From Chris McCosky in the Detroit News:
Even though the Pistons’ contractual commitment to Theo Ratliff ends after this season, the door is wide open for him to come back next season.
“It’s pretty much up in the air right now,” said Ratliff, who started his second straight game for the Pistons on Sunday. He finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 26 minutes.
Ratliff’s plan was to retire after this, his 13th NBA season. But both he and Pistons president Joe Dumars have talked about him coming back next season as the Pistons’ fifth big man.
“It’s going to come down to family and how I feel,” said Ratliff, who will be 35 in April. “I have six kids, and they are growing up fast.”
Ratliff’s children range in age from 12 to 1. Presently, they are in Boston, but the family base is in Atlanta.
“We’ll talk after the season and see how everything works out,” he said.
I hear a lot of jokes about Theo’s age (in general, not just here), but you guys realize he was drafted the same year as Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace, right? If Ratliff wants to stay, don’t discount the Arnie Kander Effect in keeping him productive.
Ratliff considers one more season / Detroit News
If he can still ball next september, why not? It’s not like shot blocking defensive specialists who don’t mind sacrificing body and soul to protect the rim are EASY commodities to pick up these days. I mean jesus would you rather have someone akin to Josh McRoberts? As far as I’m concerned Detroit pretty much HAS to keep signing aging big men so long as this streak continues because ANY 7 footer taken outside of the top 3 is a HUGE gamble that rarely pays off, see “insert white 7 footer from the ACC here”.
“but you guys realize he was drafted the same year as Antonio McDyess and Rasheed Wallace, right?”
Hence the jokes about his age.
Well we are going to win a championship this year and Ratliff will help out like he already has and then we will all say “Oh Theo was great for the time he was with us last season, lets keep him” Then he will be slow and tired next year and we will realize this was a mistake that has taken away minutes from J-maxx and Amir. Hence, let him play hard this year and cling on to a contender (possibly us) next year around the same time he did this year.
Ronnie, I think if he came back next year it would be with the idea of taking on the role Lindsey Hunter did this year. He would be a good mentor for Cheick Samb.
I was kind of hoping Joe would have some fresh ideas that didn’t fail upon Nazr Mohammeds while paring down guys like McDyess and Ratliff for, you know, more people who aren’t sports fossils.
You guys make good points. I haven’t officially made up my mind as to whether bringing him back is a good idea (especially remembering how good C-Webb looked at first last year).
That’s what I’m saying, Matt. How many times are we gonna get excited over Elden Campbell? I may not care for watching Amir Johnson getting humiliated by Kevin Garnett (his idol), but I’d rather have that than another old geezer whine about playing time because he can’t shop himself to other teams willing to pay more than 10-15 mins and a vet’s minimum.
we need to work samb into the rotation next year. When the Pistons win it all this year — and then we keep DICE, Sheed, and the Rattler - we will start to look and feel a bit like Miami in 2004.
My hope is that after we win it all this year, DICE retires a winner or agrees to play the lindsey hunter role, Ratliff “retires” with a gentleman’s agreement and Joe D is a true gentleman to join us in March 2009. Linsey will retire and we can hope for back to back based on the experience our rookies and yougins got this year and next
IP - a true optimist
I say he doesn’t help us win a championship and we need to spend some time on improving the young guys. In a couple of years we will live and die by their hands so we’d better get our heads out of our asses right quick.
I say again. getting to the ECF is no small achievement (spelling…). we should look at the positive and not just on getting bummed out abouot having some “i built boston to play great for 2 years and disappear into nothing” get to us…
would any of us rather with a back to back and then have 5-6 seasons of not getting 50% wins?!
…And another thing.
what’s with all the pressure on the young guys?! stuckey won’t be the next AI, Amir isn’t going to be the next KG and i’m pretty sure Maxi isn’t a barkley in the making.
On the other hand how many rings do those guys have (so far)?
Great player go to lottery teams. I don’t mind getting them as long as we don’t get there. We need to start building a future.
