Brad Holmes and Troy Weaver Will Revitalize Dormant Franchises
For the past decade, the Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons have been dormant franchises.
Despite repeated attempts at building championship rosters, both franchises have fallen flat in their efforts, much to the dismay of passionate supporters.
With Brad Holmes and Troy Weaver being hired to lead their respective franchises, the tide has started to turn in the right direction.
Like many supporters of the Pistons Tuesday night, Weaver was thrilled to secure the top overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.
"I’m ecstatic,” Weaver said. “As far as getting the pick right, that’s what I was hired for. Got to do the work and be ready. We’ll vet it out. A lot of talented guys at the top.”
“I don’t feel any pressure in getting it right,” Weaver commented further. “The pressure I feel is in moving the Pistons franchise forward. I don’t listen to rhetoric outside, right or wrong picks. Just stay true to our process. We’ll look at everything, all five guys, uncover every stone and exhaust all options.”
The confidence of the Lions' new general manager stems from the work ethic instilled in him by his parents.
“Just trying to be the best I can be at my craft, in terms of, you can never watch enough film, you can never get enough information on a player," Holmes said. "Making sure that when, in those draft meetings, that I’m presenting the best, most accurate information that I possibly can. That was my drive. I just always wanted to be the best."
Detroit Lions
At his introductory press conference, Holmes noted that the job was to field the most competitive team possible this upcoming season, a goal he is likely to accomplish after overhauling a portion of last year's roster.
“The ultimate goal is to make sure that the most competitive team is on the field, and that starts right this year entering the 2021 season. I’m not viewing this as, 'Oh, this will be a long-term project.' I don’t know how long this is going to take. That’s not the approach. That’s not the mindset going into it. The approach is to make sure that we can put the most competitive team possible out there on the field in 2021.”
For rebuilds to work, front offices must find any way possible to secure talent that will perform out on the field and on the court.
For Weaver and Holmes, the early reviews have been quite favorable, following their initial draft classes.
The Pistons roster was completely overhauled in one offseason, and they are poised to add the consensus best player coming out of college in Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham.
Holmes & Co. were able to secure offensive lineman Penei Sewell with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. A handful of pundits believe Sewell is a "generational talent" who should excel in the league, if things go according to plan.
Time will tell how soon Detroit fans will be celebrating big wins in the playoffs and big playoff series victories. But, one thing is certain: It's about time that Detroit teams have competent front-office bosses.
Detroit teams are three-fourths of the way there.
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