The slogan “Trust the process” has also echoed through the halls of Little Caesars Arena in recent years. But before fully embarking on its reconstruction project, Detroit had relied on Blake Griffin to try to revive itself. Alongside players like Reggie Jackson, Reggie Bullock, Bruce Brown and Andre Drummond, he had also succeeded in his mission to qualify the Pistons for the 2019 playoffs.
Three years later, the project has been completely refocused around young players with high potential. Passing through town to face the Pistons with Boston, Blake Griffin gave his feelings on the evolution of the “process” of the Michigan franchise. And the interior seems to appreciate the path taken by his former team.
“They did a phenomenal job,” did he declare. “I feel like that’s exactly what they wanted to do, rebuild, get guys into the draft, bring in guys to complete the team, and I feel like they did smart choices. I really like all their young guys”.
A hard core that rhymes with the future
Blake Griffin also appreciates the profile of the players developed by Dwane Casey, but also their mentality and their toughness. For example, he remained close to Saddiq Bey, a tough player who was “his” rookie in 2020, and with whom he has kept close ties.
“For the past two summers, Saddiq has come to train with me, and stay with me, and we talk about it all the time. But when he’s on the pitch, there’s no room for hugs or greetings, like with a lot of other guys. That’s what I love about Saddiq. That’s what I love about a lot of these guys.”, he added.
The Pistons have taken on a new dimension with the Draft of Cade Cunningham, a leader cut to become the “franchise player” of the team, but Blake Griffin also welcomed the arrivals of Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey, not to mention the signing of Bojan Bogdanovic, who came to bring consistency to the Pistons project.
“Cade had a great year last year. It’s hard to come in as a rookie and have an immediate impact on winning and doing all those things. It happens, but usually it takes time.he added. “There’s Jaden, Saddiq, who’s one of the hardest-working young guys I’ve ever seen. And I really like Jalen Duren. I truly appreciate it. He is going to be very good. As I said, they already have these elements. And I think the signing of Bojan Bogdanovic was huge”.
The balance sheet of the Pistons, and incidentally the game of the night, remind the franchise of Tom Gores of the path that remains to be traveled. But for Blake Griffin, Detroit is on the right track and will continue to improve in the future.
“To reach the next level, I think all areas of the organization are involved. The coaching staff will probably have to keep improving as well. But I love their young talents and the front office did a great job” thus concludes Blake Griffin.
| Blake Griffin | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2010-11 | LAKE | 82 | 38 | 50.6 | 29.2 | 64.2 | 3.3 | 8.8 | 12.1 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 22.5 |
| 2011-12 | LAKE | 66 | 36 | 54.9 | 12.5 | 52.1 | 3.3 | 7.6 | 10.9 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 20.7 |
| 2012-13 | LAKE | 80 | 33 | 53.8 | 17.9 | 66.0 | 2.3 | 6.0 | 8.3 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 18.0 |
| 2013-14 | LAKE | 80 | 36 | 52.8 | 27.3 | 71.5 | 2.4 | 7.1 | 9.5 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 24.1 |
| 2014-15 | LAKE | 67 | 35 | 50.2 | 40.0 | 72.8 | 1.9 | 5.7 | 7.6 | 5.3 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 21.9 |
| 2015-16 | LAKE | 35 | 33 | 49.9 | 33.3 | 72.7 | 1.5 | 6.9 | 8.4 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 21.4 |
| 2016-17 | LAKE | 61 | 34 | 49.3 | 33.6 | 76.0 | 1.8 | 6.3 | 8.2 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 21.6 |
| 2017-18 * | All Teams | 58 | 34 | 43.8 | 34.5 | 78.5 | 1.3 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 5.8 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 21.4 |
| 2017-18 * | LAKE | 33 | 35 | 44.1 | 34.2 | 78.5 | 1.4 | 6.6 | 7.9 | 5.4 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 22.6 |
| 2017-18 * | TED | 25 | 33 | 43.3 | 34.8 | 78.4 | 1.1 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 19.8 |
| 2018-19 | TED | 75 | 35 | 46.2 | 36.2 | 75.3 | 1.3 | 6.2 | 7.5 | 5.4 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 24.6 |
| 2019-20 | TED | 18 | 29 | 35.2 | 24.3 | 77.6 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 15.5 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 46 | 26 | 42.3 | 34.1 | 74.4 | 0.8 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 11.0 |
| 2020-21 * | BRK | 26 | 22 | 49.2 | 38.3 | 78.2 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 10.0 |
| 2020-21 * | TED | 20 | 31 | 36.5 | 31.5 | 71.0 | 0.4 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 12.3 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 56 | 17 | 42.5 | 26.2 | 72.4 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 6.4 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 5 | 10 | 41.7 | 40.0 | 83.3 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 3.4 |
| Total | 729 | 33 | 49.3 | 32.8 | 69.6 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 8.2 | 4.1 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 19.7 | |
