Even if players split, Pistons coaches are with them

Andre Drummond will be away from the Detroit Pistons' practice facility for the next several weeks, but he'll still be with assistant coach Malik Allen and assistant strength and conditioning coach Jordan Sabourin as the third-year center works on growing his skill set.

Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, is back on the floor in Atlanta, and Grand Rapids Drive assistant coach Dion Glover, who also lives in Atlanta in the off-season, is assisting him.

Los Angeles-based Spencer Dinwiddie was joined by Pistons assistant Charles Klask.

And other players will receive similar visits throughout the off-season.

"We're going to have a lot that stuff going on," Pistons coach/president Stan Van Gundy said. "We're going to be hands-on with our guys as much as possible in the summer and, in my mind, the player development is as high a priority -- if not a higher priority -- than anything else we do in the off-season."

The work to try to end the Pistons' streak of six straight seasons without a playoff berth is well underway. And while the NBA draft and free agency will dominate the off-season headlines, developing the players who already wear Pistons red, white and blue is the most crucial aspect of the next few months.

"Everybody will focus on the draft and free agency, but a big part of us improving is the guys that we already have here improving and getting better," Van Gundy said. "So we're going to invest a lot in that area."

Hack-a-Dre remains? CBSSports.com reported Wednesday "there was no overwhelming consensus to change the rules to discourage teams from intentionally fouling poor free-throw shooters" at the general managers meeting in Chicago. The report cites league sources.

The report says data suggest the issue is isolated, with 76% of intentional fouls — regular season and playoffs — being committed against just five players: Drummond, the Clippers' DeAndre Jordan and the Rockets' Dwight Howard, Joey Dorsey and Josh Smith, a former Piston.

Contact Vince Ellis at vellis@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @vincent_ellis56.