by Marcel Mutoni / @ marcel_mutoni
The Detroit Pistons’ new point guard says he’s a changed man. He also plans to bring back excitement to the basketball-crazed city, which hasn’t sniffed the Playoffs in four seasons.
Brandon Jennings thinks he can help generate some of that “Lob City” magic in Motown, and promises to be a more willing passer going forward.
Per the Detroit Free Press and News:
He said he wanted to return to his high school roots, when he sought out teammates instead of his shot. “This is a new beginning for me,” Jennings said. Joe Dumars was happy to hear his newest point guard espouse the company line. Of course, he figured it was coming. Before Dumars agreed to trade Brandon Knight to Milwaukee for Jennings, he laid out a few conditions. “Let’s put the cards on the table,” Dumars told Jennings. “We don’t need the quick launching. Not here. Not happening.”
“I definitely have to change my game, for my teammates and myself to be successful,” Jennings said. “We have a great frontcourt and some great vets. The things I was doing in Milwaukee, I don’t have to do here. Taking all those bad shots, I don’t have to do here.” He pointed to a franchise on the other side of the country, the explosive and exciting Los Angeles Clippers, as inspiration for what the Pistons could become: a “Lob City” in the Midwest, and if that happens, Jennings will engineer it all. “They’re going to make my job easier and I’m going to make their job easier,” he said. “We could bring Lob City to Detroit this year.”
Jennings became a model of inefficiency during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks, shooting a ghastly 40% from the field last season, while averaging 17.5 points and 6.5 assists per game. The 23-year old point guard says that’s all about to change in Detroit, as he joins a locker room with a healthy mix of veterans and youngsters.
“Lob City” of the East sounds nice and all, but the vow from Brandon Jennings to become more of a distributor and discerning shooter has to be music to Pistons fans’ ears.
