Bill Ingram from Hoopsworld.com:
Various reports cited by a Los Angeles radio station have the Dallas Mavericks close to signing Detroit Pistons free agent forward Chris Webber to a one-year deal using their mid-level exception. The Mavericks are willing to offer him the entire MLE, but would prefer to give him $3.5 million and use the rest to add one more piece to the roster.
To be honest, I’m a little surprised — I figured that one way or another he’d end up back in Detroit, even if it meant the Pistons cutting someone with a guaranteed contract to make space. But I can’t say I blame him — he’ll be getting a competitive salary and a good shot at a title in Dallas.
Ingram added that if the Mavs get their way, the other piece would be James Posey. I’m sure Posey must be ecstatic — maybe now the poor guy can afford to buy some pants.
aww…even if C-webb choked in the playoffs…i still think he’s a better option than nazr. It was a good time yelling out C-webb everytime he came in though…he will be missed.
I too was pretty sure he was going to be a Piston, and about 3-3.5 Million was what I figured would eventually get it done. Honestly I’m not sure how to feel about this at all. Frankly we won’t need him if Nazr plays better and Amir can run some 5… otoh if Nazr breaks something and Johnson turns out to be “just a power forward” then I’m going to spend 3/4 of the season repeating “You could had Webber for 3 and a half Joe…….” and crying.
Interesting times in D Town for sure.
PistonsGirl, Amir play the 5????? Are you crazy? At most he could back up the 4 spot but he is more of small forward. Thats funny though, thanks for the laugh. Also has anyone been thinking maybe it should go like this? 1-Chauncey 2-RIP 3-Tay 4-J-Max 5-Sheed, then just bring Stuckey in for Billups, Affalo in for RIP, Amir in for Tay, McDyess in for J-Max and Mohammed in for Sheed. That I think would be great…ps. get Murray the hell out of here. This is Ronnie and I’m out until next time.
Repeat this over and over: Amir is NOT a small forward. Amir is NOT a small forward….
@Ronnie– what Juggernaut said. Amir is not not not a small forward. And ‘Sheed won’t play the 5, he feels its a little too rough for his style of play.
yeah… it’d be pretty good if sheed wanted to play the 5. but a) sheed won’t play 5, and b) sheed wouldn’t be all that great playing 5. it’s alright for your PF to float out to the 3 point line every once in a while… not really alright for your C to do that.
It’s amazing to me how often we seem to go in circles on certain topics…especially Amir Johnson’s size/position.
At least the majority of us have this right.
I guess we’ll finally see if Nazi is worth his massive ( and likely overrated) contract. You don’t hear a lot about Joe D’s mistakes, but this one will surely plague his resume.
Check me at http://www.clutch3.com
Hmmm.
Amir’s not a center, yes, but he’s not a small forward?
http://www.82games.com/0607/06DET8C.HTM
What does it take to get Marcus Camby around here?
Marcus Camby i would personaly love to have as a Piston…but i think it would take the Nuggets to make a stupid trade with us…because i dont think in their right mind would Trade Camby for the players we are WILLING to trade for him…
Amir Johnson is a PF, if he can put on some muscle and is the type of player that has that “grind-it-out” mantality…then i could see him get SOME minutes at the 5.
I would still like to see C-Webb as a Piston…but he should come off the bench. It really hurt the Pistons in the playoffs, when it seemed like we were playing 5 on 4 when he was starting.
*Laughs*
Next time before you diss me ya should read the archives son. I just had this conversation for about 5 pages and over 3 different threads.
Amir is supposedly 6′11″ inches and about 230…
So in other words the exact same size as Sheed minus 5 lbs. Nobody is sure he can play 5, but we’re all damn sure that Sheed doesn’t want to, Saamb isn’t even CLOSE to ready and Nazr can’t play forty-eight a night….
Thanks for the laugh.
Amir is 6″9′, same height as Tay. So why would Amir be able to play small forward? Also sheed used to be a great post up player and would be fine at the 5 as long as he doesnt travel outside the paint. Why do you need a power forward shooting threes anyways when you have chauncey, rip, and tay outside? Maybe thats why we lose a lot of boards to shitty teams, because sheed travels too much outside of where he’s supposed to. So pistonsgirl your probably some 18 yr old girl who jumped the bandwagon on the 04′ season and have never seen Chuck Daly coach or Rodman ever play for us.
oh yeah. For all you doubtfuls on Mohammed, re-watch the 05 finals and see who dominated us…NAZR
And PistonGirl, how old are you calling me son. I’m probably old enough to still bend you over and make you call me daddy.
Amir Johnson is NOT 6-9. He is 6-11. The old height/weight data you’re reading at the top of NBA.com or wherever is dated info and hasn’t been updated since his rookie year.
