Pistons: Notebook

Pistons' Will Bynum earned John Kuester's attention

Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News

Auburn Hills -- There was one player John Kuester sought out last spring after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.

Kuester was then an assistant coach with the Cavaliers. And there was one Pistons guard who gave the Cavaliers headaches every time he was on the floor.

So Kuester sought out Will Bynum to acknowledge the work Bynum did.

"I went after him specifically to say how much I was impressed with him," Kuester said. "He changed the complexion of the game with his energy and scoring."

Bynum averaged 11.8 points in the four-game series, shot 46 percent (18-of-39) and generally created the havoc that marked his play the second half of last season.

This season, Kuester sees a similar role for Bynum, a "spark plug" type of player off the bench who can change the flow of a game.

"A person that's not going to sit and let the offense come to him but he'll attack offensively and defensively," Kuester said.

Bynum worked out in Chicago over the summer with noted NBA fitness guru Tim Grover. Several NBA veterans, such as Gilbert Arenas and Dwyane Wade, participated in the camp, which Bynum said was valuable to him.

"It instilled confidence," Bynum said. "I felt myself improving every day."

Bynum lost 15 pounds over the summer and said he feels noticeably quicker.

"I'm ready to go," he said.

Promising start

The Pistons did some scrimmaging during the second of two practices Wednesday. The first three practice sessions were basically devoted to drills, positioning, and a lot of teaching by Kuester.

"The energy level of our veterans has been outstanding," Kuester said. "We're doing a lot of teaching, and as time goes on, we'll go more live. They're excited and itchy to get up and down the court."

The Pistons will continue two-a-day workouts the rest of the week.

Respecting Ben

Kwame Brown corrected the question quickly when asked if he's competing with Ben Wallace for playing time.

"I'm just trying to learn from him," Brown said, noting Wallace's defensive player of the year awards and reputation around the NBA.

"Anybody that can play defense like that, I'm going with the mind-set that I can learn from him and take something from his game and add it to my game."

Brown had a contract option to leave the Pistons if he so desired, but returned, sensing an opportunity for a key role on the roster.

Brown was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

Official response

Kuester didn't want to comment on the possibility of replacement referees to open the season.

"More of a league issue," Kuester said.

ted.kulfan@detnews.com (313) 223-4606