Originally Posted by Joe Abunassar
When I prepare Chauncey and Tayshaun to have the type of seasons they’ve had, that establishes a good relationship with the Pistons to the point where they’ll call me and ask for my opinion about something and take it at face value, not like it’s etched in stone or anything, but the trust is there. I enjoy it and the way I think I’ve been able to do that is real simple. I’m for the player, that’s who I work for. I just train. I’m not trying to be anyone’s GM or anything like that. The player knows that I’m for him.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to lie though. If you’ve got Chauncey the last thing you want is to tell Joe Dumars or John Hammond that a draft player is good when he’s not good. Because they’ll look at you and it will make Chauncey look bad. So, I try and be honest. A lot of the guys that train players in this process are trying to get NBA jobs, or work for Adidas or something like that, I don’t want any of that stuff, I train, and that’s what I do. I’m aligned in the middle because of it. If the team wants something then I’ll help them out, if an agent wants something then I’ll help them out, but if a player wants something that’s my first priority. All I care about is making sure the guys I train have a great year, that’s really it. Look at Jay Williams, I’ve been thrilled by his workouts. People have been surprised, as you guys were with how much progress he’s made and that’s just…cool, it makes me feel great.