Henry Abbott emailed me asking my thoughts about the Pistons’ future, specifically whether Joe Dumars might actually break up the team’s core by pulling off a major trade. My answer? Maybe. Okay, it was a little more detailed than that:
Short answer: I don’t know if he will, but I don’t think he’s scared to.
Long answer: I’ve heard him mention how he was still playing the last time the Pistons were in this situation, and how quickly the Pistons went from winning the title in ‘90 to completely falling out of relevance within two years. The Cavs are in the Finals this year and the Bulls are only going to get better — if each of those two teams improve by just two wins in the regular season next year and the Pistons slip by two wins, Detroit is suddenly a third-place team within their division and a No. 5 seed at best in the East. For all the talk about how weak the East is, the Central Division is the balls.
Plus, there’s precedent for Dumars making a bold move: Jerry Stackhouse was the franchise player in ‘02 (and the league’s second-leading scorer in ‘01) and Dumars wasn’t scared to pull the trigger for the (relatively) unheralded Rip Hamilton. Granted, that a was a different situation, but it was unpopular and certainly a risk for a 50-win team.
If he does make a move, I have completely no idea who it will involve. A lot of fans assume Rasheed Wallace will be the first to go, but I’m not so sure. I could see Dumars making another Stackhouse-type move and trading Hamilton, since he’s not viewed as a “flawed” player around the league and would probably bring back the most bang for the buck.
Another thing to consider is that the Pistons have two first-round picks — I’m going to assume they use the first one (No. 15) on a point guard for the future who joins the rotation immediately, but that second pick (No. 27) probably won’t be contributing next year at all, which means it could be included in a trade and not be missed.
Either way, the team *needs* to bring back Chauncey Billups, or at the very least get *something* out of him in a sign-and-trade. If that doesn’t happen … man, I don’t want to think about it.
We’ve been having some great discussions in the comments the past couple of days about whether the core of this team needs to be split up, whether a new coach would solve the problems or if a simple attitude adjustment would do the trick. ‘
For the sake of some afternoon fun, let’s assume for a moment that Dumars is in fact prepared to split up the core four of Chauncey, Rip, Sheed and Tayshaun. Who would you like to see the Pistons acquire? Fortunately, it looks like Real GM’s Trade Checker has finally updated for the offseason (near as I can tell, ESPN’s Trade Machine is pretty much useless for this discussion right now since it’s still using 2006-07 salaries …). Get creative and think outside the box — let’s figure out some trades that help both teams and could theoretically happen.
matt….
1) what will it take for pistons to acquire kevin garnett? i believe he’ll be a big impact for the team.
2) what will it take for pistons (coaching staff/mgt) to have amir johnson included in the rotation regularly.
3) is there any ideal center for the pistons in the nba that can be traded for next season, who are they?
thanks matt!
ric
gerald wallace (aka GForce) is a free agent. i love his style of play - great defense, penetrator, gets to the ft line a lot. he has superstar written all over him. i hope he’s on joe d’s radar.
When I think of what Detroit could do and who they could do it with, I think of other teams that failed to reach their perceived potential for multiple years in a row. One team comes to mind, and with that, one player.
Houston Rockets and Tracey McGrady. The Rockets have to look to figure out a way to get deeper into the playoffs. By trading Bonzi Wells (assuming he exercises his player option and stays with Houston) and McGrady to Detroit for Sheed and Hamilton, Houston has done four things.
1) Immediately given themselves the best front court in the NBA with Yao and Sheed playing next to each other.
2) Improved their already stingy defense
3) Added proven winners to a team that has had a lot of trouble with winning in the playoffs
4) Added a consistent mid-range shooter as well as two three-ball threats.
On the other side Detroit benefits from the following:
1) A superstar who is capapble of getting in the lane, drawing fouls, and shooting the three-ball. Something that we all like to think Rip can do but ultimately does not even compare to McGrady
2) Given themselves a bigger stronger shooting guard
3) Brought in a player who is truly a great guy. He’s a great team player.
4) Brought in a player who is in his prime AND incredibly hungry for a chance to prove himself in the playoffs (especially after failing to do so this year).
5) Add Bonzi Wells, a player that the Pistons were interested in last season to provide depth at the guard position.
McGrady’s injuries I consider a non-factor as we all know that under Arnie Kander’s soft hands and mystical ways, McGrady’s injury woes would disappear.
I think this trade definitely benefits both teams especially in their increasingly difficult road to the Finals.
Detroit would be left incredibly weak up front but again I think that with Maxiell and Amir Johnson off the bench, we would simply need to find ourselves a couple of high-energy offensive rebounding, defensive minded machines (too bad Ben’s not still around…)
Let’s ship off Rip (agree most bang for the buck) and possibly Rasheed. I think we need to resign Billups and keep our core with him, Tay, Maxiell and Amir. Gerald Wallace is solid, but I would like to see us get an offensive force, who always plays defense, come in and be our crunch time go-to player. Landing Kobe (not that LA would ever trade him for Rip and Rasheed and whatever is needed to make that trade work) is ideal. We need a player with a killer instinct. Our offense is crap and is almost too well rounded in that no-one can really get going and get a rythmn. We need to go afer Kobe, KG, Joe Johnson, TMac or Dirk, someone like that.
I forgot to mention
6) Detroit’s backcourt would be huge. To have a 6′3″ PG, 6′8″ SG, and a 6′9″ SF, they would outsize anyone in the ECF.
7) It would clear up a little bit of cap-room for the Pistons while at the same time getting rid of an expiring contract (again assuming Wells exercises his player option) on the Rockets roster freeing up cap-space for both teams to make one good Free agency acquisition.
Gerald Wallace would be a great fit, I agree. Maybe a third Wallace is the good luck charm.
As much as I hate to see the “Core” busted up-its time.
The attitude of the team is awful. This supposed “Cool” demeanor has turned into a whining, sense of entitlement that they have not earned since ‘05.
I’m not so sure the Pistons should go lock, stock and barrel after Billups. He can’t penetrate worth a damn and he is not dropping the big shots his nickname suggests.
We need a fresh approach. The milk has spoiled in Detroit.
I thought we could somehow survive with letting Ben Wa$$ace go -but the more you saw LeBron going to the hoop, the more the Pistons played like a Rochester High basketball team watching dunks in awe. The Pistons just literally put their heads down on 3 LB’s dunks. That was not Pistons basketball. I’m not suggesting Ben would have prevented what happened but he may just may-have at least challenged LeBron.
This is starting to look all too familiar from the early ’90s when the ‘Stons ruined their uniforms and became a door mat team. PLEASE DON’T LET THIS TEAM TURN INTO THE MODERN CELTICS.
