I agree comletely on Hamilton and, while I will be sad to see him go, he probably has more value to others than to the Pistons at this point. Why not Charlotte, for example? Having said that, I am not in favour of trading Prince. He is more valuable to the Pistons than elsewhere. His performance in the conference finals is almost certainly atributed to fatigue. No one has played as many playoff games in thier career as Prince and the lack of a backup at his position has led to his logging major regular season minuies his whole career. Add that to last year with the wonky rotations and the Olympics and it was a wonder he played as well as he did. I look forward to a return to form for Prince this year and that alone ought to help the team be better (but then again we’re talking playoff seeding not championships).

Really is comes done to how fast this new roster gels togeher and what Joe can get for Hamilton. That’s what I believe but of course you’re milage may vary.

Thanks for the weekend pick-me-up, Matt. The sad part is that I agree with just about everything you said. So, I’m going to go shoot myself now … unless MSU beats ND.

there are stories of the low payroll teams doing well here and there. i just can’t think of them right now.

maybe a.i. can come back when he is ready to accept low pay. it could happen.

i bet curry would coach for almost nothing. he could be back too.

Speaking of moolah, I’m curious of the DBB opinion of the ref’s lockout…any thoughts?

Shinions, I hope they lock them out and they never come back. Of course, the NBA is running the training camp for replacement refs, so there’s a 100% chance that the whole ref debacle will end badly, but it can’t be any worse than it already is, can it?

By and large, that’s what I figure. I see the NBA refs as the worst officiating in all sports with no one else close. But I’ve got a little bit of a conspiracy theorist in me and it says that: David Stern + less job security for officials = not good.

I also thought the exact same thing when I was reading her quotes over the last few days, in regards to her sounding like she doesn’t want to spend money.
However, I disagree that we’re in for terrible years ahead of us unless we ytrade Rip and/or Tay. I think keeping them we could still play very well and shock a lot of people. Very possible we also stink it up, but I’mn actually leaning towards predicting us at the 4th seed as opposed to a 7th or 8th seed or completing missing the playoffs.

Matt W, interesting thoughts and excellent post.

I think with Rip and Tay, the situation is not so cut and dried. Their best value comes as sign and trade pieces in FA season 2010-at least right now.

The thing that Joe D has done regarding the roster, is to give himself maximum flexibility in case one (or god forbid, more than one) of the draftees actually lives up to the hype currently bestowed on them (people analyze Summer League backwards-if you have a bad league, you’re probably toast as far as the NBA is concerned, not the other way around where you have a great league, you’re going to be a potential All Star…consider Amir Johnson as a case study).

Karen Davidson just sounds honest. The Pistons didn’t spend much beyond the cap in the past and the WNBA, as nice as it is for women’s sports, isn’t a charity and needs to stand without subidies from the NBA to make sense.

(1) Agree with everything gordbrown says about Tay, and would only add that the “wonky rotations” last year specifically included putting Tay at frickin’ POWER forward;

(2) The most obvious trade Detroit could make would be Rip for some big guy, and I’ll understand if it happens. But Rip has leadership, experience, and work ethic qualities that go beyond just being a good shooting guard, so don’t underestimate the loss if it happens.

(3) Whatever problems we have with NBA refs, I see it as being much worse with replacement/scab refs. They would be even more likely to be intimidated by “superstar” players and the concept of what Stern might “want” to happen.

I agree with everything said by Mr. Watson. This is a team in flux, not a championship contender. Remember, folks, there was a 14-year span between the back-to-back Bad Boys and the Ben Wallace-led champs of ’04. Contenders take time to build. In the meantime, this could be painful to watch.

And, for better or worse, Tay and Rip will be leaving soon. For myself personally, I can’t wait to see Prince depart. He’s been overrated since day one.

the ref thing really is problematic—even if the NBA has the worst officiating of the 4 major sports (and it probably does), the existing refs are still theoretically the best/most experienced available…and where do these “replacement” refs come from? probably from the college ranks, where almost all of the players are a lot smaller and slower than in the pros. yikes.