Yes maybe we would be a more effective offensive team if Sheed didnt float to the outside…But thats his style of play and from what we’ve seen (through two Coaching styles) hes had a ton of flexibility to do whatever he wants…In that case he has stated through numerous interviews he rather play the 4 and wishes NOT to play the 5. And Flip Saunders will NOT force him into a position he doesnt want to play.
Now im sure if we run short at the 5 position which will happen more times than not this season…you will probably see Sheed moved over to the 5 but only under certain circumstances.
@Ronnie, PistonsGirl4Life is part of the crew here– she’s been commenting for 6 months or so, and in my opinions adding a lot of valuable insight to the posts and comments here. She may have a chip on her shoulder, but hey, she’s a Pistons fan. Read previous posts, look at her comments- she knows her Pistons ball.
and man, Ronnie, be nice- we’re all friends here. and last i checked, we are all ON THE SAME TEAM. don’t be offensive. if someone questions your comments, which were misguided (Matt is right, Amir is 6′11), don’t take offense brother.
Group hug everybody. (i’m grabbing popcorn, excited to see PG4L’s response…)
Aight, I was seriously tempted to fly off the handle for the first three posts there….but it’s hard to been hostile when people have your back like that. Thanks guys, especially Mike.
So in the vein of brotherly/sisterly love I’m going to answer your questions in order.
A) I’m thirty (and you boys know I’m not lying because NO woman wants to admitt she’s hit three decades).
B) My first Piston’s game was a home loss in 1986 vs the Celtics, I cried and embarassed my Daddy. Up until then I’d only been interested in the Lions (more crying) and the Wolverines (Michigan house for life, I’m naming my first boy Desmond). So there’s a little guilt there for me in what you say because you’re right, I’m not really old enough to have been there for the REAL hard times… before Isiah. Otoh, I am old enough to know Rodman was nothing more than a rebouund specialist until he learned the triangle in Chicago. Mahorn, Psycho Bill and the Assasin (Isiah) were the heroes of that team. Rodman was just the last piece. Also Daly was a good motivator and a master at manipulating the media so that the focus was always on something BESIDES the players. He was exceptional at letting our veteran team go out and work. As a technical coach however, he wasn’t that good. Without superior talent, his teams usually failed. He’s no Larry Brown.
C) Yes Sheed has slipped. Yes he’s not as good a 4 as he was in 2004. Yes he tries too many 3’s. Yes sometimes he lacks motivation in games vs mediocre teams and thus doesn’t like to bang on the boards as much. Absolutely NONE of that changes the fact that not only is Rashed Wallace the best PF on our team, he’s the best player on said team and aside from Mr All Time in Boston these days not a SINGLE PF in our conference is as good as he is right now. Sure Bosh WILL pass him, so WILL Howard but they are NOT there yet and if you need any more proof of that please watch last years first round games again. Dissing on Sheed for not being the player he was 5 years ago is missing the point. This is completely BESIDES the fact that since we let Ben walk (Wisely, 64 Million is insane) he IS the damn leader of our team and a huge part of the reason the Pistons sell tickets. Sheed doesn’t want to play the 5 because it generates significantly more wear on his body than playing PF. He’s old enough, good enough and LOYAL enough to this team that the Pistons are willing to respect his wishes. With the exception of Joe, absolutely NOBODY in the organization has the credibility to force him to do so. Everyone needs to STOP pretending the guy is suddenly Antoine Walker just because we only finished 4TH OUT OF 30 TEAMS the past two years. Jeeze.
D) I agree with you Nazr wasn’t given a fair shake. If you search the archives you’ll find me pointing out the 2005 season/finals as an example of how why people shouldn’t give up on Nazr. Flip didn’t use him right last year, and there’s ALOT of pressure on someone stepping in to replace a guy like Big Ben. I’m hopefully optimistic about Nazr this season. That having been said he’s like 250 lbs and not exactly “slim”. Nobody plays 48 mins at 5 in the modern NBA and his healthy/fitness have been concerns at EVERY stop except SA in his career (Why ya think the Knicks traded him?).
E) Everything you just said about Amir Johnson is something I said on this very same blog a few months back. Thorough internet research, reading a pile of Summer League/Offseason articles/blogs and some help from the people who visit this blog have helped me see otherwise. Nobody can say where Amir will be used except Flip/Joe and they aren’t exactly likely to tell people before pre-season games are under way. However diligent examinations of statements from various members of the Pistons organization can confirm that Amir has grown roughly two inches and added 15 pounds, apparently of muscle. So if you take his weight height according to last official report (6′9″, 215 or so) and add those together… You get 6′11″ and 230. Sheed’s offical #’s are something to the effect of 6′11″ and 235.
F) Since i’m just a shade under 6′, my guess is bending me in half is the only way you could stop me from monster dunking on you over and over.
Peace.
Btw, I know it’s just convenience but it makes me laugh every time you guys shorten my name to PG4L. It makes me feel like KRS-1 or something
PG4L, you can Scott La Rock me as MP. Boogie Down!