A year of change and questions begins in June with a big announcement.

The new season starts with a very early big bang--the Piston's hiring of Dwane Casey, the former Toronto coach tossed aside in spite of being selected as the NBA's Coach of the Year.

The best became suddenly available and we got it. How he will deal with the hand Stan Van Gundy left behind is the big question.

This from today's Free Press:

An agent who represents a player who has spent time on the Raptors roster during Casey's tenure told the Free Press on Tuesday that it was a “great” hire

“Casey is a great coach in terms of building a relationship with guys,” the agent said.

That characteristic is appealing to the Pistons' ownership group, which believes the roster can win after two straight seasons without a postseason appearance.

There's been only one playoff appearance since Gores purchased the team for $325 million in June 2011.

But the defensive reputation is the main attraction for a franchise that hasn't finished with a top-10 defensive unit since 2008, when it last won a playoff game.