Stanley Johnson: Pistons Don’t Just Want the 8th Playoff Seed

Detroit Pistons rookie Stanley Johnson is an unmistakably confident young man, and wants the rest of his new teammates to feel the same way heading into next season.

Johnson, 19, says the Pistons are aiming to do more than just sneak into the Playoffs.

The goal in Detroit, according to the rook, is to start competing for titles in the near future.

Per the Detroit Free Press:

“We just don’t want to get in as the eighth-seed,” said rookie forward Stanley Johnson. “We’re trying to put our efforts forth to win a championship every year that we’re here. I think any guy that’s interested in winning would want to be here. I think we’re a team of substance instead of flash. As long as we’re doing our job every day I think our fans will come and we have to focus on basketball instead of selling tickets.”

 

The core of the team is point guard Reggie Jackson, 25; Andre Drummond, 22; and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 22; along with the 19-year-old Johnson. […] “I don’t believe in what people have to say,” said Johnson. “Anything I put my mind to I believe I can do. I’m a high-confidence guy. I think the world of myself and I think the world of the team I’m on. I don’t hold anything back or make excuses because we’re young.”

 

The elephant in the room is how the Pistons are going to move forward with an injured Brandon Jennings, a starting point guard in his own right, recovering from an Achilles tendon injury, on the same roster as Jackson, who became the highest paid Piston with an $80 million contract.