Joe D feels we won’t do much better next year, rookies may not earn another contract, enjoy the ride; but with a warning, years before we can contend again. Geez why even bother to watch any of the games? As I said in posts on other sites, I am in anticipation of a great year as I am at the beginning of every season. Not that I’m ignoring reality, but if all we are going to do is consign the Pistons to the lottery (read that on other sites) next season, then what’s the point of even being a fan?

As far as I’m concerned, I’m looking for the Pistons to go deep into the playoffs. Now will they make it to the finals? Heck, why not? Last season’s team was an aberration of the highest order. Bickering, disention, disinterested players, rookie coach, no communication, no organization and we still made the playoffs; albeit we got stomped; but you could tell by their faces some of them preferred to be elswhere.

Many teams didn’t have anywhere near the problems the Pistons had and still didn’t make the post season. As this season unfolds, with each dribble they take, and every shot that they make, I will be looking for them to hoist that Larry O’Brien trophy next year. If they don’t, then so be it. Am I being overly optimistic? You bet I am.

It seems every sports site, paper, radio and tv program in the land are preparing for our demise and they haven’t even seen these guys in the same uniform yet. They can write or report what they want, but I’ll be doggone if I’m going to bury this team that’s never played one game together as a team yet. As for me and my mindset, I expect nothing but outstanding play from you this season. Go Pistons!!

I for one dig the WNBA. I only started watching before the Shock won their second championship though. Just like everyone else, I couldn’t deal with teams getting 23 and 24 turnovers every other game. But when I saw The Shock’s Deanna Nolan play one day, I said this lady can ball. In my opinion, she is the best guard in the league. I for one hope the league will be around a long time. Go Shock!!!

Women’s sports.

Oxymoron.

@Joel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DNBBrkIPN8

@MP

high-five followed by fist-bump followed by brosef hug

It is empirically a good thing for the Pistons that the salary cap is dropping. It means we don’t have to pay big $ to keep up with the Jones’s. It means that teams like the 76ers and Knicks, who have used inflated salary cap projections as a potential bailout for idiotic decisions, can no longer do so.

She also said she has the utmost respect for Joe, as she should. So what is the issue here?

As for the WNBA, it’s cute to watch girls play sports, but less so when they expect to be compensated for the practice.

I agree with Matt on most of his post ,with the exception of the rookies I think 2 of this yrs. rooks and probably the third as well we’ll be around for their second contract as long as they’re able to make the switch from the 3 to the 4 or the the 5 as in Jonas’s case .I see Daye as our future 3 Summers as a 4.I really don’t care what his rebounding numbers were in colledge if he has the will his rebounding numbers will go up he’s too strong and too athletic not too ,there’s not too many 4’s coming outa colledge that can shoot the long ball the way he can,Jerebko is gonna be auditioning for the 5 he’s just needs to pack on about 10 to 15 pounds of muscle .I think Daye is our future starting 3 if he can get to 215 to 220,if Summers can average 7 to 8 rebounds a game he could be our starting 4 ,Jerebko is also gonna depend on weight altho not as much as Daye,alot people look at the pistons and all they can see is how bad where gonna be this yr. I prefer to look at the positives where gonna be very atheletic and very young with a new coach who won’t feel the pressure to win right away which hopefully we’ll lead to playing everbody that earns there mins.Were gonna struggle with strong rebounding teams but at least these guys will have fire in there eyes again I’m sick of the complacency we’ve had the last few years I want to read about some chairs thrown around in the locker room after loses again, I’ve said it before I’ll say it again 46 wins this yr. 7th or 8th seed .

For what it’s worth, I liked what I saw out of all of the second-rounders during summer league — I’m not trying to throw water on any of them specifically, just noting that history doesn’t bode well for players drafted as low as they were. There are exceptions to the rule, of course, and perhaps by keeping three second-rounders the Pistons are “due” for one of them to emerge.