Joe D needs to shoot hostages as he say’s and fast. Maybe RIP is gone as he bailed on saying farewell to his teammates. Maybe Flip will be fired and Rick Carlisle can return. Who knows what will and can happen. But change will be necessary to have this team compete for the next few years.
It just sucks that Pistons will never get the respect they deserved for this incredible 5 year run. We should have won 2 ‘Ships but Sheed left Big Shot Idiot wide open in Game 5. Sadly that memory still haunts me to this day.
It was fun while it lasted but now the time has come to start something new.
I would also love to see Laimbeer as Head Coach. If anyone can bring back the killer instinct, it’s Laimbeer.
1. G. Wallace sounds good! But I don’t we will have the money to sign. really think that the Heat we try to get him or Antwan Jamison.
2. Sign and trade with Billups to Portland for Big Zach.
3. Trade Nazr to the Bobcats for Knight who is a playmaker.
top five will be
R. Wallace
Big Zac
Tay
Rip
Knight
@ James - Your ideas are really something, I hadn’t thought of those possibilities at all. I’d hate to see ‘Sheed go but I have always wanted Wells here.
ric,
In order to acquire KG, Detroit would have to give up Sheed and Rip in order to balance the two.
I see some pretty big issues here as the Pistons would have a glaring hole at Shooting Guard, and a lot of inexperience to fill the Power Forward role.
Furthermore, I don’t see Kevin McHale agreeing to any kind of trade with Detroit with Flip as head coach. He does not want to make the coach he fired any better.
RE James
I like your thinking and couldn’t agree more. Plus I would keep McDyess too.
Also JoeD should use the two first round picks to try and move up the draft for Mike Conley.
james,
i agree with you regarding mchale/flip issue. i guess the rumor wasn’t true, that dumars has connection with kg, but thats besides the point, since kg is not the one can fully decide where he can go, mchale must be involved??? flip and kg would be a good combination, no drama/miscommunication on both of them…right at this time, pistons guards/forwards are fine (rip and chauncey, maxiell, prince, dyess, wallace), its the center position that im worried about. never knew g. wallace, guess i should look him up. i believe, pistons should just stay for what they have but flip must get maxiell and amir start early next year
I like what James had to say about Laimbeer as coach. It’s something I’ve been tossing around in my head for the past few days. Would Joe D do it? Seriously, the Pistons need someone to tell them to make a hard foul. Watching Lebron penetrate the lane for seemingly easy dunks and layups was brutal. I can’t see how Flip would not be fired.
I think Sheed is on his way out. Losing Rip would be hard. Honestly I can more likely see us not giving Billups a max contract. Whatever the case, I hope we don’t break the bank on him. I know it was just one series, but he looked terrible against Cleveland. Turning the ball over, missing open shots, forgetting to penetrate. And then watching him smile after he messed up…that pissed me off. (but not quite as much as seeing gibson’s little smirk every time he did ANYTHING)
Tayshaun is obviously staying…what are people’s thoughts on Mo Williams? Obviously not the stud that Billups is, but he’s pretty good…and young.
TheJanitor. I whole heartedly agree that the Pistons should make a move for Conley or Law III depending on who is available. This is also interesting to think about:
From: http://www.draftexpress.com/
“Speaking of Javaris Crittenton,, it’s interesting to note that he’s scheduled to work out with the Portland Trailblazers the day before the draft, June 27th. He obviously won’t be working out for the #1 pick, and can’t be planning on Portland’s next pick at #37 either. So what does that mean? Deductive reasoning tells us that his people have almost certainly been convinced that there is a very good chance that the Trailblazers will have a draft pick in his range, AND will have a need for another point guard besides the two very good ones they already have in Jarrett Jack and Sergio Rodríguez. It goes without saying that the day before the draft is a VERY valuable spot on the calendar of a player like Crittenton.
A couple of quick calls made indicate that Crittenton isn’t the only one who might feel that way. Two agents with draft prospects in the 5-15 draft range conveyed to DraftExpress that they feel that Portland is sending out messages implying that they may already have a late lottery pick locked up. The rumor emerging is that Portland can secure the #11 pick belonging to Atlanta, in return for Jarrett Jack if they so desire.
Portland will also (tentatively) be hosting Nick Young and Al Thornton two days before the draft, on the 26th. The Young and Crittenton workout dates were released by a Portland beat writer, Jason Quick.”
___________________________________________________________________
It would be interesting to see who Portland is trading with to grab Crittenton. Could it be Detroit? Crittenton is definitely slated as the third PG in the draft after Conley and Acie Law III, and the Pistons need to find a reliable back up PG.
Although I think they could do this in free-agency and without giving up one of their draft picks (Earl Boykins, TJ Ford, Mike Bibby)
Folks, please forget about KG. One, his knees are shot, two, he’s a lousy teammate, three he’s a notorious playoff choker and four, his contract is insane considering his age and the amount of wear on those tires.
We’re not talking about KG the MVP. We’re talking about a guy on the downside of his career and not someone to mortgage the future for.
Matt is dead right about getting something back for Billups. We really didn’t do well losing Wallace and not getting anything back in return. I’m pretty sure the Bulls would have given up a future pick and while the Pistons may have had to absorb some short term salary (don’t get me started on finances at the Palace!!!
) the franchise would be in better shape going forward because we would have assets (salary filler) to use in trade.
Regarding Bill Laimbeer - I don’t necessarily see that working out the way we’d like it to. I agree that his toughness, his mentality and attitude towards the game would be welcome sight around these parts but I don’t know about how he would deal w/ todays breed of player. I’d love to see what he took from Chuck D and how it could/would translate but I really worry about how he’d be taken by todays players. I’m sure some would be responsive, especially the hungrier ones but that’s the problem isn’t it? Who’s still hungry enough to change?
I’ve seen and heard enough. Flip has got to go. However, I believe the current political situation (I believe Dumars isn’t allowed to fire him this year)gives Flip one last opportunity at screwing up. What does Lam have to do to get a chance at coaching the Pistons? While Lam may be a trainwreck at running a business, the guy knows how to win and motiviate players.
Y’know, the future in Detroit is very, very bright. I don’t see talent as the issue. If Maxiell, Amir and Delfino continue to develop, they are one piece (a center) away from contending. I believe Chauncey will re up with the Pistons for several reasons.
As for a trade…Isiah likes Rasheed? Does he like him enough to offer a package including David Lee?
So far I this is the list of FA’s that could wear the red, white and blue.
Gerald Wallace (Great compliment to TPrince)
Matt Carroll (Solid shooter)
Bonzi Wells (Shopuld have got him last year)
Smush Parker (Return to D Town?)
