In the waning days of Stan Van Gundy’s first season, Joel Anthony expressed his interest in returning to the Pistons. It’s the kind of thing pending free agents often say – why say anything differently? – but free agency takes too many twists and turns to put much stock in such proclamations.
Except Anthony is as plain-spoken and honest as his coach, which – as it turns out – was part of the appeal to him in returning.
“He expressed to me how much he wanted me back on this team and that was enough,” Anthony said. “He’s not someone that makes promises, but the one thing I’ve always respected about Stan is that he’s always been a man of his word. Whether it was good or bad, he told me how he felt and just that open honesty is enough for me.”
The gamble for the Pistons was that Van Gundy knew he had to address some glaring priorities first with the cap space he and general manager Jeff Bower carried into the off-season. They included filling two starting positions – small forward and power forward, the latter on the assumption Greg Monroe was headed out of town – and bolstering point guard due to uncertainty over Brandon Jennings’ status.
Oh – and getting a backup center, another spinoff of Monroe’s departure.
And that complicated Van Gundy’s position. In the early days of free agency, while Van Gundy was crossing all of those items off his shopping list, Anthony might have been tempted by other offers if another team had a more certain role and a concrete salary slot to offer the eight-year veteran.
It helped that the Pistons filled their void at power forward three weeks before the draft, trading for Ersan Ilyasova, and addressed small forward by drafting Stanley Johnson and trading for Marcus Morris early in the July moratorium period. They also came to quick terms with Aron Baynes to back up Andre Drummond.
After that, the path was cleared, Anthony’s role in sharp focus. He’d be the No. 3 center, but perhaps a little more than that, given Van Gundy’s blueprint to use Baynes some at power forward against teams that employ two traditional big men, like Memphis or Chicago.
“He didn’t have to tell me, ‘We’re trying to get this person,’ as if he has to walk on egg shells with me,” Anthony said of the discussions he held with Van Gundy between the end of the season and the July 1 opening of free agency. “I was comfortable with how he was going forward. It’s still a good situation for me. There’s still opportunities for me and that’s what’s important.”
Van Gundy values Anthony for a number of reasons, including his leadership. One reason Van Gundy felt the Pistons weathered the 3-19 start to their season was the additions after camp opened last season of Anthony from Boston and Anthony Tolliver from Phoenix, both in trades. With a young team – the Pistons likely starting five will average 24.6 years, with the 19-year-old Johnson expected to play a key role off the bench – Anthony’s professionalism will be just as critical this season.
“You’re definitely more conscious of it,” he said. “Being with these guys and seeing different things and understanding how young we really are, you definitely start to understand more of your role as someone being more experienced. There are so many young guys. On any team, you need a mix. You just can’t have a bunch of young guys out there. You need veterans that have experience, especially because it’s difficult for some guys to figure out exactly what to do. Obviously, we’re going to lean on those guys the most – guys like Reggie (Jackson), Andre, (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) – but it takes a whole team to be able to get us these wins and have us be successful.”
Nothing expresses Anthony’s professionalism more than his preparedness. Van Gundy comfortably ushers him into meaningful situations even if Anthony has gone a week or more without a game appearance.
“It is a little bit easier as you’ve got more experience,” he said. “As a young guy, when you’re not playing it’s tough. I remember my rookie year when I first came in. Even though I was a rookie, undrafted, you want to prove yourself. You want to be out there. You still have much to prove. Even as a vet, you’re still proving yourself. Your level of patience is a lot higher as a veteran. Over the years, I’ve just looked to handle myself in a professional manner and make sure I stay ready and do everything I have to do so when the opportunity comes, I’m ready to go.”
One reason Anthony stays ready: the way he practices. That not only helps set the competitive tone in that setting Van Gundy desires, it helps speed the development of Drummond.
“I definitely feel that’s a part of it,” Anthony said. “Obviously, it’s about winning games, but to win those games we have to do the little things to prepare. That happens in practice and it happens off the court. I do whatever I can to help guys speed up the process in terms of being prepared for those games so that we’re ready to go and we’re in a position to win. It definitely is beyond the in-game experience.”
Playing with teammates he finds open to mentoring, for a coach he trusts, in a city he quickly came to embrace made a second season in Pistons red, white and blue an easy call for Joel Anthony.
“It just seemed a really good situation,” he said. “I felt really comfortable with the team, with the guys here, comfortable with the organization, with Stan and everything he was trying to do and with the coaching staff. I felt comfortable in Detroit. It’s been welcoming to me. So just having that level of comfort, it felt good and it gave me a chance to work with the young guys. It’s an experience I’ve really welcomed.”