Q&A with Joe D.

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KL: I talked to Arnie Kander a couple of weeks ago and he said he’s been busier this summer than the past several because of the level of activity in and out of the practice facility, people either coming back into town or staying in Detroit for the off-season. We talked after the season about you delivering the message that the Pistons are going to be tougher and you said the message was well-received. Do you sense that this is a resolve that will carry over into the season?

JD: It’s been a really good start, that’s for sure, a really good start in guys taking the message and putting it into practice. You’ve come through quite a bit this summer and I think you’ve seen the guys in there this summer. The guy who has gotten my attention the most is Charlie Villaneuva, how consistently he’s come in there. He’s a guy we feel like we can get a lot more out of than we did last year. And I like the fact that the guys understand that we look at last year as an aberration.

That is not the culture and that’s not the Detroit Pistons we’re going to be. It’s unacceptable. And like I’ve said to you before, that message has been delivered, it’s been delivered extremely strong, to each one of the guys and to their agents. Because I didn’t want there to be any miscommunication of where we’re coming from, so I made sure. With some of the guys, I spoke to them along with their agents, either on the phone or in person. Or I called their agents after I spoke to the guys and said, listen, here’s what I just told your guy. So if there’s any hiccup, everybody kind of knows where we’re coming from. I think that’s part of why you’re seeing what you’ve seen this summer, because a very strong message has been delivered to these guys under no uncertain terms.
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