Vince Carter (Won’t happen but a thought)
Mike Bibby (If CBillups goes this could happen)
Morris Peterson (MSU native who might want to go home)
I’m not sure what Isiah whould give up for Sheed and RIP or just Sheed but maybe the Pistons could pry away David Lee and Jamal Crawford.
Garnett may end up in NY and as others have mentioned McHale would never deal with Detroit or Flip. Kobe sounds nice but just its a very unlikely. Zach Randolph
would be awesome as well.
Who knows but at least its exciting.
Bonzi is only a free agent if he doesn’t exercise his Player option. I don’t see us grabbing Smush Parker, he was barely serviceable as a PG on the Lakers, he’d be fighting for time with Lindsay (assuming he’s here next year) or Acker or whomever the Pistons get in FA. As for PG’s I’d rather have Earl Boykins. Despite his defensive liability being only 5′6″, he’s quick, fast, and hungry. And he can distribute the ball and run the offense. That’s all you need in a back up PG and he would be an awesome change of pace to Billups strong PG style of play. You could even go Boykins, Billups, Tay if you wanted to run small, or Boykins Billups Rip Tay and Maxi if you wanted to REALLY go small.
Trade Rip for a post scorer like Randolph or maybe even Lamar Odom and go uptempo. Then draft Acie Law or Javaris Crittendon, let Maxiell and Amir Johnson play and bring either Blaylock or Acker back to spell Chauncey. We’ll be back in the Finals within two years.
This is of course because given proper minutes, Delfino will be a star.
Rip and a first rounder for David Lee and Jamal Crawford would be a coup to say the least. Make that trade and we are once more the power in the East.
Basically Rip holds us back with his mediocre defense, shaky ballhandling, and inability to stretch the defense out to the three point line. On top of that, when was the last time you saw Rip dominate a fourth quarter like Chuancey, Sheed or any of the top two guards in the league? He’s a bitch, and the only reason he’s so effective early in games is because he runs his ass off and the D is too lazy to stop him. Come fourth quarter, they clamp down and he’s always useless.
If we really wanted a band aid solution to try and stretch this team for another ocuple years, we should move rip, a first rounder and another player for Paul Pierce, who is the Truth and could provide us with someone to match up with Lebron in the playoffs next year.
Wow. Rip has hit as many big shots as Billups in the 4th Q without the nicknames and fan fare. And his defense is one of the best on the squad, hence why he takes over for Tay on tough covers.
If you want to run, why would you trade your best runner for a fat, lazy creep with bad knees like Randolph?
We’ll never run as long as Billups is the PG. He can’t play a transition game. His strength is in the halfcourt.
I said trade for Odom and run. You either need a low post scorer to play half court, or a guy that can draw double teams and pass out of them. Randolph isn’t a great passer yet, but he can score on the block. Rip does not draw double teams.
The “tough covers” you are talking about are usually undersized 2’s or 1s that Rip chases around, because he is quick but incredibly weak. Notice how ineffective he is against the bigger, more athletic wings in the league, which is why Tayshaun always has to guard them.
I agree about Billups, but I’m starting to think that if someone offers him the max, we shouldn’t match.
Gautham,
1) Anything coming out of New York will not put us back on top as the power of the East, especially Jamal Crawford. He does not play a team game and the only thing he has going for him is once or twice a season he’ll light it up from beyond the arc and drop 30-40 points in a game. After that, he is nothing more than a defensive liability.
2) How soon you forget Rip leading the NBA in 3-point % last year. He can extend his game, but he made a conscious decision this season to take the ball to the hoop and draw fouls. I’d say it’s a smart move considering they end up with 4 guys standing around the arc (tay, sheed, chauncey, and rip) if Rip continues to shoot the three ball. People respect his mid-range and his three ball, but he doesn’t need to be shooting them when chauncey, tay, and sheed are all formiddable from beyond the arc.
James, I respect your opinions, but I honestly thought we should have won this year. Everyone played poorly, and we still barely lost a couple of those games. To me the talent isn’t lacking, i think the PIstons have more talent than any team in the East. I think it’s coaching, desire and attitude. And I think that the attitude problem is that we’re no longer a tough, hard nosed team. Now if you looked at our starting lineup (excluding CWebb, who might not come back) who would you say is the least tough? Rip.
Rip lead the league in 3 point % largely because he never shoots them. OK, I’m cool with that. But what about his disappearing act in the fourth quarter? How about the fact he rarely contributes statistically in any category aside from scoring, despite the fact he’s like 6-8 and should be hitting the glass hard for a guard because he always has the easiest defenseive assignment (except against miami).
We can agree to disagree. You think Rip is good. I think he’s garbage, and about the 10th best shooting guard in the league.
to back that up (not in exact order, but you get the picture)
1. Kobe
2. D. Wade
3. T Mac
4. Ray Allen
5. Paul Pierce
6. Joe Johnson
7. Caron Butler
8. Josh Howard
10. Lebron (I know he plays SF, but he can play the 2)
I would put Rip at the same level as JRich (who is still improving) Ben Gordon, Ginobili, and Kevin Martin. A good player, reliable scorer, but not a go-to guy or someone to be depended on in the clutch.
As for Crawford, he really showed a lot of improvement under Larry Brown, and this year he was developing into a star and one of the league’s best clutch shooters before he got hurt. The kid has something, something Rip lacks. he might be a little weak defensively, but he’s quick and can handle the ball and set up his teammates. I think he would be a great fit, just my opinion.
Also I forgot Michael Redd, who’s way better than Rip, and Vince Carter, who is more talented but equally soft.
I agree with Gautham and think a real argument can be made for giving Delfino some real PT and trading Rip for a big man that can score.
RIP vs. CARLOS
Better Pure Scorer: Rip
3 point shooting: Carlos
Better Passer: toss up
Better Rebounder: Carlos (not even close)
Better Defender: Carlos (does rip play D?)
Does anyone agree with this assessment?
I think if Carlos saw some consistent minutes we’d all be pleasantly surprised by his production. When he first came to the team there were some growing pains (read: imaginary knee injury that only Doctors in Argentina can treat), but since then he has played well off the bench doing the little things, like rebounding and defense. He no longer complains when Flip decides not to play him and comes in with energy (regardless of how the game is going). This makes me think he’s HUNGRY and might really bring something to the table if he got 35 minutes/night.
