A. Sherrod Blakely spoke with Carlos Delfino’s agent, who confirmed that Delfino had asked to be traded:
have no doubts about whether Delfino can be a good NBA player. But talent alone won’t get you playing time in Detroit.
And I will say this much for Carlos. He realized this as well, which is why he asked the Pistons to trade him.
That’s why his agent, Andy Miller, wasn’t the least bit bothered by the deal going down.
When I spoke with Miller recently, he talked about how thankful he was to President of basketball operations Joe Dumars and V-P of basketball operations John Hammond for making this particular deal happen.
“This was our first choice,” Miller said of Delfino being traded to Toronto. […]
“In Toronto, we know he would have a good role, regardless of whether he starts or not,” Miller said. “That’s what we were looking for.”
There’s really not too much more to say about this, but I will point out that it’s beneficial for Dumars in the long run to treat his players fairly, even if they’re looking for a way out. Players respect that, and it’s reassuring to free agents knowing the front office will be accommodating if things ultimately don’t work out. I know I probably sound like a shill pointing that out, but it’s true.
You don’t sound like a shill at all Matt. Intangibles matter. Good call.
If you have not had a chance to hear the Chad Ford-Joe D discussion on ESPN, check it out.
Carlos did not get the chance he deserved because of the veterans in front of him, right or wrong. His moping did not help either.
This move was done to facilitate an upcoming trade and to free up cap space.
Of course, this move did not just benefit Carlos and the Raptors. While the second rounders are pure fodder I have a feeling the trade was the beginning of a contingency plan for Dumars should Billups leave via FA. The extra 2 million in cap space (and assuming Hunter would retire to take a front office position) leaves the Pistons with significantly more wiggle room to replace Billups or reshape the team as they see fit.
I think Delfino’s contract will be rolled over into the Amir Johnson fund.
At the very least, the kid deserves what Julian Wright and Thaddeus Young will be getting.
I think this was a good move on Dumars’ part for a number of reasons. Based on this new information, there was a 0% chance of resigning him after this upcoming year and it’s doubtful that Delfino would have had any value at the trade deadline on his own.
Personally, I don’t think we should resign Billups if he wants more than 4 years guaranteed at 9-11 MM per. Why not go after Mo Williams? He’s 24 and an up and coming PG. Kind of reminds me of Billups when he came to the Pistons. Thoughts?
We need Billups. He is the leader of this team, and granted, although he too perpetuates the “we don’t need to work 100% all the time” attitude, we need him back.