Anybody here really thinks that theo ratliff will make the difference between ECF and a championship?! On the other hand is he eats up 20 minutes a game in the playoffs that means that amir and maxi get 10 minutes less a game each. I promise you all that if tht happens it will bite us in the ass in the coming years because playing garbage minutes doesn’t make you ready for the next playoff where they’ll have to preform and who knows maybe even start.
wooh. got the off my chest…
“Anybody here really thinks that theo ratliff will make the difference between ECF and a championship?! ”
He very well might. We are slated to face yet another team that the refs are going to go ga-ga for. The way the refs have been on top of Maxiell, Amir and Stuckey this season, we are going to need an extra presence who is actually permitted by the league to play defense. I don’t want to hear “Big Baby makes his 12th trip to the line,” do you?
I think that will matter more than the extra 73 minutes of basketball Amir might get under his wing for the future.
I would also add that the ability to rotate in fresh bodies just killed Chicago last night. Even without Rasheed, we just kept throwing player after player at them.
Kevin, I agree, in part, on winning now with Theo. At least . . . I like the depth. Throwing bodies, all of them capable, at teams is something that Detroit couldn’t do in 2005 or 2006 with much less depth. If Rasheed or Antonio get in foul trouble, it’s very nice to have 18 more fouls to give among Jason, Amir, and Theo.
IsraeliPiston, if Detroit won the championship this season, then in 2008 off-season, the only option that’s viable, from what you suggest, is, well, Antonio’s retirement.
I don’t think Detroit could trade Antonio to any team except a contender . . . at least, I actually think Antonio would threaten to retire, thus making Detroit absolutely stuck with Antonio’s bill of $6.9 million for 08/09 and $7.5 mil for 09/10.
Antonio’s 2007 off-season extension . . .
http://www.detroitbadboys.com/archives/2007-07-23/antonio-mcdyess-locked-up-through-2010/
Nobody would want Antonio to play the Lindsey Hunter for that kind of scratch. Lindsey makes $2.25 million.
Theo’s going to come in handy if we have to face Orlando. Maxiell’s not tall enough and Amir’s not strong enough to slow down Dwight Howard.
I love the potential of Amir and Maxiell, but neither of them are centers. I would go as far as to say McDyess makes a better C than both of them, so I’m not sure why we should hope he retires.
I agree though that Samb should be worked into the rotation next year and Ratliff could stand in the way of that but I don’t see Amir ready for a starting job. Maxiell maybe, but not Amir.
I still see Theo (apart from being tangibly valuable on the floor) as a mentor for Amir. They’re both long, with quick leaping ability. Theo was a pogo stick when he was younger, and he oftentimes got into foul trouble or bobbled the ball off his hands because he was a bit clumsy and out of control. If he can bring some of that defensive experience into practice and teach the young’uns to use their heads as well as their crazy skillz, that will be huge.
It is worth noting that the reason Ratliff is here is because he got a huge contract, which he earned by essentially delivering what he gave us last night.
It is also worth noting Dikembe Mutombo, period. Five blocks? He’s spotting Ratliff damn near a decade.
When ever I think of Dikembe Mutombo I think of the spotlight profile he had on the ol’ VHS tape called “NBA Rising Stars”. Here’s a clip for a trip down memory lane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFuAdHi4uzw
Blue Edwards, Harold Miner, Doug West, Laphonso Ellis, Robert Horry, and more!
I’m totally hijacking this thread, but I just found this:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/nba-rising-stars-1993/1458385739
You can watch the whole video online. You might have to sit through some crazy-ass anime commercials and stuff, but oh baby it’s worth it. You owe it to yourself to watch this awesome video. I didn’t bother installing the Korean font pack but I now have the urge to eat a Fruity Oaty Bar.
