Tayshaun Prince -> Kevin Durant
Jason Kidd -> Derrick Rose
Michael Redd -> Brandon Roy
Carlos Boozer -> Al Jefferson?

For the portion, i’ll take gordon, wilcox, kwame (hopefully) and Tay for the win.

QD: With addition of Durant/Roy/Rose the USA roster would (IMO) be the best since the original dream team.

My guess for Boozer replacement is:
Boozer -> Blake Griffin, or if they prefer a center one of Oden/Bynum/Lopez.

It might be a little premature to mention Griffen on the squad, Gabe. I’d bet that this time last year Beasley would have been considered a candidate, and we see how that’s gone. QD, if we’re replacing Redd we’d probably want another 3 pt. shooter to space the floor (although Roy will probably end up on the squad at some point). And I like the jefferson/lopez swap for boozer. I don’t think tay stands a chance against KD.

As to predictions, not necessarily what I hope, but what I predict:

Gordon, Ben Wallace, Ben Wallace, Tayshaun.

"I like the guy," Laimbeer said of Rambis. "He’s well prepared and is a lot like me, which surprised me. He speaks his mind, honest, blunt, sarcastic. Ditto. I thought it was a good fit and we’re going to zing each other, but it’ll be fun. He’s very competitive and wants to win, and that’s my nature."

Was this the proper usage of the word “ditto”?

Tayshaun Prince -> Kevin Durant
Jason Kidd -> Derrick Rose
Michael Redd -> Brandon Roy
Carlos Boozer -> Al Jefferson?

For a second there, I was reading the “->” as “better than” and was admittedly flabbergasted.

Predictions:

1- Benny G’s points (~18ppg)
2- Ben’s FT% (I bet Chris starts around 40 games)
3- Ben’s starts (Kwame had like 2 or 3 all last year)
4- Tay’s points (~14ppg; I expect Daye to play more than Summers, and neither will get more than 10mpg)

Hearing about Ernie’s cancer made me want to call my dad. Kind of a kick in the stomach.

Tayshaun Prince -> Kevin Durant
Jason Kidd -> Derrick Rose (Although I’m not sure Kidd has to be replaced)
Michael Redd -> Kevin Martin or Danny Granger
Carlos Boozer -> Troy Murphy or David West

Martin and Granger are both tall wings who can shoot the three.

Murphy and West can both rebound decently and Murphy has the inside outside game to stretch a zone.

None of them are known for defense but with a zone you can hide that kind of player.

.—-.
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            | \/ |
             \ / /
              \/ /
               ( (
               |\ \
               | \ \
              /Y/_Y

.—-.
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              /Y/_Y

Scntfc dropping that ascii science

I think Kevin Love would be a great fit for the Olympic team. With all those athletes, having a guy that can grab a rebound and throw a perfect outlet pass to start the break would be fun to watch.

Blake Griffin is biracial Rocky Griffin. Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia is a laughing matter.

Rocky Dennis. God damn it!

David Kahn is an idiot.

@Cody:
For offering Sessions $4m/4? I think that makes him the opposite of an idiot. Sessions is a rockstar. He’ll prove to be worth double that contract in a year or two, at least from my perspective. If Minnesota actually had a real SG and SF, they’d be a nasty team this season.

@MP

Agreed. That is a bargain for Sessions. Plus, it fills a (current) need. Johnny Flynn could be good, though I have my doubts, but as a rookie he’d probably be best off the bench. Minnesota now has a dynamic 1-2 punch at point guard. Hopefully they don’t mess it up by playing Sessions and Flynn together too much.

I Know you guys saw where D.Lee is signing a one year deal with NY. Wouldn’t you like to think that Kwame would walk, and we would move one of our guys “Maxiel” to sign him?

How much would someone venture to say he will be worth? certainly more than the mid level, but how much more?

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sorry my copy and paste game is being crushed by this server

That ascii game is mad tight, it puts my late 90’s bbs joints to shame

Question: If a team offers a restricted free agent a contract and the player’s current team matches that offer, is the player allowed to choose the contract or is he required to accept his current team’s matching offer?

Like the Gortat situation: Why couldn’t have Gortat taken the Dallas deal even though Orlando put a comparable contract out there?

Enlighten me, interwebz friends.

TDP:

If the current team matches, the player is forced to sign the contract with them.