Just a thought…
You can also count me in as someone who is scared to give Chauncey the max, but also terrified of losing him. Anyone who thinks a rookie PG in this class is going to come in and contribute right away is suffering from a Chris Paul/Deron Williams-like delusion. Mike Conley can’t shoot but is fast (sounds like TJ Ford w/less experience), Javaris Crittendon is no where near ready to play in the NBA (upside is why the Hawks are so good), and Acie Law (who I really like) is not going to start and make an immediate impact on a veteran team.
11 of your 13 are franchise players. By that standard, Carlos Delfino should just hang his sneakers up.
Also, if you remove Kobe and Wade, none of those guys have won a title (and neither have those two without Shaq), and only 2 more of them have made the Finals.
Rip’s young, healthy, an All-Star, a champion in college and the Pros, affordable for an All-Star and locked up through his prime.
I’m ok with moving him for the right deal, but he doesn’t make enough to bring in a marquee name. The salaries have to make sense.
Odom is best known for missing games and disappearing.
I like Crawford, but he’s a chucker and plays absolutely no defense. He shot almost 7% worse than Rip last year from the field, and 2% worse from the arc.
These stats might alter your perception of Hamilton as a clutch player.
http://www.82games.com/random12.htm
http://www.82games.com/random23.htm
I cant believe how many people have turned on Rip, he did a better job on Lebron than anyone else so far in the playoffs. He is quick and he is long, it works well for him. Offensively he is the ideal 2nd star, he is at his best running around while someone else has the ball. If we can somehow find a big scorer (ideally by trading Sheed), Rip would thrive even more.
I dont see why we need to move anyone at all. We are a better team than Cleveland, and a year from now we still will be. If we can pick up an effective backup point guard, maybe a big man as well and then get some development from Maxiel and Delfino, we will be back in the finals next year. Throw in the possibility of Amir Johnson contributing and we should be fine.
ok here’s a few
chauncey to dallas for devin harris & diop, & maybe ager and a pick. Not sure how to get $$ to match up on trade machine.
rasheed & nazr to phoenix for marion. gets rid of nazr bloated salary. marion is a matchup nightmare at the 4 especially with all the good PFs out west.
rasheed & chauncey to houston for mcgrady & bonzi. leaves us weak at PG.
chauncey & nazr to lakers for kwame (expiring contract i think), bynum, & farmar, maybe have them throw in there pick at 19.
rip & flip (murray not saunders hehe) to golden state for J. rich
chauncey to the clips for casell (expiring) & maggette & 14th pick (thats from simmons) but i’d also try for quinton ross, sounds like he could be a great defender especially with lindsey leaving soon.
sheed & rip to twolves for KG
rip & nazr to sonics for ray allen. not sure that would go over well with sonics
chauncey to 76ers for andre miller (only 2 years left on his contract) and the #12 pick plus whoever else. some finangling to get the $$ to match i think.
sheed to knicks for frye, lee, and crawford, even balkman wouldn’t be that bad and since this is isiah have him throw in the #23 pick as well.
chauncey to hawks for #11 and zaza pachulia C and one of there many wingers, either josh smith or marvin williams.
chauncey & rip to celtics for pierce and #5 ( and pray for Conley)or failing that rajon rondo
Well some of these are a little lopsided in our favor i.e. everyone with nazr in them hehe so feel free to fix up any of the ones you like to make them a good trade for both sides. Though i think there’s only so far Flip “Wits Canceler” Saunders can take us. Enjoy.
I also dont get the rip hate. He’s a guy defenses have to gameplan for with his endless running. He has had plenty of good 4th quarters but he also needs plays called for him (maybe his biggest weakness) and thats the coaches fault. Rip should be running his defender into the ground in the 4th. LB did it. Flip likes to go away from it though.
In regards to Gauthams SG list Le’Bron shouldnt be there (he play PG and PF to). I’d put Rip about 7 above caron and howard. Those other guys above him are superstars and future HoFers. I wouldnt mind being right behind those guys.
There’s nothing wrong with the starting four.
Garbage?
Hamilton shoots at a higher percentage than all the shooting guards mentioned by Gautham with the exception of Kobe, Wade and Johnson.
As a group they average 4 more shots per game than Rip, but only score on averge 6 more points per game than him.
As for the three small forwards (Butler, Howard and James), only James scores more and shoots a higher percentage than Rip.
The Pistons problem is they have a 2nd team All-NBA defensive team small forward who can’t guard LeBron James. The team needs somebody a bit more stout than Tayshaun Prince on the floor to guard James.
My trade…
Rasheed Wallace PF
Rip Hamilton SG
for
Shawn Marion SF
Raja Bell SG
There are a lot of secondary parts that you can add or subtract but the Detroit needs to guard a bit better and Phoenix needs to learn how to win.
Nash, Rip, Diaw, Sheed, Amare (bench - K.Thomas, Barbosa, J.Jones)
Chauncey, Raja, Prince, Marion, Maxiell (bench - A.Johnson, Flip, McDyess, Delfino, #15 pick)
Marion guards LeBron in the playoffs. ‘Sheed guards Duncan. Aren’t both teams better?
Also, nobody really watches the NBA. Most of this thread proves it.
Gentlemen, since Saturday night I have been personally consummed with trying to help Joe D. reshape our squad. This is to my own surprise because until Sunday I wasn’t a blogger. But to the point. I’ve enjoyed thinking of my own trade scenarios and looking at other’s ideas on-line. But let’s be realistic….I have seen some of the most unrealistic, lopsided (for us) trades you could ever imagine. We want to give people an old tuna sandwich for their filet mignon. Please keep in mind that while we fantasize and try to reshape our beloved Pistons, trades have to make sense both ways.
Let me shoot down a few that don’t make sense to me. (Not that these two are lopsided per say). Sheed + Rip for McGrady & Bonzi Wells: Love love love to have McGrady, but not getting a big back leaves you way too thin up front. Who would we start? Dice and Maximus, with Amir off the bench. Do you realize how risky that shit is. Don’t like Zach Randolph, too small. We already have one 6-6 PF in Maximus. Cleveland would really have a tip drill.
Here are my offerings. Sign Billups for not more than $12-13 million. Sheed, Rip & 2nd rd pick for Paul Gasol and another piece for salary cap requirements. May have to overpay to get Sheed off or hands. Then I’d send Tay, Nazr and 27th pick to Seattle for Rashard Lewis and I sign Grant Hill to a 2 year deal. Pray like crazy that Acie Law falls to 15th pick. Starting 5: Billups, Delfino, Lewis, Maxiel, Gasol. Bench: Dice, Flip (hired gun like Vinny Johnson), Hill (play point-forward let Murray shoot most), Amir Johnson, Acie Law, and Dale Davis (plug mins on nights when Maximus is in foul trouble). Love to have McGrady but the most I can give up is Rip, Flip, Dice & 27th pick. Under this scenario, keep Sheed and Tay still goes to seattle. Start Billups, McGrady, Lewis, Maxiel, Sheed.