Piggy-backing on what Sauce was saying about throwing player after player on Chicago … that’s how I think we’ll be able to beat LeBron this year if we see him in the playoffs. We can throw Rip, Tayshaun, Hayes, Hermann, Maxiell, Afflalo, Amir, Lindsey, Chauncey, we could probably even throw Dixon at him. Not all of those 10 guys are particularly good fits to guard LeBron, but they certainly could be used. It’s absurd to think of how much our depth has improved in a little under a year when you consider 4 of those 9 guys weren’t even here last year and Amir wasn’t getting any playing time at all. Essentially, half of those guys are options now that we didn’t have (or care to utilize in general playing time) then.
*4 of those 10 guys
kevin s - I think he’ll make a nice addition, yes. BUT i don’t think he’ll make that big a difference. Plus blaming the refs for having two players who’d rather go for the block rather than guards with their legs and prevent the easy shot and get a four per 3-5 mins is not a part of reality. i like them but it’s not just the refs
ok ok everybody. I dont see us keeping Ratliff for mentor purposes. I’d rather have Sheed around to do that. And Lindsey isnt mentoring really anyone right now. After this season he will have his front office job. So keeping Ratliff I believe is not going to happen. If (and we will) win a chmampionship this year Mcdyess probably will retire and he should…on top. We still have Sheed, Amir, J-maxx and Samb next year.
I know this is another hijacking of this thread and shaq doesn’t have anything to do with us but you guys have got to see this:
Shaq Vs. Honda
http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2245539
Chauncey, Rip, Tayshaun, and Rasheed are all the veteran leadership/mentor/anything the younger players need.
Ohad: Shaq is the man! Except when it comes to basketball skills now.
Ronnie: When I say Theo as a mentor, I mean in practice. I’m assuming this is happening, but I guess we have no idea to confirm it since we aren’t at practice every day. Same with Lindsay Hunter — for all we know he could be hanging out with Stuckey on days off, showing him which vitamins are the good ones and which vitamins are the bad ones. That kind of stuff isn’t normally reported (at least not that I’ve read) so it can be happening and it can be valuable, we just might not know about it.
Garrett: I’d leave vitamin picking to Arnie Kander. Lindsey’s track record with dietary supplements isn’t so good *cough* 10 game suspension *cough*.
During the past 3 seasons Ratliff has been constantly injured, traded twice, and had his contract boughtout. Recently he’s been signed for chicken scratch money and played 2 rock solid games. I’d like to see a little bit more out of him before including him in any future plans. I really liked what he’s done so far with his energy and attitude BUT he’s almost 35, injury prone, and has spent two games this century in a Piston’s uniform. Lets stop jumping to conclusions (e.g. Amir’s the next KG, McDyess is completely washed up, Flip Saunders has mental retardation).
I think Theo’s just happy people have this much to say about him.
I agree with the general consensus that Theo will help us out this year as an extra big, that he still has at least something in the tank, but that we need to keep the young ‘uns in the rotation.
I’d just like to make this point that I’ve been thinking about quite a bit recently. Think if Amir were drafted in the top 5. Would we have been able to bring him along in the same way? And what if Darko had been taken with the second to last pick in the draft rather than the second pick and didn’t have the expectations that came with being picked ahead of Bosh and Wade? We’ve been successful bringing these late pick guys along while similar guys (like Wayne Simien to Max) haven’t been. It gives me trust that they know what they’re doing and Samb will be brought along right.
LawyerBoy: Haha, yeah, I was being facetious.
Too many of you guys here are looking at the glass being half-empty. When Theo is your 5th big man, chances are you’re going to do pretty well with the other 14 guys on the roster. Whatever decision Joe D makes on Theo will undoubtedly be the right one.
Max, Amir, Samb are all players with great upside with differing levels of experience. Max reminds me a little of Wes Unseld and will probably be the 6th man for the foreseeable future, Amir will likely be the starting 4 for years to come, probably in 2009, and while Samb has a long ways to go, he’s come a long ways in a short period of time.
if anyone is interested, true hoop had a piece saying that all three leaders from MVP Garnett, kobe and james all came straight out of high school with a follow-up that statistically players right out of high school actually do better than those that came from University
As we all know the last guy taken straight out of high school is our own Amir . . .
