Skiles Audio

Skiles: We feel like we're doing well. The veteran guys have played pretty well. We're doing pretty much what everyone else is doing in the first few games.We're keeping our main players in the mid-20-minute-type range and working our young guys in. We've had a good camp. Everyone came into camp in great shape and so we feel like we're off to a good start.

Q: Could you talk a little bit about the development of Thabo Sefolosha and Tyrus Thomas, and where they sit in the rotation this season?

Skiles: Well, we think both guys are going to be in our playing group. Thabo has played very well in practice, much better in practice than he has in the games yet. He's still kind of working through some of the speed-of-the-game-type issues and so forth. And in Tyrus, his athleticism is superior. He's got to be one of the best overall athletes in the league right now, and his skill set is coming along. So, I think they're both going to be in the playing group but they also have some pretty good veteran players in front of them, so it will pretty much be up to them and how they play.

Q: Coach, you guys came as close as anyone to beating Miami last year in the Playoffs, and then you made some changes. Did you think you needed to make those changes after that series or were you planning to make them anyway? And what did you feel needed to be changed after May?

Skiles: Well, the changes were just sort of natural changes. We had our own first round pick and then we were able to get the number two pick in the [Eddy] Curry deal, so obviously we were going to draft two players. So, there were two changes there, and we had money in free agency and we went out and tried to get who we thought was the best free agent in the market (Ben Wallace) and we were able to get him. So, it wasn't like we thought we're so far away and we need to overhaul our roster -- it just kind of naturally happened, and in order to get Ben, we had to do something with Tyson (Chandler), and then we were able to get P.J. (Brown) back, and so things naturally happened. We were close with Miami, it was 61-61 going into the fourth quarter of Game 5 and then we just went dry. Dallas also had them down, but you have to tip your hat to the World Champs. Just because we were close - we know we still have a long way to go.

Q: Back for a second to Thabo and Tyrus. Do you see a difference in the fundamental development between guys who develop in the European system as opposed to players who develop in the United States?

Skiles: I think, in general, I know it's a popular sort of thing that people believe now, and I can't make any argument against that, but I would say also that a four-year American college player is more fundamentally sound then a guy who comes out after his first year. But Tyrus Thomas is a fundamentally-sound player for a 20-year-old. He redshirted one year and then played one year, and he's very fundamentally sound for his age. So I don't know if, between those two guys, I would make that correlation. But I think it's fair to at least discuss it in general. Thabo is also a very fundamental player. He has been playing professional basketball now for several years, and so his fundamentals for a rookie are definitely on the upper end.

Q: With the reality of players coming out early, does it make sense to look at developmental improvements of the youth system in the U.S.?

Skiles: I think so, and I know that's being discussed now. Trying to come up with better avenues. I was fortunate enough to both play and coach in Europe, and I can say without hesitation that they have a leg up on us in a lot of ways as far as fundamental development, but, that's also because we have college coaches here that can't work with their college players in the summer. The NCAA rules don't allow it, and then they're only allowed a certain number of minutes in September. We don't let people work with people. We can only work with four guys at a time. There are all these rules that, to me, don't make sense. How does it hurt if you can work with players? That's beneficial to everybody. But, I think we're moving in the direction of sort of re-doing some of our youth programs, and I think it would be good for the game.

Q: Coach, a lot of people like this team, expect good things. One of the critiques, if there are any, is maybe a lack of scoring on the interior. Is that a concern for you?

Skiles: Well, there's always something to be concerned about. There are no perfect players, no perfect coaches, no perfect teams. We just think that we really improved ourselves in some areas. Everybody would like a guy who can go down there and just go to work and put up in the mid-20s every night, but there just aren't many of those guys. And a lot of times, those guys don't do anything else when you get them, and so by the end of the game, it ends up being a wash. The Pistons were last in the league in points-in-the-paint last year and won 64 games, and could easily, have also, advanced. Tony Parker is not a low-post player and he, himself, is very high for points in the paint. Again, any team would like some big guy down there to put up those numbers, but there just aren't that many players like that, so we'll just try to figure out some other ways to make up for it.

Q: By the way Scott, there are no perfect sportswriters either. (Laughs). I wonder, from a coaching standpoint, if it makes a difference when you've got a guy like a Kirk Hinrich, who can sign an extension before October 31st, do you as a coach want that to happen, or does it not make a difference to you?

Skiles: You know, that's a good question. I'm not that far removed from being a player and having my own sort of contractual things as a player - I think it all just depends on the type of mindset that you come in with. With Kirk, specifically, I'm not worried about it at all. There are ongoing discussions there and if something gets done, it gets done. If it doesn't, we'll take it into next season. With him, I just don't have a concern. He really likes to play. The way he's maturing, I feel that the USA experience was very helpful to him - I just can't see it really bothering him that much and I hope that's the way it plays out, if something doesn't get done. At the same time, you'd like all of your guys to really feel like they have stability. It's a good question, I really don't know other than with Kirk I don't anticipate there being any problems.

Q: Talk about getting Ben Wallace and working him onto your team.

Skiles: It's not that often that you can acquire a guy with Ben's type of resume. He's a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and we're a good defensive team anyway. We really felt like we needed someone who could really give us confidence defensively. We've been a good defensive team, but we have fouled too much. Ben is historically a low foul player, a low turnover player, and he's so far just sort of seamlessly fit in. Our guys like him, and you can tell that they just sort of naturally look to him as sort of the backbone of our defense, and I think he's going to do what he's done. I think he's going to defend, I think he's going to rebound the ball, he's an underrated passer. We've given him the ball already in an exhibition and let him put it on the floor and make some plays for people, and he's done that well. And so, we're very happy to have him.

Q: Do you change any defensive schemes now that you have him (Wallace)?

Skiles: Well, that's an interesting point. Ben is always, if not the top steals person in the league among big men, he's right there. But he does it without gambling. He does it in a pretty smart way. We'd like to be solid, but at the same time we've added some length and athleticism with some of our young guys and so we'd like to be a little more aggressive with our defense and still be under control, and Ben has a really good head out there defensively, and he talks really well and communicates. But still, we don't want to be running all over the place out there, going for steals and gambling too much.