These are dark days for fans of three of our four professional sports teams. Avery Bradley, the newest Piston, isn’t going to change that.

Not by himself.

But he could change how we think about the Pistons next winter. At least a little. And that’s worth something.

The Pistons introduced Bradley on Thursday afternoon at the team’s practice facility in Auburn Hills. When he walked onto the gym floor, several dozen staff and family members let out a cheer.

It was hard to blame them. The franchise needs whatever morsel of hope it can get.

That’s why Reggie Jackson, the Pistons’ point guard, was sitting in the front row of seats during the press conference. That’s why head coach and team president, Stan Van Gundy, was smiling.

He knows how Bradley might change the locker room.

“Avery is a guy who can set the tone,” he said.

Van Gundy was talking about the team’s defense. But he might as well have been talking about the team’s ethos, about how it competes, about how it prepares.

Last season was miserable for the franchise. Yet it didn’t take a step back simply because of injuries and a lack of shooting. There was an essential spirit missing, a force of will that comes from professionalism.

Bradley brings that. Through his words. Through his aura – yes, you could feel it as he sat on the dais and talked about inspiring his new teammates. Through his competitiveness.

“I’m going to play hard,” he promised. “I’m going to bring it every single game. I want the fans to know that. I want to lead by example … (I’m going to) try to help us become better and build better habits. I do feel like this is going to be a great opportunity for me.”

Bradley, who is 26, comes via a trade with the Celtics, where he established himself as a first-team all-league defensive player who can shoot and make plays off the dribble. He will be a free agent next summer.

He wouldn’t commit to signing an extension Thursday, and he’d be silly to do so. He did, however, say that “anything is possible.”

He also said this: “Getting the call to come play for the Detroit Pistons, I smiled. A lot of people probably would be sad, but it was an amazing feeling for me.”

Right there, in that sentence, is Bradley’s acknowledgement that Detroit is a long way from most folks’ desired destination. He tapped into our collective chip-on-the-shoulder mentality.

Then embraced it.

I, for one, believed him when he said it. Believe that he thinks he is here for a reason. Believe that he believes he can make a difference.

I’ve been to several introductory press conferences for Van Gundy’s players and none sounded like Bradley. None sat before a crowd of team employees and a few rows of media and offered such quiet confidence and charisma.

This is exactly the kind of presence these (mostly) young Pistons need. Yes, Bradley is a better shooter than the 2-guard he is replacing: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

And yes, his approach and technique on the defensive end could help everyone on the roster, from rookie Luke Kennard to Tobias Harris to Jackson, who admitted that Bradley would push him on that end.

But really, what we’re talking about here is leadership. The Pistons did not have near enough of it last season.

The hope, no, the expectation, above all else, is that Bradley could help unlock the enigmatic Andre Drummond. That he can show Stanley Johnson how to navigate, and attack, a season.

Defense and competiveness can be “contagious,” said Van Gundy. “(Avery) talked about inspiring people.”

Van Gundy wants to save – and savor – that quote. Wants to use it as a theme for his team. And he should.

Bradley, though, is here to give an everyday example to those words. That’s why he is here.

A player, said Van Gundy, whose teammates will look at and say, “I don’t want to let him down.”

If that happens, and the team rediscovers a bit of joy as it does, the franchise and those that love it will see a little less gray next winter.

Something our sporting landscape desperately needs.