Look, I think you’re all forgetting that we’re a front runner….
There isn’t going to MAGICALLY be another top 10 pick in Detroit’s future until Chauncey’s wheels fall off (and maybe not even then if Stuckey is half as good as everyone keeps telling me he is but I never see on camera)…. In that light you get game where you can get it and Theo has game RIGHT NOW. Next year we will STILL be looking for an extra big (hint EVERY TEAM IN THE LEAGUE is looking for this right up until it becomes apparent that they won’t make the playoffs, then they SELL their aging bigs to a team like Detroit… or just cut them, whichever)… Either way I think you all need to get used to the idea that so long as this magical 50 wins every time out run continues (and its been what almost 6 years now) we are ALWAYS going to be looking for “another body with a defensive mindset” on the cheap going into the deadline period. ALWAYS.
Why can’t that be Theo next year if he’s the best choice? Seriously?
And please don’t give me that Amir/Maxy crap, even if they BOTH explode next year (hardly a given to be frank) you STILL essentially need more than 4 bigs and none of this is taking into account that Sheed or Dyees could concievably call it a career (or in Sheed’s case be moved as an expiring contract) at ANY time. You can’t seriously tell me that winning rings isn’t worth it if Amir doesn’t play 25 mins a night because the kid needs to learn to stay on the COURT THAT LONG FIRST.
Sorry for the yelling but come the f-ck on now, we’re talking about next year and developing young bigs while this team is on pace to win 50+ games and finish at worst SECOND in the Eastern Conference?
It’s ALL about rings and hells yes the Pistons are closer to getting them because Theo is around. Get used to it, contenders RENT talent… the Atlanta Hawks draft it. Who would YOU rather be?
Btw, yes I choose the word “MAGICally” on purpose. Also, Dear Carlos Arroyo… I don’t miss you at all. Just had to say that out loud yo, Dwight Howard can bite my shiney bottom, Orlando sucks.
Welcome back again, PG4L! I have to go cry now. Thanks a lot.
“Dwight Howard can bite my shiney bottom, Orlando sucks”
PG4L I would love to see that on you tube
Welcome back, stay well and keep posting
Shinons, no, if Amir was a top 5 pick, he’d be considered a bust.
Sauce– if Amir was a top 5 pick that went to teams like Seattle, the Clippers, or Memphis sans Gasol, that might be a different story. If he was getting 25 mpg, he’d likely have grown out of that foul trouble by now (and the referees might have gotten to know him).
Sauce just hates Amir! I kid, I kid. I kind of agree with everyone, which is hard, cuz PG4L sort of disagrees with the board here, but I agree with her too. Everything is fine in Piston-land for the forseeable future. EVERYTHING (unless not winning a championship, which winning one is not a given by any means, is not “fine” by your definition). We will continue to do well drafting (ie: like Shinons says w/Simien [who I actually wanted, that draft, my bad.] vis-a-vis Maxiell). We’ll continue to depend on rent-a-big like PG4L says. V is right that Joe will keep us successful. And JesseC is right that it’s too early to tell with Theo Ratliff’s Expiring Contract. Somehow I manage to talk a lot but not really say anything. I’m done now.
and lets not forget about free agents
Mike - that’s doubtful.
i think we’re set. we’ve got great starters, a great young bench and a great vet bench. we’ve had enough time to see what all these players can do, and we know what it looks like when they’re not doing them. there is something kind of big (to us) about each player (and the coach) we could debate and bitch about all day. but i see no reason to rule anyone on this team incapable of stepping up and performing in the playoffs. i think this team can do it, i’m sure of it. everyone seems to be picking la to win it all and that downright
pisses
me
off.
we’re better than them.
bring bynum back.
we’re still fucking better than them.
welcome back pg4l, you were missed
sorry, i’m feeling all sweary today
I don’t understand all the trepidation about having Ratliff as the 5TH big man. Who would be a better alternative as the 5th big man? He sure has looked useful when asked to step into a starting role thus far, what more could you ask of a 5th big man?