Reggie Jackson is optimistic about the Detroit Pistons heading into the 2015-16 NBA season. From Keith Langlois of NBA.com:
“I’m impressed,” Reggie Jackson said after a pre-training camp scrimmage with Stan Van Gundy’s newly assembled roster that includes free-agent acquisitions Ish Smith, Jon Leuer and Boban Marjanovic and draft picks Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije. “I feel like we’ve gotten overlooked because people don’t necessarily think we’ve made some great” – and here Jackson makes air quotes with his hands – “with the emphasis on the quotes, off-season moves. But I think, for our team, we had some great pickups.”
Going into the offseason, the Pistons’ biggest need was improving their bench. They addressed that issue with the signing of Ish Smith, who enjoyed a breakout season for the Philadelphia 76ers last year. Jackson is particularly excited about the Smith signing:
Jackson is a big Smith fan, familiar with him since their days in the ACC – Jackson at Boston College, Smith at Wake Forest – and believes his influence will solidify the bench.
“He can create havoc in the second unit and push the attack. He created havoc with the first unit in Philly last year. It’s probably going to be child’s play for him against second units. With that speed and that unselfishness, that competitiveness he has … this is something we’ve talked about, how we really know each other, how we complement each other. We’re a different pace of guys. We really think we can hit it off well and make these units run well.”
Jackson is ready for the Pistons to take a big step forward next season:
“It’s time for us to step up,” he said. “You don’t find too many guys like that who are very team oriented and who have had success in the league and who are still about the success of the team and the success of the individuals around them, especially willing to give back so much knowledge of the game and sharing with the guys. Me and a few of the other guys, it’s kind of like they forced (leadership) upon us. I feel it’s forced upon me to lead now and now’s the time to really step up. This is the year to do it.
“I’m ready for the challenge. I’m ready to be a voice of reason, a voice of serenity and calmness for this team, and try to keep motivating us to push forward. But it’s going to be a collective effort that we all get on this train and keep moving it.”
…
“I think people are looking for huge names and that’s not necessarily what Detroit’s ever done,” he said. “We do it collectively. We don’t need anyone to believe in us. We’ll still find a way. But I think we shored up our second unit and added some more versatility and some more depth. I think we’ll be scary this year. But you know what? I don’t want to talk about it too much. We’ll let the season speak for itself.”