@Skylar:

atdt3135552887
connect 1200 bps
Welcome to Detroit Bad Boys BBS
handle:
password:

oh wow. i didn’t read that it was that cheap. sorry guys lol. i was assuming it was around 6 to 7 mill a year. I just think it’s dumb how they have so many point guards now. If Rubio comes back in a year or two, they will have Rubio, Flynn, and now Sessions. None of them can really play the two. except maybe Flynn.

G-d speed to Mr Harwell (I think he still calls players Mr)

It seems like just last season when I was listening to him on WJR with the radio turned down low so my parents wouldn’t know that I was still awake.

Ernie, Red, Mel, Dizzy they were the baseball voices I grew up along with Vinnie who still remains doing Dodger games

@Garrett =D

lets go blue!!

I like your last comments about not being insulted by the 10th place prediction. I’m still hoping there is a trade coming for a true center before the season begins.

The Sessions signing is great for the Wolves. That said, if they had packaged the 5 and 6 picks for a player, they’d be looking like this year’s Trailblazers.

If Rubio comes back, he will sit on the bench because he is not an NBA talent, and Ramon Sessions is.

@kevin s.:
a-fucking-greed.

@kevin s.

100% agree on Sessions/Rubio. I was at the game in Milwaukee when Sessions dropped like 44 on us and I had no idea who he was. That kid is already decent and could be alot better with some talent around him.

@Big Mike:
I watched the Chicago game live during his rookie season where he dropped 24 assists. It was unreal. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of the kid, one of my top 3 non Piston players. If I had to build a team with a young PG, I’d grab him before Rubio in a heartbeat. I was totally blown away that Skiles didn’t use the shit out of him OVER ridnour, especially since Skiles was such a brilliant pass-first PG in his days— the record holder on assists in a single game. I was sure that the teaming of the two would lead to that record being broken. Although Skiles certainly knows a lot that I don’t, I was upset to see him used so little last season— and even then used as an SG instead of his natural position.

Love the kid, and if he can play to his ability, and if Love steps up and Jefferson stays healthy, Minnesota is one SG away from a scary team in the west.

Minnesota should have traded Rubio for Wilson Chandler when they had the chance.

I wonder if the knicks would have given up wilson chandler and their pick (jordan hill).

Really good selection of links this week. Nice work, Matt.

35 posts so far and no one has mentioned Ernie Harwell…shame on y’all. Let me thank the guy right here for so much he’s given Detroit sports fans over the last 50 years.

He’s been mentioned here & there over the weekend, in one of the couple or so threads that have been ongoing here at DBB.

I admire his courage, and like you, I thank him for being a Tigers icon for half a decade.

@Skizzlers:
Seconded. Dude’s voice is embedded in my skull from my youth. Here’s a proverbial candle lit for the man Dr. Harwell.

This guy is my hero – http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090828/koddities/us_odd_bad_first_date

So looks like Stafford is starting. It’ll be a fun 1st game to watch.

Hey Mannie32, how about this guy as your hero?

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshh2UPRS391iw4424U3

http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhg8Vk8DOg04oZH32r

or this guy?

The defense deformer is close to signing with the Memphis Grizzly Adams. It’ll be nice seeing that stingy motherfucker in a different uniform whenever his name is mentioned.

@ Skylar,
         Agreed! and it would be nice to see his ass get plenty of benchburn as well. It would be a satisfying sight to watch the Grizz vs Stones. crunch time of a tightly contested game and he is sitting on the bench thinking about why he is in the predicament that he’s in, while MFWB and BG “for astethic purposes” are sonning the entire memphis squad with drives to the basket and long guns from the outside. sending icy cold glares his way before the net even pops.

bahahahahahaah

co-sign with skylar and scntfc.
Man I remember I didn’t know which I’d prefer… seeing AI not being able to sign with anyone (hurt ego) and being forced into retirement early… or him signing with someone, and losing again and being benched. Think we’ll get the best of both worlds. He’s ego must be bruised already… training camp about to start and he doesn’t have a team. When he finally signs with a team it’ll be for little money, a shitty team, and no guarantee of a starting role I’m assuming. So that means we get to see him be a cancer to another team, and watch the Pistons kick his ass this season!

Boy, I can’t wait to see how Iverson poisons all those young guys on Memphis. He was the Canswer on a team full of champion vets. A developing team? Yikes.

Respect to all those above who are enjoying the AI boohoo story in free agency. While I wasn’t happy with what I saw out of dude this season, I’m a bit surprised he’s hated so much. My blame about the lil guy goes in this order:

1) Joe Dumars
2) MCIAFI
3) AI

Can you blame Iverson for being a cancer this year, knowing full well his style of play before the trade, or should you blame the GM that brought him here and the coach that fumbled his management?

