Tag: Ed Stefanski

Currently, there’s no guarantee from …

Currently, there’s no guarantee from Whitmer that the state will ease restrictions on May 29. It also isn’t immediately clear how that phase will impact the Pistons. “There’s a set of guidelines, we’ll follow them to the T and we’ll be very cautious for both the player and the staff,” Pistons senior advisor Ed Stefanski told the Free Press. “But … it’ll be a slow process. We’re waiting for the state of Michigan to allow us. We’re not doing anything until then.”

There are significant decisions to be …

There are significant decisions to be made in the future, but all the Pistons can do for now is sit tight. They’re continuing to prepare for the draft and free agency as though it’s the offseason. And if the regular season resumes, they’ll prepare for that as well. “We have players who are at home with their families,” Stefanski said. “ We’re not asking them to come back to Detroit. Once the self-quarantine stops and Michigan opens up more, if they want to come back they’re more than welcome. But we’re not asking them to come back and the league is not giving us any dates on when they’re going to resume play or anything like that. We’re all waiting. It’s a waiting game.”

There’s long been discussion that the …

There’s long been discussion that the NBA calendar should reverse the order of the draft and free agency so that free agency comes first, as it does in the NFL. Anything and everything seems possible for the off-season ahead. Stefanski doesn’t have a strong preference either way. “The league is always looking for new ideas and thinking of different ways,” Stefanski said. “(Commissioner) Adam Silver is great at that. I just don’t know with what’s happening right now, trying to see if there’s some light at the end of the tunnel, some thoughts the league could come up with. Whatever it comes up with, I’m fine with working either way.”

The Pistons will go into free agency …

The Pistons will go into free agency with all options on the table and a level of preparedness that will allow them to seize opportunity in whatever form it presents itself. “I’ve been in so many markets. To go into free agency and have a plan and once free agency starts, the plan gets blown up,” Stefanski said. “We have numerous plans and different scenarios that could occur. We have to use this money wisely. What makes the most sense to us? We’re asking those questions now. What makes the most sense for the Pistons now?”

There may not be opportunities for …

There may not be opportunities for individual workouts with teams ahead of the draft. The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a haven for middling prospects, has been canceled; the combine, where many of the top players are evaluated, remains in limbo. Teams will have to find different ways to do pre-draft assessments. “The whole league is watching video,” Pistons senior adviser Ed Stefanski told The Detroit News. “We’ve seen some (of the top prospects). Everyone has a bank of information on players, so we’re all in the same boat.”