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Business behind him, Jackson looks ahead – and likes what he sees in new Pistons teammates

As much as 50 percent of Stan Van Gundy’s rotation for the season ahead could consist of Pistons newcomers. Reggie Jackson is 100 percent enthusiastic about all of them.

From his perspective in the Western Conference, he had a strong working knowledge of both Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes. He said Monday he saw Ersan Ilyasova on an All-Star track before assorted injuries slowed his career momentum. And he was “ecstatic” when the Pistons drafted Stanley Johnson – and even more upbeat after catching his act in the Orlando Summer League.

Van Gundy could go to a true 10-man rotation next season that is two deep at all five positions: Andre Drummond and Baynes at center, Morris and Johnson at small forward, Ilyasova and Anthony Tolliver at power forward, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks at shooting guard, and Jackson and Brandon Jennings at point guard.

But he said recently that because so many players have multiposition versatility, the Pistons could also get by with an eight-man rotation if Van Gundy wants to give more minutes to his best players. No matter where the number comes in, those four newcomers – Morris, Johnson, Ilyasova and Baynes – are locks to be in the rotation.

The newcomers make sense in a vacuum, but even more so as complementary fits off the staple of Van Gundy’s offense – the Jackson-Drummond pick and roll.

“I knew this was the place I wanted to be, but seeing the pieces we signed made it that much sweeter,” Jackson said. “Getting Ersan, I think he spaces the floor for us, opens up the paint for Dre. He gets duck-ins. I like to attack the basket. Stanley, he’s going to love to attack. KCP can catch and attack. Ersan makes plays off the catch and shoot. Marcus … I can go down the list. Getting great basketball players, so hopefully we can jell well and just make something memorable.”

Van Gundy kept Jackson in the loop as the Pistons were pondering the Phoenix deal with Morris, which came together with astonishing speed and left Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower with only a few hours to consider its ramifications amid the other possibilities as free agency was in its early hours. Jackson provided a strong endorsement of Morris.

“Played against him, being in Phoenix, quite a bit over the years. He’s a friend, I’d like to say,” Jackson said. “He’s tough-minded. Not afraid of anybody. He’s going to give you his best. I’ve seen him personally frustrate Kevin Durant. Hopefully, that’s not giving KD any fuel to play harder against us, but Marcus fears nothing. He fears no one. He’s going to come in and do what he does.”

Jackson first heard of Johnson through a friend from his days growing up in Colorado Springs – home base for USA Basketball, where Johnson has had an extensive history playing for age-group national teams.

“He got to tell me about Stanley’s hunger and drive. He got to talk to Stanley throughout his freshman season. Just through the grapevine, hearing about how hard he was working and seeing the season he had and how he likes to compete. He’s a man among boys. I think we all saw that in Summer League. He’s going to continue to work on his 3-point shot. He can make plays for us and we expect him to be a problem defensively. I think he fits in well in that role and we see him being exceptional here.”

Baynes, Jackson said, will fit on multiple levels, helping the offense with his skill set, the defense with his physicality and the whole of the team with his San Antonio Spurs pedigree.

“He bangs. He knows how to play basketball,” Jackson said. “Anybody who’s been in the San Antonio system, you’ve got to know how to move the ball. It’s something we’re trying to get better at, everybody playing off of each other and just making plays. He just knows where to be. He knows how to use his body. He knows how to finish. He’s going to talk defensively for us and get us in position. Offensively, he’s going to help. We can drop the ball down to him and we trust he’ll make the right decision. He’s going to set hard screens. He doesn’t care how physical you get with him. He’s all business.”

His own business – getting contract negotiations wrapped up to bind him to the Pistons for five seasons – behind him, Jackson is counting the days to training camp.

“It’s all about basketball. The hard part’s over,” he said. “That’s how I feel. The fun part for me is starting to come.”