I don’t feel bad for AI. I don’t wish him harm though.

@MP: That’s funny, because I put the blame in the total opposite order:

1) AI
2) MCIAFI
3) Jod

Now matter how crappy the situation is, Iverson’s fate was always in his own hands. Even if he hated the coach, his team mates, and his situation, he still could have done what many say he’s done for his whole career: play for himself. Yet he didn’t even do that. He should have been auditioning for a new team but instead just complained and then couldn’t produce like he used to (and wouldn’t admit it). He was mishandled by Curry, but he didn’t do himself any favours with his behaviour. He could have been more professional and just let the year play out, but he was such a detriment to the team that they shut him down early. When was the last time that happened?

I actually was an Ai fan back in the day. But I lost any faith in him when he went to Denver. Before the AI trade they were starting to gel, with Andre Miller at the point. Then the AI trade happens and they all momentum is lost. They win one playoff game during the time AI is there. Then AI gets traded and Denver goes to the WCF.
On the flip side, we had been to the ECF 6 straigh times. He comes, and we barely make the playoffs. He’s just not a winner. Not in the latter days of Philly, not during his time in Denver, and not in Detroit. So I don’t think we can put blame on Dumars (who was doing it for cap space anyway) or MCIAFI (I think Curry could in fact blame AI on his short coaching career). AI needs to look himself in the mirror.

@Garrett:
Fair enough, man. I hear ya. I would have preferred he never ended up in our uniform, and if he did, that we had a coach who could make him work properly. But you’ve certainly got a point.

However, does AI’s inability to make slam dunk shots weigh on your opinion at all? :)

@MP: For a little fella he could certainly get up in his younger years, and I can always appreciate that. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI_iTbgTwU

I don’t think I’ll ever appreciate this, though:

https://offers.palacenet.com/pp/resources/379/Flash/fiverson-altContent.jpg

I wonder if Curry will ever have a job in the NBA again? What’s he doing right now?

@mannie:
On the flip side, we had been to the ECF 6 straigh times. He comes, and we barely make the playoffs. He’s just not a winner. Not in the latter days of Philly, not during his time in Denver, and not in Detroit. So I don’t think we can put blame on Dumars (who was doing it for cap space anyway) or MCIAFI (I think Curry could in fact blame AI on his short coaching career). AI needs to look himself in the mirror.

I certainly dig why some might think the order of ownership should be reversed, like garrett above, but I think excluding MCIAFI or Jod from blame isn’t quite fair.

Looking at AI’s history as a player, was it a possibility that his style of play might not meld with ours in Detroit? Undoubtedly. So does Jod share some of the blame for bringing him here? Of course he does. Swapping the teammate of the century for the league’s most selfish, just to double down on another shooting guard— Jod’s hands are a lot dirtier than AI’s, in my opinion. Sure, it’s not that cut-and-dry. We’ve got Stuckey, we needed to retool on the quick, but to suggest that Jod is entirely innocent in the AI debacle is a fool’s errand.

Seeing how Curry threw out all of his talking points, plans, goals and otherwise to change OUR style of play to fit AI, might he share a good amount of the blame? Absolutely. He went from hard talk to spineless pussy in a matter of weeks. “Day, bee cood blay smaww bawss” is not a winning strategy.

I’m with Garrett, in that AI certainly didn’t make this any easier on himself— especially not our team. But I blame Joe for bringing him here first, and MCIAFI for mishandling him. I don’t think there is a “right” way to handle AI, but I’m pretty convinced that the suggestions made by commenters here on DBB back in November and December were smarter than anything MCIAFI ever tried.

At least AI gave us this:
http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2009-02-13/iverson-talks-free-agency/#comment-168239

That would be Petey listing the most likely destinations for AI this offseason.

No. 1 on the list: Detroit Pistons. Why? Because we are the only team that could offer him more than the MLE (!).

Next best/likeliest alternatives: Lakers, Rockets, Mavs, Spurs, and Celtics.

I don’t think it’s humanly possible to be any wronger than that.

it’s humanly possible that Petey is not human.

I think Petey is a douche-bot from another galaxy.

I have an Iverson jersey, 2003, retro that jacked the ’88 steez. I loved that cat. But Motherfucker bamboozled all of Detroit with that boohoo shit he pulled last season. Butta Foda Popcones, Allen Bitchtwinkles Canswer Iverson. Both is guilty.