I’ve been saying it all along, deal Richard Hamilton while his value is still high. That will shake up things big time.
Watching the Spurs vs Cavs make me really want a new coach. Parker said that Popo expects perfection, and no matter how many games they win, if they lose he goes crazy. He is a guy that commands respect. Can you say that about Flip Saunders? Saunders is a pushover, no one respects him.
Alright, this is quite lengthy, so bear with me for a sec.
Not that the Pistons should do this, but in the spirit of completely blowing up the team, here’s what I came up with.
Sign Billups, then trade him and Delfino for Michael Redd.
-Milwaukee has been pining for a PG for a while, and this gives them a Top 3 talent. They lose Redd, who is younger and a better scorer, but have someone who can run the offense and a high draft pick to replace Redd with a younger player. Unlikely the Bucks would go for it, but it still benefits both teams.
Trade Richard Hamilton for Tyson Chandler
-New Orleans has a slew of young big men in their lineup, and thus a logjam on the bench. What they don’t have is a (reliable) scorer on the wing. (coughpejacough) They have the depth to recover from Chandler’s departure and the Pistons no longer need Hamilton with the upgrade of Redd. Pistons fans get the defensive C that they’ve missed since Big Ben left.
Trade Rasheed Wallace and #15 for Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and #11 pick.
-The salaries don’t match up, but Atlanta looks to be about 5 mil under the cap for next year. Atlanta finally gets a scorer instead of their bevvy of athletic wings, and a veteren who can play C. Detroit gets rid of Wallace and his attitude, and gets yet another defensive G-F in Josh Smith (stealing and blocking machine). Plus, another developing big man in Marvin Williams who looks to be breaking out soon, but if not only has 1 year left on his contract.
Trade Tayshaun Prince and Nazr Mohammad for Andrei Kirilenko.
-Kirilenko fizzled this year, possibly from a long western conference season of guarding the best wings on a nightly basis. A change of scenery could help. He’s paid much more than Prince, so we throw in Nazr (yes!) to even things out. Utah gets a very cheap defensive replacement for AK47 and a solid backup big man. We get a better version of Prince and drop some extra salary.
Trade Antonio McDyess for Leandro Barbosa.
-McDyess deserves another chance to win, and Phoenix is on the cusp every year. Dice gives them another midrange shooting big man who can run and board and should fit into the system seamlessly. Barbosa gives us a scoring guard who’s better as a SG but can play PG if necessary. Can’t replace Chauncey, but sure can score. Completes the athletic, lithe running team.
Draft Acie Law with the #11 pick and Aaron Gray with #27
-Take Conley by all means if he’s there, but he won’t be.
Sign Free Agents:
Bring back Amir, using the MLE to give him a 3 year, $7 million deal, with the first year at about 1.5 million. (I think that’s what we gave Delfino) This lets us find out if he’s going to be a player or Darius Miles. (nothing but athletic)
With about $4 million of our MLE left we should go after free agents like:
Matt Barnes (3pt shooting forward)
Kelanna Azubuike (once led D-League in scoring)
Chuck Hayes (undersized rebounding forward)
Grant Hill (this team’s McDyess)
This puts our salary at (estimated) 68.8 mil, which is more than 10 mil over the cap. Billy Davidson is rich though.
PF-Kirilenko, Maxiell, M.Williams
SF-Barnes, Dupree, A.Johnson,
C-Chandler, Gray
SG-Redd, J.Smith, Murray
PG-Barbosa, Law, Blalock, Hunter
That’s 13 roster spots. Acker and Samb maybe? I don’t know. I’m not saying we should do any of this, but it creates a very talented, competitive roster. Lots of young guys working hard for minutes, and a few vets to show them the way. Just a fun way to look at things.
I think Sauce, in 7 words said more than most of the entries with multiple paragraphs.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the starting 4.
We live in such an instant gratification society and the overreactions by Piston fans everywhere are proving it. We’re a team that has not succeeded in winning a title the last two years. That’s our only complaint. We’re not a dead team going through the motions routinely.
Looking strictly at rosters side by side, there is no question Detroit still is the best team in the East. Everyone keeps thinking making a couple big changes is bound to just improve the team and get us closer to the goal. If you’ve got a great thing in place like we do, with players who want to win and prove that far more often than not, they succeed in doing so, why make changes purely for the sake of change?
Flip is a much greater problem than the personnel under him. There’s no question. That is the biggest change between 05 and now. Joe has caught some lightning in a bottle with the team and its chemistry, I think to jeopardize that for the sake of players that at best maybe could swing things our way, would not be in our best interests.
Alright, well, I wrote a long, explanatory post on my trades, but my internet timed out and that’s gone, so here’s a short sweet one with no explanations. If you think the trades are unfair (not unlikely, I admit some of them are far-fetched) go ahead and say so and I’ll defend my logic. Here it is:
Trades:
Prince and Mohammad - Kirilenko
Hamilton and #57 pick - Tyson Chandler, #43 pick
Sheed and #15 pick - Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, #11 pick
Billups and Delfino - Michael Redd
Antonio McDyess - Leandro Barbosa
Draft:
#11- Acie Law
#27- Marc Gasol (7 footer, led Spain to World Championship)
#43- Glen Davis
Free Agency:
Amir Johnson (MLE)
Matt Barnes (MLE)
All of the salaries match up, except the Atlanta deal, but they have about 5 mil in cap space to make up the difference. This gives us a very competitive, young, and athletic roster. It would look something like this:
C-Chandler, Gasol
PF-Kirilenko, Williams, Maxiell, Davis
SF-Smith, Barnes, Johnson, Dupree
SG-Redd, Barbosa
PG-Law, Hunter, Blalock
This is assuming that we keep our 2nd rounder instead of bringing back acker or samb, who i think should be on the team. I don’t think we should do this, but in the spirit of blowing up the team, it would give the Pistons a completely new and interesting look.
…oops sorry guys, didn’t think that had worked…
I agree that a coaching change would be the best thing. But who? None of the retreads appeal that much to me. Memphis already hired the assistant from phx that I liked. We should start ranking coaching changes as well as trade moves.
Look I don’t mean to imply Rip is totally worthless (though i sort of think he is). I do think he is of more value to other teams than to us. you guys say the top 7 guys on my list are HOFers, well I say that if you want to win a title, your go-to guy MOST of the time will have to be an HOFer. As for Rip winning a title, I think we all know that Rip didn’t even play that well against the Lakers or the Pacers that year. His only good series was agianst the Nets, and that’s because they had a hole at the 2 then. If a guy is going to be your number one option, you should be able to count on him in the 4th quarter.
