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Dennis Schroder Has High Praise for Pistons Camaraderie One Week Into Detroit Tenure

The veteran loves the vibe in Detroit.

Kyle Koster

Detroit Pistons newly acquired guard, Dennis Schroder (17), talks with Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff in the second quarter of their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena.
Detroit Pistons newly acquired guard, Dennis Schroder (17), talks with Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff in the second quarter of their game against the Charlotte Hornets at Little Caesars Arena. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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The Detroit Pistons sit at 29-26 on the year, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. They are on track to make the playoffs for the time since the 2018-19 season. One needs to go back all the way to 2008 to find the last time the franchise won a single playoff game, so it's fair to say that vibes have been less than ideal for a long, long time.

But that's all different this season. Cade Cunningham has taken another step, Jalen Duren can hang physically with any big you wish to throw out there, and the overall roster is entirely competent. There's a lot of young talent, but the front office has done a good job augmenting that with veterans—like Dennis Schroder, who joined the Pistons as part of the massive Jimmy Butler deal.

For his part, Schroder is loving his new digs, speaking like someone who just made fast friends at summer camp.

"Great time bonding, everybody cares for each other and that's what you need," Schroder said. "When you go out there every single night playing against the other team, you want to have people who's going with you and who's competing with you on the highest level. And I felt that from the first day."

Strong endorsement from someone who has been there a week. Life is very fun when you're winning and the Pistons hope they can keep up their hot play. If they do, who knows how far this team can go?

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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