MW, I chuckled when I read that last line, thinking “Yeah, now watch it be Budinger.” But as the leader of the Summers bandwagon, I really think the dude has a chance to be something special. He’s the type of player in the Danny Granger/Rashard Lewis mold that always seems to inexplicably drop for some reason – maybe just not as exciting as the Joe Alexanders of the world. Only he has an even better combination of size, athleticism, and skillset than either of them did at that age. Certainly there’s no guarantees with any pick, but I certainly feel a lot better about Summers’ chances to evolve into a quality player than half of the guys who went in the lottery (Thabeet, Evans, Rubio, DeRozan, Henderson, Jennings, Psycho T).

I love Daye’s potential…just not the program he attended (Gonzaga). I wish he had gone to UCLA like his old man Darren did. I’ve expounded many a time here how much I love Ben Howland as a coach, and how well he prepares his players for the NBA (guess I’m doing that again lol).

Keep in mind these are 2d rounders in what was considered to be an unusually weak draft. Now, “weak” probably means the 1st-15th picks, I’d bet from 16 on out, it’s pretty constant. But for 2d rounders, all of these guys have upside, and Daye’s numbers, statistically applied, belie someone chosen 15th. So…you never know.

This just in….hope he can pass the background check lol:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4494932

The average attendance in the WNBA last year was 8,039, which compares favorably to the attendance of the early 60s Boston Celtics with Bill Russell & Bob Cousy coached by Red Auerbach. The WNBA is not everybody’s cup of tea but neither was the most successful dynasty in the history of pro sports.

“I want to read about some chairs thrown around in the locker room after loses again,”

which is the #1 reason why I didnt shed a tear about Chauncey being traded. yeah he was our backbone so to speak,
But the guy was the king of cliche one liners.
“it is what it is,
 we just didnt get it done,
 maybe next year.
 they out played us” .
Im sure the exorbitant salaries soften the blows that once caused many of grown men to cry. seems no one is brought to tears unless they are hoisting the trophy.

I was kinda looking forward to the cap dropping next year. I want to get back to the days where players and teams appear to be playing/competeing for more than a paycheck.

Maybe the question should be, will Mrs. Davidson be enough for the Pistons … in terms of spending money wisely? Bill was a spitballer for ideas with Joe Dumars. How do her ideas hold up for comparison? Is she giving any? I don’t trust Joe Dumars left to all of his own ideas.

Im sold on the Pistons this year. If you take each team in the EC and match them mup with the Pistons high 7 players, you will see that we have the best players at every position except SF and PF. But this league is all about outside teams and not the paint, we may hurt from rebounding but who can predict that since we did pick up Wallace and Wilcox who both reboung well. Not to mention Prince is a good rebounder for his position. This year will depend on the coaching staff just like last year. If we can find out how to use Gordon and Vill we will be ok. Hamilton and Prince will do what they do. We need to figure if Stuck is going to handle the ball like a PG and step up if not it will be essential to success to find someone to lead the offense, Maybe Bynum? I’m sold. I think we have a championship caliber team if we can find the coach to lead them. In ’04 Larry B made the difference he controlled the one weakness we had “defense” This year we have to find that weakness and it is not talent! We will win alot of games because we can out score just about any team in the EC,but lets see if defense is what it needs to be. IF so I see the Pistons and Lakers in the finals, who else in the EC can compete with us? Cleveland(beat up Shaq)? Miami(Wade)? Orlando(without Hedo)? Boston(Sometimey)?

I admire your optimism, No wait. I have disdain for it. or something like that. Cleveland, (Shaq). still better than any center we have. throw in Lebron and thats enough. He who handed better Pistons teams their asses for as long as with less help.

I might give you Miami

Orlando? we no longer have sheed who has Dwight’s #, I don’t recall Hedo ever being a problem for us.

Boston they still almost defended their championship last year after losing their best player. Sometimey?

HHHmmm. who are you, and where are you from?

He who handed better Pistons teams their asses for as long he’s met us in the playoffs, with less help.