As for stats, it’s easy to pile up stats when it doesn’t matter. Just ask KG. What I care about is toughness and clutchness, and like many of you, I have watched 85% of the games that Rip has played in a Pistons uniform, and I still don’t think he exhibits either. I think Delfino is more of a gamer right now, if given the chance and shots Rip gets, I think he will produce.
And furthermore, I have always maintained that the Rip for Stackhouse trade was against us in terms of immediate production. Obviously Rip was cheaper and younger, and meshed better with our team, but in terms of pure production, there was no comparison. Stackhouse averaged 30 points a game with Chucky Atkins as his point guard. I’ve always thought (and a good friend reminded me today) that getting Chauncey that year totally hid the fact that Stack for Rip was a lopsided deal. I firmly believe we would have still won the title in ‘04 with Stack, provided we also still got CBills and Sheed. I don’t want to get into that whole argument, but suffice to say I don’t credit Rip for that title, and I think we could have won it without him, just like I think we would be better if we took advantage of your points, that he is a cheap, legit all-star, and moved him for a piece that fits better into the tough brand of roundball we play in the D
To be honest, I only read the first few posts and saw the name Gerald Wallace. I feel compelled to let everyone know that he’s made of glass. Remember the Mike Tyson’s Punch Out analogy? Remember Glass Joe? That’s Gerald Wallace. If he can avoid getting hurt (which he can’t) and be consistent (which he can’t) he’d probably be pretty good (which he won’t).
And somewhere, a solitary tear rolls down Gerald Wallace’s cheek….
i gotta add to the surprise of everyone jumping on the dumping rip bandwagon. who are you going to get better at his price? most of those shooting guards listed as “better” come at about a 50% to 100% PLUS salary increase compared to what we pay rip. even jamal crawford is neck and neck with rip in terms of salary. and he can stay up late with steve francheese, q-rich, and jerome james and argue about who’s more of a useless waste of ny knick cap space. yeah, rip sucked in the cleveland series losses, but so did everybody. and the reality is that series would have been over in 5 if it weren’t for rip. he’s still young, fast, shoots a high percentage, and works as hard or harder than anyone on our roster. anytime he’s set his mind to improve on a facet of his game, it’s improved. the guy is exactly the type of player you want on your team. and right now, there’s not too many allstars that come cheaper.
now, if you want to move him, you’ve got to do the exact same thing you did in the stack trade: go younger without losing talent. i don’t know who that guy is, or what team is dumb enough to make that trade. (hello, celtics!)
i agree with sauce on this, and here’s why. the reason this team worked when it did is that we had five guys with very unique and specific skill sets. they all did things that no one else in the league did. no one had a better midrange than rip. no one boarded like ben. etc. etc. we already lost ben and weren’t able to replace that skill set, and we regressed as a team. (c-webb provided some smoke and mirrors as a distraction but that’s it.) who are we going to get who can replace what the 4 remaining guys each do so there isn’t that same regression? i just don’t see anyone else coming in and duplicating what our guys do. it’s almost like by losing another one (chauncey via FA or rip/tay/sheed via trade), we might as well start it all over again. and that seems a little bit like rebuilding to me, which i’m pretty sure isn’t a word in joe d’s vocab.
and i would take laimbeer as coach. of course, i would rather have this pad of post-its to my right as coach in comparison to our current situation. it has more of a spine.
If Chauncey leaves, then we can pretty much forget about our Pistons in the heat of another championship run.
Also, in case anyone actually watched that Spurs game, that was the same level of effort by Cleveland as demonstrated throughout the ECF. I sat in a room with two other Pistons fans, and while it felt odd to root for the Spurs, the whole time we were wringing our fists at the stupidity of Detroit’s errors.
Even if Detroit had lost this series, it would have been against a legit team.
I just want to make it clear that Rip averaged 21.4 per in the series against the Lakers when we won the title in ‘04. He certainly didn’t play poorly. He had 31 on 50% shooting from the field in the Game 3 blowout. When you consider that Finals MVP Chauncey Billups averaged 21 per, you can’t really hate on Rip’s performance against the Lakers.
I think that we don’t need to throw specific guys under the bus. Members of our core 4 have shown up big at times, and disappeared at others. If we feel a trade would help, great. If we feel that not re-signing Billups is the best move, great. The only point I’m trying to make, is let’s not be so quick to specifically blame this guy or that guy, let’s just do what we can to get better, whether it comes from new players or new focus, it’s not because any of the member of our core 4 aren’t good.
Sauce, I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve already spoken my piece, but consider we got outcoached by…Mike Brown? The Mike Brown who was on the hot seat in Cleveland 1/3 into this season?
The local writers defend Flip and put it on the players, but coaching an NBA team is akin to managing 12 CEOs. Flip played Mo Evans over Delfino because he liked Evans in MN. Delfino doesn’t get the minutes he deserves, he has played very well at times over the course of the season. I dare say he could make Rip expendable within a year if he continues to develop. The Core 4 obviously tuned out Flip long ago, and a lot of the problem is right there. Also, these guys were much younger by comparison than the Bad Boys, i.e., Lam and Mahorn were both over 35 when they won the second championship. Sheed is the oldest of the group at 32.
Ask yourself, if Popovich, or LB or even Lam were coaching this team, would they have gotten farther?
I kind of agree with Michael N. in that I’m not ready to throw Rip under the bus — I think the team should consider trading him because I think he’s good and has the most relative value, not because I think he’s the weakest link. But in any case, this whole post was an exercise in imagination, and it was fun to consider some of the crazy proposals here.
V: Actually, Laimbeer was 32 in 1990, and Mahorn (who wasn’t around for the 2nd title) was 30 in 1989.
Dumars was 26 in 1990, Isiah was 28. Vinnie was the old man in the backcourtt at 33. Rodman was 28, Aguirre was 30, and even James Edwards was only 34. John Salley was 25. That team was younger than you’d think — I always remember this because Isiah was just 32 when he retired.
The only player Detroit can afford to give up and not get equal value for is Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons gave up too many offensive rebounds to the Cavs. This where we missed the Ben Wallace of three years ago the most. C-Webb even if he comes back, can’t be depended on too many boards because of his knees. Sheed has a decent average as far rebounds go, but he doesn’t attack the glass agressively.
If we trade Rip we won’t get equal value and we won’t be a championship contender no matter who we get. Rip is in his prime. He gives you things no one else in the NBA gives, movement away from the ball and the endangered mid range jumper, all that with the suffocating D.
