver said the Pistons "need to get some more shooting around Cade (Cunningham)." And Weaver said he plans to be aggressive ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, especially in the face of a mandate from Gores to fix the roster. The Pistons have been linked around the league to veteran scorers like Tobias Harris and Pascal Siakam among others.
"Does it mean we're going to make big deals? I don't know," said Weaver. "But we're going to be aggressive in trying to improve this roster. The roster is what it is. I recognize what it is and we have to improve the roster. And we'll do that."
Weaver also pointed to the Pistons' salary cap flexibility as a way to upgrade the roster in the offseason. As for the current pieces "fitting together, that's still to be determined." But Weaver believes in the core of Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, all selected with top 10 picks in the last three drafts.
"The fit is to be determined, but Cade and Duren fit, and top athletes with Ivey and Ausar absolutely (fit). I think the young core, and (Isaiah) Stewart and what he brings, those guys fit," Weaver said.
It just hasn't been evident on the court or in the standings, where the Pistons are headed for a dead-last finish for the second season in a row. To the fans who have suffered with the team, Weaver says "I appreciate their support and I also appreciate them not being happy, because guess what? We're not happy. And we’re going to continue to fight and get this right."
"But there’s always a purpose for your pain and what’s come out of this has been the resiliency of this group. We call it a restoration. It’s not always going to line up and sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. We didn't want to do that. We wanted to keep marching forward, but we had to take a step back and deal with this adversity," he said.
The Pistons took another step back Friday night in a loss to the Warriors. Still waiting on the step forward.