/Drunk and surly. Wine AND beer

@MFDRUNKENSKEEZ:
You and me both. Where the hell are you, man? We need to get drunk and surly, but with hoes.

butta foda popcones ftw, btw

I’m in motherfucking Oregon until the 12th, then back in Ann Arbor/Detroit.

I needs them hoes. Snobby beer, crown royale, pirate fuel. I cares not.

@MP: JD did what he had to do. Of course, I think he knew what the likely result was going to be, but it was time for Chauncey to go. Time will tell if the trade works out. As for MC, well, he was overmatched, this much is clear,all he had to do was tell AI he was coming off the bench. Not doing that probably got him fired, although frankly, he had a tough road ahead of him for an experienced coach, let alone a rookie.

News about Ernie brought this out of me.

1) I will miss Ernie Harwell. He’s like a grandfather to baseball. With him goes a lot of that sport’s first-hand experience of historic events. Fortunately, he’s put a lot of things down, and his stories about the times are everywhere.

2) Current Tigers buckshot thoughts … love Verlander. He reminds me of Jack Morris. Love Granderson. Adore Cabrera. He’s the face of this generation, a high-powered mutant of rare quantity. And, he’s not the personality of a leering monster, like so many of his super-human breed. Love Fu-Ti Ni. Love Edwin Jackson. Would not miss the rest. I might miss Leyland, but probably not. I think Detroit would miss Dombrowski more. Randy Smith, the guy before him, was a fucking nightmare.

3) Tiger ‘home field’ thoughts … I hate Comerica Park. It’s a dump. Tiger Stadium was a true dump in the sense of outdated facilities, but Comerica lacks the odd feeling I got every time I walked up into the Tiger Stadium seats … it was like a church where a baseball god lived, and you could feel him moving around the park. That god is dead, and it still hurts. Comerica looks snazzy, but it’s a cold snazzy. I don’t feel jack shit looking at the statues of the former greats. Good ideas, the sum of the new stadium, all shat in a haphazard fashion. And, they should have built it to punish lefty hitters, not rightys. The wind still pushes in from left field, making that power alley nothing like the homer-friendly heaven it was @ 365 to left-center. Oh well.

4) Tigers chances … I don’t think this is the year. Magglio not being 1/2 power might have changed things. They’re good, but they’re not NY Yankees-good. They really did squander 2006. It was a glorious story killed by a shitty Cardinals team that got hot @ the right time. I still shake my head when I think of how they blew it. If it is the year of the Tigers, well, good for them. About time a weak-hitting good-pitching good-defense club steal one from the endless showy arsenals of bats.

Thank god for fantasy football. It helps me forget this Pistons valley.

While I used to be a fan of AI. I did’nt lose respect for him till he came to the D. this is the guy that says he is willing to do anything to win. the sad thing about the season is that we could have been better. Allen clearly never had the oppurtunity to advance very far in the placeoffs since the couple of times in Philly. Most of us knew we wouldnt win it all last year but we still thought that we were at least a second rd. team. I agree with Garrets order AI. MC, JD

Chauncy clearly had to go. he got denver to the WCF so that was a success for them. had we got to the ECF and no further last season it still would have been a dissapoinment, as it had the 2 previous
yrs.

So does Jod share some of the blame for bringing him here? Of course he does. Swapping the teammate of the century for the league’s most selfish, just to double down on another shooting guard–

I wouldn’t call that double down by any measure. By making that move we took our only real tradeable asset. and made ourselves an average of 5 yrs. younger. plus we added flexibility to a roster that was almost as rigid as a Nun on a drunk and surly night.

Let us not forget that we were just as dissapointed with Chauncey as we were with Sheed. The only difference between his press conferences and Sheeds was that he always had an excuse. “we just didn’t get it done.” He was one of the reasons I felt so bad for Dice. you could see Dice die a little after every season. but you didn’t see much of a reaction either way in Chaunce. And with Chaunce being Dice’s biggest cheerleader you would think that he would “leave it all out on the court” like Dice did.

He is still one of my fav. pistons from that era. but more often than not, even Rip showed more heart than him “Chauncey” when it counted.

