Still, I think I read somewhere that he got onto the Piston’s radar screen because he’d been playing summer pick-up games with a couple of Piston starters. It says something if they want him on their team. And I wonder if Dumars isn’t also seeing a younger, taller version of himself in Afflalo. That might be too much to hope for, but wouldn’t Dumars know something about drafting for this position?

The other thing is, there are a lot of good bigs who may be in the draft next year. Stanford has twin bigs (literally — they are twin brothers) who might enter, and UCLA is getting Kevin Love this year, and he might be one and out. That looks like three first-round bigs in the Pac-10 alone.

Of course, the reason I haven’t seen anyone point this out may be that it’s totally irrelevant!

In reality, everyone wouldnt be talking about moving out Flip Murray, if we didnt have so many Guards…i bet most people would be talkin about moving Nazr Mohammad. Which in my mind, is probably the weakest link on the team. so, instead of worrying about who getts to play at what position, i think the biggest focus should be who is the weakest link and i think Nazr out weights Flip big time.

I dont know, i always like to grade players on their best and worst game last season. Which is probably a flaw of mine but i dont remember Nazr ever leading or dominating a game. But, on the other hand, one performance that really sticks out, was that HUGE game Flip had last season, when he single handling took over the Phoenix Suns…and i know, it was just one game but he also had solid performances through out that time period where Chauncey was out w/ the strained calf or whatever he had…where as i couldnt see Nazr having a break out game if he was playing against a bunch of middle schoolers…

I guess I’d rather have Flip over Mo for the simple reason that I don’t really want to see Lindsey Hunter dribble the ball that much.

I don’t think Murray is better than Evans. The stats don’t bear that out.

I guess we differ about how urgent the need is for a long-term, young player at the backup 3 spot. Considering that Tayshaun is the youngest of the core, picking up Grant Hill or Mo Pete is not as terrible as picking up aging backup guards would have been. And there are options on the roster at that position, including a big lineup with Amir, or with Spellcheck matching up against smaller 3’s.

If Joe can move out Flip Murray, resign Amir, and add Grant Hill or Mo Pete, I think his draft was absolutely fine. And considering Orlando is out of the Chauncey race, I’m pretty much assuming that gets done by the end of the week.

Flip isn’t that horrible of a player. He kind of reminds me of Gus Frerotte (backup quarterback of everyone) in his days with the Redskins. He was solid when noone counted on him, but once he realized he needed to be “the man” (see: Chauncey Billups injuries) that’s when he struggled. He’s not built to be “the man”.

He does have ballhandling skills, he just overexaggerates his abilities by dribbling out the shotclock sometimes, which is one of the things I don’t like about him.

I will say one thing positive about him though, he’s better than Maurice Evans.

Lindsey is weird. Personally I hope he comes back, because I know he’s one of our best 3-4 defensive players even at this point, and playing limited mins he can help us preserve late leads and shut down key scorers. Unfortunately BECAUSE the team was so lacking against Cleveland, most people’s current memory of Lindsey consists of him trying out dribble most of the Cavs in the late stages of game 5 from the 2 spot… which was ummm… awful to watch.

I think from reading most of the people here are warming up to the draft, and ALOT of draft experts hailed the Affalo pick in the days after the draft which gave everyone a chance for perspective. The problem is we had our hearts set on solving the backup 3 and the starting 5 spots in this draft and Joe traded Delfino and grabbed a couple 2’s instead. It was natural to be disapointed when Joe passed on at least 5 guys we’d all heard huge buzz about for someone who barely got mentioned before the draft (in both cases). We’re warming up though, the first few posts are all “argh” but the past couple days have mostly been about discovering who these two kids are and being pretty keen about that. I’m already looking forward to seeing Affalo work against Lebron myself. This might turn out to be one of the smartest things Joe D has ever done, and I’m TOTALLY down with waiting to see how it works out.

kevin s, sure and I get that long term, but you DO need roleplayers. If a guy can come in, lock his man down and provide a solid 8-10 min rest for your starter where his opponent is simply a non factor during that time, how does that not have value? I’m personally hoping that for now Affalo isn’t really all that worried about shooting and is willing to step into a complimentary role. I agree, it’s no good for us if he’s an offensive black hole, but none of the scouting reports seem to indicate that. Mostly what people are saying is he’s not going to create his own shots, and that athletically he may be done developing and his current ability might not be NBA worthy… But really, I’m okay with a 20 something Bruce Bowen for now, I really am.

and hates that we drafted two guards.

One or the other. Unless someone comes through with a silly offer, Amir Johnson is like a top 10 pick. If you imagine him as say the 8th pick in the draft (and he has a better motor than Wright), are you still complaining about the draft?

Joe’s plan is pretty clear. I say let it play out before everyone starts ripping it, and if you’re gonna rip it, at least be consistent about why it’s not working.

As for these kids, produce. That’s all.

I don’t believe any of it. I don’t know how we’d be able to get back his scoring numbers. And not creating his own shot? In the traditional sense yes, but him running around and understanding where how to get open of picks and what the defender does, is how he creates his own shot. It makes Chauncey’s life easy thats for sure.

And Afflalo, except for his name being a little bit of a tongue twister, he sounds like a solid pickup. A low ceiling, high floor type guy, which is good for the pistons since they have enough guys they have to try and develop.

On the subject of “get rid of Rasheed,” I understand the sentiment of his outbursts, technicals, and lack of great relationship with Flip Saunders as the reasons.

Why would Rip Hamilton be given similar sentiment?