Well, how about that? You wanted a little luck?
You got it.
And then some — after all those years of falling in the draft …
Well, how about that? You wanted a little luck? You got it. And then some — after all those years of falling in the draft lottery, and all the years of struggle during the season. Not just with the Pistons, but with every other team that plays in this city. No stretch of sports fandom here has been worse than the last five years. No stretch more depressing. Until Tuesday night, when the heavens finopened and sent the No.1 pick Detroit’s way. Finally. Mercifully. Thankfully. Praise God? “Praise God,” indeed. So said Troy Weaver, the man in charge of the NBA team that just won the lottery, the man who found two all-rookie performers in last year’s draft, the man now given the chance to add Cade Cunningham, the most gifted player in this year’s draft. How’s that for some lottery luck? The first No.1 pick for the Detroit Pistons since 1970. That pick — 51 years ago — turned out pretty well, in Bob Lanier. Since then, though? Just five other top-five picks. (And let’s not talk about the most recent.) Credit Weaver for moving on from a couple of veterans who might’ve hurt the Pistons’ lottery odds. Credit him for turning to the youngsters. Credit Dwane Casey for getting them to compete. Credit the karma that ensued. “Call it whatever you want,” said Weaver. “I’m just a believer, period. However, you want to slice it.” Not just a believer in a higher power, or in building something the right way, but in building something in a specific way – the Pistons’ way.
