Pistons’ Isaiah Livers Q&A: ‘I want to be one of those guys’ on the defensive

Isaiah Livers, with a smile spread wide like a toddler with Silly Putty, was happy to have something to talk about other than the same ol’. During the media day session for the Pistons’ second-year forward, his excitement was as glaring as the spotlight than shined on him. Livers spent an entire summer doing what he loves: playing basketball.

It had been a while.

“I tried to,” Livers said at media day when asked if he tried to make up for missed time this summer, “but the medical team told me to pace myself and be smart. They didn’t want me to go through the same cycle of doing something to my feet. It was well thought out, but we got some work in.”

The Michigan native hasn’t had a normal offseason since 2019. COVID-19 interrupted everyone’s plans in 2020. In 2021, Livers’ last at the University of Michigan, he was forced to sit through the summer because of a foot injury and surgery that he suffered during his senior season. The Pistons weren’t concerned with Livers’ health when they selected him in the second round of the NBA Draft that year. Livers wowed them during the interview process, and his film from four years at Michigan spoke for itself. Livers had a lot of fans in Detroit, including Dwane Casey’s young son who asked his dad to select the 6-foot-7 wing after meeting him.

“Isaiah came in to visit, and my son was in (the building),” the Pistons’ head coach said last year. “My son was peeping in, watching us talk, and I’m interviewing Isaiah about his family, where he’s from … my son wrote a note and slid it under the door.