For the first time, I just read a national columnist articulate everything that I’ve always said about the Pistons selecting Darko Milicic over Carmelo Anthony in 2003. I tip my hat to you, Sam Smith.
Archive for October, 2006
“Trader Jack” McCloskey, the architect of Detroit’s Bad Boys era, was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame today. Among the other inducted were Central University’s Dan Majerle, Michigan State’s Greg Kelser, Red Wings and Tigers exec Jimmy Devellano, and former Tigers pitcher (and Detroit Catholic Central alum) Frank Tanana. (Link via Need4Sheed)
Dana Gauruder sounds optimistic in today’s Oakland Press about Nazr Mohammed making a positive impact in Detroit’s starting lineup. Yahoo! Sports’ Steve Kerr isn’t so sure.
Ernie Johnson, anchor of TNT’s basketball coverage and straight-man extrordinaire (when compared to studio-mates Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith), returns to the booth tonight as TNT kicks off its regular season NBA coverage. Johnson has been away from broadcasting since last NBA season receiving treatment for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a form of cancer. We wish him the best in his fight.
Joe Dumars usually plays his cards close to the vest, refusing to provide many on-record substantive comments regarding a player acquisition until its advantageous for him to do so. So it may have come as a surprise to some that it was Dumars — and not sports radio or a beat writer’s “unnamed sources” — that commented on the Pistons discussions with Jalen Rose (recently bought out and waived by the Knicks).
But before you start shopping for a Pistons #5 jersey, understand that a number of uncertainties need to be resolved in order for Rose to join up. See, Rose (at 33) feels he is far from done in the Association and will want a) more minutes than he received in New York last season and b) money beyond this season. Dumars had this to say:
“I told Jalen that he would have a limited role here in Detroit,” said Pistons president Joe Dumars, who spoke to Rose on Monday. “I told him that we were not opposed to bringing him here under the right circumstances. But it would have to be a win-win for both sides.”
There is also the issue of where Jalen would play for the Pistons. If Dumars were to add #5 to the mix, it would be the Pistons most vocal admission yet that they don’t believe Carlos Delfino can handle a regular rotation spot. Delfino would almost assuredly be jettisoned during the season or buried on the bench where his bitching (in Spanish, of course) couldn’t effect the players who actually…play.
So while Dumars speaking about Jalen Rose is significant, it remains to be seen whether playing for his hometown team (the team he grew up watching) would be enough for Rose at this stage in his career. All indications are that the Heat, who failed in their bid to land Bonzi Wells late in the summer, are also interested.
I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts here. Jalen is a polarizing player; there are just as many that love his game and/or persona as absolutely hate it. I personally think that while his top statistical seasons have tended to coincide with mediocre-to-bad teams, he could provide athletecism, offense, and court vision off the bench for pennies on the dollar. As much as we pimp Delfino around here, even we have to admit that production thus far has not won out over potential. And while I do feel that Delfino’s game is NBA-ready, if you take the chance — and he falls flat in the early months of the season — there will be no one the caliber of Jalen Rose to be had for the veteran’s minimum in December or January.
Pistons could pick up Rose [Detroit News]
Knicks waive Jalen Rose [New York Post]
Heat eyes Jalen Rose [Miami Herald]
You know those NBA Previews that we’ve been linking too? We’ve pointed out all along that everyone has seemed a bit overly optimistic, and we were right: Jason Gurney from lowpost.net did the math and calculated a cumulative .585 winning percentage projected by the NBA bloggers who participated. (I shouldn’t need to explain this, but just in case, it should be an even .500)
Soak up the melodrama, people. This one’s titled, “The Meaning of Heart”:
I don’t know about “The Meaning of Heart” — the video was fine and all, but the title sounds a little too much like a Nicholas Sparks novel than a bad-ass sports movie. Any better ideas? I’m thinking about something like a three-word Steven Segal title: “Forget the ‘Fro”, “Revenge Served Cold,” or “Prince Over King.”
“The Meaning Of Heart” 2007 Pistons Trailer [YouTube, via Absolute Michigan]
Flip Saunders announced early in camp that he was going to insist on more discipline this year. At the time, Ian wrote the following:
My hope is that this decision was made by Flip, and that in his second season, he is feeling comfortable enough to install some of his own team rules; to take back some of the asylum from the inmates. My suspicion is that this came down from Dumars in an attempt to rectify some of the recurring issues from last season.
This front office/coaching staff thing may be a subplot worth following should the Pistons stumble out of the gate this season.
Make of it what you will, but here’s Joe Dumars from today’s Detroit News:
“[Flip] was pretty hands-off last year,” Dumars said. “He didn’t want to come in and disrupt what he felt was a good thing. My comment to him was, ‘That was OK for one year. Now put your imprint on this. It’s your team. Run this thing like you want to run it. Coach this team like you want to coach it.’
“He’s done that. He’s been much more assertive this year. He is putting his imprint on this team.”
To his credit, I don’t suppose it really matters where Saunders’ motivation comes from as long as the players respect him. Chris McCosky, who’s been to practice and the games this preseason, seems to think that’s the case:
It’s been, in an odd way, a very therapeutic, almost cathartic, camp. Both the players and the head coach have admitted to past mistakes and vowed to get it right this year. Where some players might have been skeptical and wary of Saunders’ plans and methods, there seems to be more trust and respect.
And where Saunders might have been either too lenient or too bull-headed, he’s seemingly found a balance.
“He said from day one that he’s going to be all business,” Lindsey Hunter said. “We are going to do things a certain way and we are going to carry it out all season. He has put us in the mind-set where, when we step between the lines, we are going to get our work done. We have one goal and that’s to win that championship, and every day, every practice, we should all be thinking the same thing.”
So far, so good.
“I think we are all on the same page,” Prince said. “We know what he wants and obviously we’ve been concentrating on doing what needs to be done.
Saunders takes charge [Detroit News]
Previously on DBB:
Flip Saunders: Hardass?
In case you were wondering: Andrew Bogut, who’s spent the last three weeks nursing a leg injury, will in fact play for the Bucks in the season opener against the Pistons on Wednesday.
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