Chauncy is the leader of this team and without him we don’t have an identity. He had a lousy playoffs, but so what? He’s taken us to the conference finals five years in a row. The roster needs a tweak to get us over the hump, what everyone is suggesting amounts to starting over. We’re not there yet.
With that in mind we do have to do something. Had Areanas not gotten hurt the Wizards would have undoubtedly gone further in the playoffs. They definately would have challenged us for the number one seed. Cleveland I think is going to be embarrassed in this NBA Final and I think this’ll set them back a couple of years, but even without Cleveland you have the Bulls who are only going to get better, and the Heat with a healthy Dwayne Wade. We can’t stand pat.
We need speed to keep up with these point guards. The hand check rules put us at a disadvantage and we need a more fearsome defensive prescence in the paint. With that in mind I wouldn’t mind seeing the Pistons leverage Sheed and this years # 1 pick and next year’s #1 pick to move up in the draft and get someone who can make a difference immediately. This year’s draft is the deepest in a while and there’s a lot of guys who can make an immediate impact.
This seems to be the most realistic option, but I can’t help dreaming that Dumars will say the hell with the luxury tax or at least clear enough room, or do a sign and trade deal that would some how bring someone like Jermaine O’Neal to Motown. I know it won’t happen but I can’t help dreaming.
I posted a link about the Stuckey promise…. why’d it get deleted?
I definitely agree about Laimbeer.
I do think it’s important for a franchise to have an identity. We all talk about “unique skill sets” that our players, have but I’m not a big believer in that. There are a lot of talented guys in the NBA who possess the same skills. What made this Pistons great was there committment to tough, hardnosed defense and “Goin’ to Work” every night. To me, all that went out the door with LB when they hired Flip. Look at history: We were bad with our offensive teams, until we started playing a slower grind it out style under Carlisle. Then LB came in, improved the D and made Chauncey into a much smarter and more deliberate point guard. Flip has tried to implement some gimmicks and new looks, but those don’t hide the fact that the players clearly don’t respect him as much as the former coaches, and don’t play as hard for him. There’s a reason he’s never been considered a playoff coach; he doesn’t adjust in game and he doesn’t inspire his players.
Every successful franchise has its own identity. The Lakers thrive on star power and “Showtime”. The Spurs play tough D and a versatile, almost European style of offense. The Suns Run N’ Gun. To me, the identity we should embrace in the D is that this is the toughest place to play in the NBA. If you come in, you might win, but you’re going to pay for it and you’ll be soar afterwards. We might not shoot the best or have the most talent, but our team will bring it ever night, ready to go to work. They brought back the slogan, but not the attitude. The only way to do so is bring in a new coach, like Laimbeer, who simply won’t tolerate anything less than maximum effort. Trading Rip would be moving our most tradeable piece for the big man we need. Again, I think he is good, but not great, and I also think he is about as good as he is gonna get. We could also trade Tay instead, but between him and Rip, I’ll take Tay every time. Shooting is easier to find; what Tay does in his all-around game is rare.
Sorry for all those typos, pretty pitiful for a professional writer.
Michael: I have no idea — when did you post it? And was it a comment to this post? If you had a link in it, it may have got stuck in the spam filter — that’s all I can think of.
Dave, you wrote that “Chaunc[e]y is the leader of this team and without him we don’t have an identity.”
Truth is, our identity isn’t the greatest right now. Which means that Chauncey either: a) isn’t that much of a leader; or b) a bigger part of the problem than many are willing to admit. I would not consider him untouchable.
That may have been it. It was a post and it had a link to that Rodney Stuckey promise before you posted about it. I posted it last night around 10-11. Maybe this is just a conspiracy to make it seem like you had it up first, hahaha. Just kidding.
I wouldn’t mind Stuckey because I’m not totally sure Law will drop to us. I wouldn’t be opposed to trading up. And there is almost no way we get Conley, trading up or not.
All the teams that are at the top of the draft board that need PGs will [hopefully] take them thus taking Chauncey off thier radar. Atleast I hope so. I’d take Chauncey + Stuckey over Conley.
Feruw,
You are completely right. There is nothing INHERENTLY wrong with the four guys we’re starting. But that doesn’t mean that the best course of action is to ride it out.
I’m growing tired of Pistons fans continously saying, “I know we’re a better team than Cleveland.” or last year, “I know we’re a better team than Miami.” Or the year before that, “I know we’re a better team than San Antonio.”
For three years we as Pistons fans have had faith that when the Pistons play to their potential, they are unstoppable. But if they never play to this perceived potential, then is it really their true potential?
The Pistons have not once proven to us that they can play to what we believe their potential is. Maybe it is time that we start coming to grips with the fact that, although the 2004 run was probably the most magical, exciting, sports experience I have ever had, that that experience was wholly unique.
Not once have they gotten back to that level of play, and yet we continue to say, “They’re the better team, they just didn’t play to their potential.”
I’d say we’re fooling ourselves and have been for three years now. The starting four is a great starting four, no doubt about that, but this team will not get us over the hump. They will not take us to the next level. And they are not the best team in the East, anymore.
I read on the Chris Sheridan ESPN chat about PHX/DET rumors:
Marion or Amare
for
Wallace and Rip or Prince
***********
I personally would prefer to keep Prince and get Amare. Detroit would need to pick up some perimeter shooting from somewhere though.
Anyone else heard this?
Ben Wallace cost Detroit approximately 5-10 wins and an extra round in the playoffs.
I don’t think that was worth 60 million, which is exactly what Ben seemed to do for Chicago.
If Chauncey leaves, subtract about 10-15 wins and another 1-2 rounds of the playoffs because Cleveland should at least hold serve . . . and if Chicago gets that big man who can score, then they’re going to the Finals, barring injuries, obviously.
1. Billups re-sign.
2. Better bench mates.
3. Possibly look into a coach.
As for coaching options . . . is it possible for Flip’s massive freaking playbook to include at least 20 percent more cuts inside? How hard is it for Rasheed Wallace and Billups/Hamilton/Prince to operate like Tim Duncan and Parker/Ginobili? They were running pick and rolls . . . and it was working last night! When did I see much of that this year? The Pistons used to do that with Ben Wallace!
If Detroit trades for a big name, they lose at least 2 of the Big Four. This team would not get stronger, it would get weaker . . . simply because the other names replacing the extra guy of the Big Four would not equal their ability lost. It also does not address the greatest starting need, which clearly is a better interior defense, absolutely coming from the center position.