@MP
I see what you’re saying. What I’m saying though is Dumars knew it wasn’t going to work. That’s why since day 1 he said all that crap about AI being the superstar we needed, but then added in that it gave us financial flexibility. If the trade was for the long-term he wouldn’t have mentioned financial flexibility. He would be talking extensions instead. It was a salary dump trade, it just so happened that we got in return a guy with a big name. A guy with such a big name he went to the last two all-star games even though no one who actually watches basketball thinks he deserves that spot.
So blame Dumars? I think he got what he wanted. A few years down the road if we are like the NY Knicks or the Celtics before they landed Garnett and Ray Allen (i.e. always missing the playoffs with little hope for the future) then we can look back and blame Dumars for maybe not squeezing one more year out of our Goin to Work guys. Otherwise, it’s wait and see with Dumars.
So again I reiterate that AI is to blame for his lack of basketball success in the last few years.

@MP: Yeah, it DOES make me wonder how much Jod REALLY knew was going to happen by bringing in AI. Like, would he go home at night and say to his wife, “Well, there goes THAT team! I just destroyed the Pistons by bringing in AI! Oh well, at least we’ll have money.” Or did he say, “This could work… AI can still play…?” I think it’s probably the former, since we all know Jod’s no dummy. Maybe the 2008-2009 season can just be wiped from the history books entirely in favour of a photo of Fennis Dembo?

http://www.detroitbadboys.com/images/fennis-dembo-si.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdluT_DOxw

old news

“I am looking forward to meeting the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies on tomorrow, along with his staff. I want to help them develop a winner,” Iverson wrote

A player that’s never won thinks he can help develop a winner. The best way he can do that for Memphis is by not signing with them.

I’m not really sure what’s so “unique” about AI’s skillset. He handled the ball 100% of the time and took 40% of his teams’ shots. What’s so unique about that? You don’t think Ben Gordon would average 33ppg if he took 30 shots? I bet he’d average closer to 40, because he can actually shoot. This is the NBA. Every single guy has more talent than you’d believe, even the “scrubs.” There isn’t a player in this league that can’t average 25ppg when he gets 30 shots and isn’t expected to pass.

He never had a unique game. He had a selfish game. And what’s even worse is that none of his coaches ever had the balls (or was allowed to have the balls) to make him change. His style of ball has never won anything and never will. To think that at such a late stage in his career people are supposed to be still catering to his “unique” game is ludicrous at best and downright ignorant at worst.

Absolutely right, Joel. Ben Gordon’s career TS%, .554, roughly predicts 33.2 ppg on 30 shot attempts. And just last year his TS% was .573, which corresponds to 34.4 points per 30 shots.

His true scoring rate, were he to attempt 30 shots per game, might be higher, since he’s an above-average free-throw shooter. On the other hand, he seems to average fewer than 5 FTA/game, probably because he’s a jump shooter first and foremost.

Also, AI sucks.

You too, khandor.

PSK, you gotta aim your gun over there. Khandorman is dropping science over in the It’s Contagious! thread.

Not all of Detroit’s problems last year were AI’s fault, and it was always going to be a tricky situation with him and Rip. Still, AI absolutely made the worst of the situation. I was in the “try to be realistically optimistic” camp about him, and I was jaw-droppingly disappointed.

I’m trying to remember when somebody left the Pistons leaving the fans with such a bad taste in their mouths. I generally root for ex-Pistons to do reasonably well on their new teams (albeit not against Detroit). But not even the Disaster That Was Darko engendered this much bad feelings. Is there any comparison, with any other ex-Piston?

I’m on it, Skylar.

@ Sauce: Can’t believe you didn’t mention Polanco or Inge in the Tigers you would miss, they do it more-so with their gloves than their bats, and that I can respect. (plus they do it with the bat as well)

I’m sure someone has already asked this, but does anyone know of a Detroit Lions blog that even comes close to the quality of DBB?

@ KRONIKjose:

Inge reminds me of Rob Deer, that’s why.

I loved Rob Deer (And Mickey Tettleton; holy shit did I love Mickey Tettleton). But Inge is easily the most exciting defensive player in the AL. That’s got to count for something. Sure his average is shit, but he does hit bombs (occasionally clutch) and has infinite range at third base. Plus I can’t think of a better “utility” guy in the entire league. His presence for club morale alone is worth his salary (much like Sean Casay in ’06-07).

Didn’t Rob Deer break his hand while swinging at a pitch?

I don’t know about breaking his hand but when we had Deer and fielder no opponets pitching was safe I remember scoring over 20 runs a few times that yr. didn’t amount to much but exciting as hell to watch.

Joel, Mark DeRosa is UtilityMan.