It's been a roller coaster season for all of the Pistons, but especially Will Bynum, who's made the jump from forgotten role player to fan favorite / fourth quarter superstar over the course of a few short weeks.

I spoke to Bynum for FanHouse before Friday's playoff-clinching win against the Nets about all the twists and turns he's endured this year. Among his responses, he offered his personal perspective on how this season's most controversial move positively altered his career.

What was your "welcome to the NBA" moment?

Will Bynum: [Pause.] When Chauncey got traded. When Chauncey got traded it was kind of crazy for me. I mean, not really crazy, but for it to be Allen, one of the players that I looked up to my whole life – and to be on the same team with him was just crazy.

And once I got to practicing against him, it was like, "You know? I'm good!" [Laughing] I've been watching this guy, looked up to this guy my whole career, and to be on the same team with him and playing against him – it's not a word that I can tell you that can explain how I felt.

And just to keep doing it, I was more and more confident, I was gaining more and more confidence as we practiced, as we played, just from being around him. It's kind of crazy, but that's how it was, that's exactly how it went. After that, I just never turned back. I tried to learn as much as I could from him, and I never turned back. I felt like playing against anybody else would be – it's still going to be difficult -- but I felt like it was easier because I got over the thing of playing against Allen. It just helped me out.

The entire interview is pretty long -- at least until it's humorously interrupted by Kwame Brown -- so you'll want to make sure to read the whole thing.