Right now, Rasheed’s often the last resort in post defense. He’s usually the guy who’s the last man standing when someone breaks inside. Does anyone realize how unfair that is to a quality defender like Rasheed? He was running from 2004-2006 as the inside help to Ben Wallace. Rasheed’s a solid defender, but he’ll give up a foul or a score to a meaty post-up scorer, and there’s absolutely no way he could handle a Shaq in his prime, all by himself. Even Ben Wallace had Rasheed’s help during that series in ‘04, with an older Shaq!
Amare Stoudemire would be nice, but it seems like Steve Kerr wants more uptempo, and nothing slows a team down like a Shawn Marion who absolutely has trouble moving with the ball and passing it. Nash makes him look pretty good by feeding him for Js and inside drives. Marion’s the likely Luxury Tax Saver to leave for Phoenix, and Phoenix will absolutely be looking to take less in contracts right up to that 125 percent margin.
Hey Lainerfan,
What universe are you living in where two back to back Division titles, the # 1 seed in the eastern conference two years in a row, five NBA Eastern Conference Finals in a row, two NBA Finals appearances and one NBA championship isn’t much of an identity? There is no one Detroit could get that would get them back to the Eastern Conference Finals without Chauncy Billups.
There seems to be (pretty much) total agreement that Flip Saunders needs to go. Unfortunately, everything seems to point towards that being the most unlikely scenario. They still owe him 10 million and have no interest in buying it out.
Too bad he was never persuaded to take the Minnesota job
Marion would be great but he is not worth ‘Sheed and Rip/Prince. No way. Especially when the Suns want to get rid of him [possibly]. Another idea that was brought up [but it seems is totally crazy] is Artest. Marion and Artest were labelled as “Lebron Stoppers”, which is true.
Hypothetically if Artest came to Detroit, he’d be had on the cheap. But that’d never happen unfortunately.
These ideas were from an article that was posted on Need4Sheed.
Michael,
I would never, ever, ever hope for Artest in Detroit. Although his rap album is killer sweet dood!
That album was HORRIBLE.
Past success isn’t an identity, Dave. Identity is having an SI writer call you “Everything he hates about the NBA” BEFORE you tank the playoffs. It’s having every two-bit analyst harp on your complacency and constant sleepwalking against lesser opponents.
And it’s about all of them being proven right.
Also, apparently LeBron James can’t even save the Finals ratings.
Game 1 drew a 6.3 Nielsen. Previous low was the lowest-rated-ever Finals, the 2003 series. That 2003 Game 1 drew 6.4.
Final episode of “The Sopranos” series airs at the same time as Game 2 in the eastern time zone. Rut roh, NBA!
LOL, maybe it’s time for Stern to step away from basketball.
Ron Artest to Detroit . . . no guarantee that guy will make it through a season without some calamity costing him plenty of time.
I’d welcome a shooter from the SF position off the bench . . . Tayshaun’s D is pretty solid against most NBA players. We could use a proper compliment to Tayshaun off the bench.
It wasn’t even a knock on Tay’s D. He is a great defense. But LeBron is just so strong only someone like Marion and Artest could be [possibly] more effective because they are bigger and stronger. Imagine having Marion and Prince out at the same time… that defense would be awesome.
Artest is stronger, but Marion isn’t. And between Artest and Kirilenko, I’d rather have Kirilenko if I had someone to choose over Tayshaun.
Players not to move:
Prince, Hamilton, Wallace (I don’t care what anyone says, he can take over games alone sometimes)
as for the rest of it, i dont know
this is crazy, how you can you guys sit around and imagine the Pistons without Chauncey’s big shots, Tay’s blocks, Rasheed’s temper and Rip’s mask. I can’t, we all know that the guys are a little bit hard-headed, but I also believe that they need a new coach whose gonna fuel that fire again, Flip Saunders is a wimp who just stands around and look stupid and don’t make the proper adjustments at the right times, and I’m really sick of him, I did not see Pistons Basketball at all during the Cavs series, he doesn’t motivate them, they need someone to push’em and make them play to their full potential every game. You know that something big is gonna happen this summer and I hope that it does not involve getting rid of the main four, the only change the Pistons need is to fill the center position and to have Chris come off the bench, I say that Flip Saunders is out the door and give Bill Laimbeer the chance to fire the Pistons up again!!!!
I’ve finally recovered from the playoff debacle and here are my thoughts.
You don’t need to blow up the team but what the Pistons need to do (and I think they will) is make developing talent a priority over competing for a championship. This means letting all the veteran backups go and letting the youngsters play even if it means going into the first round of the playoffs on the road. We may not compete for a championship for a while but I think it will be valuable to the younger players to still be a playoff team. That being said, my suggestions:
Sign Chauncey. He’ll still be a Top 8 PG for a few years and there’s no way we’ll be able to get a young PG to step in the way Chris Paul and Deron Williams has. By the time, Chauncey retires, we’ll have someone who can step in.
Rip and Tay are fine.
Keep Rasheed one more year. Then his expiring contract becomes very valuable. Move him then.
Don’t extend McDyess (which probably means he opts out of his contract and goes elsewhere).
Let Webber, Davis and Hunter go to make room for Acker and our two first rounders.
And to free up playing time for Amir, Maxiell and Delfino.
Flip Murray isn’t paid all that much so just keep him on the bench until his contract is up.
Same with Dupree.
If you’re high on Blalock, exercise the team option on him.
That leaves Nazr. It’s not a great contract but there are worse (the entire Laker and Knick roster). Not the end of the world if you can’t move him.
All of these moves would leave the Pistons with these players going into the 2008 season:
1. Chauncey
2. Rip
3. Tay
4. Maxiell
5. Amir
6. Delfino
7. Nazr
8. Whoever we take at 15
9. Whoever we take at 27
10.Alex Acker
The rest would be made up of prospects (Samb?, Blalock?) and whatever we get for ‘Sheed (probably role players and/or young prospects). Also, we’d have some cap room to get some solid role players in free agency.
Darshan, your approach is similar to mine. I don’t think there’s really anything that wrong with the personnel and the Core 4 have a good two years left in them, maybe 3, but they need a center.
I can’t help but believe there’s some discussion going on regarding Flip between Joe D, Mister D and Tom Wilson. I can’t believe the matter has been settled. Yes, the latter are tired of buying out contracts, but you know, the last five years, the only guy in Joe D’s class as a GM is R.C. Buford.
I don’t quite understand what’s holding them back from giving Lam and Mahorn a shot at this. They know the game, they have their rings, they’re Pistons For Life and the players know they’ll have their backs.
And Matt, thanks for correcting me on the Bad Boys’ age when they got their rings. I saw some of the Game 5 1990 Finals on Classic today, the players sure looked older for their age than they do today.