In the wee hours of this morning I shot down the “Denver is dangling Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups” rumor, but either one crazy game of telephone is going on or I was completely wrong. Marc Spears of the Boston Globe, who originally reported this rumor, is now saying this:
A source close to Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is telling people in Denver that he expects to be traded to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey Billups.
Iverson makes $20 million this year. Billups makes half of that. The deal can not be executed unless the Pistons involve more players to match Iverson’s cap figure.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is reporting that Antonio McDyess would be included to make salaries work. It’s hardly official but it seems to be gaining steam. Let’s sit tight for another hour or and so see if anything actually comes of this.
Update: A. Sherrod Blakely says this is happening:
The Detroit Pistons have reached a tentative agreement to trade Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Neither player was at this morning’s shoot-around. Team officials said that more information would be forthcoming later today.
Update: Ric Bucher just said on ESPN that Cheikh Samb is being included, but added that one potential snag is that McDyess might rather retire than be traded.
Update 12:20PM: Marc Spears has sources who say AI and Billups are both telling friends they expect the deal to go down today.
Update 12:50 PM: From the Denver Post:
Denver plans to buy out McDyess’s contract so it appears he won’t actually play for the Nuggets.
That said, after Brent Barry’s shenanigans with the Sonics/Spurs last year, the league might not look to kindly if McDyess conveniently decides to return to Detroit. Stay tuned.
Update 1:02 PM: The Rocky Mountain News reports that “a Nuggets source confirmed Monday the team has agreed” yada yada yada. I’m thinking I probably don’t have to chase down any more confirmation. Now all that’s left is figuring out if the Pistons are getting anything else (a throw-in player? any picks?) in return.
Long-time lurker here…
Any confirmation? A friend of mine said Stephen A Smith is reporting it, but I see nothing online that looks remotely official.
Uh…and Denver is tossing in their next four first round picks, right? …Right?
Sad face.
I’m….so……startled….
To quote the Ren & Stimpy Horse, No Sir, I don’t like it.
This can’t be true. Iverson and Rip would make for a very ill-fitting backcourt.
Please let this be not true.
$33 million in cap space this summer sure would be something though. Remember to trust Joe.
This can’t be serious. That would mean they are essentially giving up on this season in hopes of landing someone in free agency. I can’t see this being a positive step forward.
I really don’t like Iverson, but that’s beside the point.
At this point in AI’s career, he’s a step down from Billups. This doesn’t move Rip either, and Stuckey still doesn’t have a starting gig.
3rd highest scoring avg. in the history of the L, and we’re upset? Joe D just found the answer.
How is getting AI giving up on this season. You got a guy as hungry as anyone to win a championship. A lot of the comments I read remind me of when Rasheed came to the Pistions.
AI attitude has been criticized, but no one can dispute how hard the guy plays. AI is a 9 time allstar and averages more carrier points, assist the Billups.
Lets see Rondo keep up with AI.
I also think Antonio will be back in a piston uniform, by years end.
Have faith in Joe
Cheikh too? No fair.
Threaten them, Dyess! You go, boy!
This might be a good thing because of Iverson’s hunger for a ring, and Chauncy’s lack of driving to the hole. Maybe Iverson with help from Curry can make Sheed get his big ass down in the paint where he belongs. I hate losing Dyess’s jumper and rebounds. Maybe Maxiell can step up and fill in. I still think the NBA is fixed because of how the Pistons gave the freaking game to the Celtics in the fourth quarter after they were kickin’ their asses in the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
Who is running our offense now? Iverson is an undersized shooting guard.
Not feelin’ this one, Joe.
Perhaps Denver could buy out McDyess who then could come back to Detroit???
/all hopes dashed that we couldn’t find a way to acquire Dalembert OR Chris Kaman
I’m cool with the Chauncey departure, given what AI brings… but I want more than anything for Dyess to win a ship with us after all the heart and soul he’s given this team the last few years… very sad for him. And I’d like to hold on to Mr. Samb as well!
I don’t doubt Iverson’s heart and desire. It’s his gambling defense and inability to make his teammates better that worries me.
I’m freaking out here.
if this goes through. i’m calling it right now, Tayshaun Prince: Pistons Captain.
I’m sorry ya’ll. I like this deal.
Well, at least AI doesn’t have a switch.
Iverson’s 1st home game will be against Boston.
I think this is GREAT!!!!! Gives us a true go to guy!!!!! We have just as good of chance to win, if not better, i think better, to win it all!! Next year we will have SO much money to spend!!!! And SOO many VERY good free agents!!!!!!! IN JOE D WE TRUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t get me wrong… $35 mil in cap room earns Joe a beer from me, that’s sick management right there.
Wow. What a bomb.
That’s alot of !!! bc, but I like the enthusiasm. Why the doom and gloom, dbb readers? Joe D said he’d blow it up, and here we go. Also, Amir lovers, this frees up way more time for your boy. Can’t wait to see AI in a stones jersey.
Next year….
Won’t get Kobe. Won’t get Boozer. Probably won’t get Marion. Won’t get Nash. Shouldn’t get Memo. Won’t want Artest. Maybe Lamar Odom would be interested. Won’t want Turkoglu. Can’t get Bynum. Can resign Rip and Amir, but that cap space won’t be doing much for us next year, honestly.
Yahoo has it up, as well as ESPN, Blakely etc-
What a crazy season this is going to be! Amir? AI? Curry? Drama!
Did I just wake up in BizzaroWorld? The hell…?
Word is…Dyess will go to Denver. Get bought out. and then come home to the Pistons. Essentially, it’s Billups + Samb for Iverson.
A+
I think this deal might… might work. Dice gone gives Amir and Max more room, not to mention Kwame. We still have Stuckey. Stuckey and AI together on the floor would be sick. Plus we’d get some o’ that superstar love that the Cavs get…
Pulling a Brent Barry! A huge “boo yah” to Joe D.
Please no…
Looking at it objectively, we are probably overvauling our guy, but that’s the way it goes.
AI does get assists, and to the line. I don’t think we drop off in those respects. We do drop off defensively.
Gogol: This looks to me like a definite play for Boozer. Here’s to hoping he chooses to decline his player option in Utah.
A Rip-AI backcourt sounds like a turnover waiting to happen, but we did just trade for a onetime NBA MVP who played in all 82 last year averaging over 26 points. I think we’re all pretty well versed in Joe’s admiration for AI over the years. I trust Joe’s management and really can’t wait to see how this all shakes out.
Holy. Shit.
I only hope Denver buys out MacDyess and we get him back, ala Barry and the Spurs.
Part of me says, “This can’t work.”
Part of me says, “I thought the Boston Experiment wouldn’t work too.”
You never know what can happen when you put a first-ballot HOF-er *sans championship ring* on a contender…
Listen
We were not going to win the NBA championship this year as we were previously built. I love the trade for the long term, it allows us to remake the team with free agents around Tay, Stuckey, and Amir keeping us contenders for the foreseeable future.
But why are people so down on this year? IF stuk can come in and be better than what chanucey was (which i believe) and Amir makes the leap we all see coming, and we finally have a dynamic scorer to
a. get calls
b. stop our offense from stagating
c. motivated to win a ’ship
d. motivated to get a contract
The team will now be more focused on Tay, the young guys get their chance, we get a GREAT player, and the cap room will pay off. Why does Gogol say we wont get anyone? People will come to Detroit to win, I agree we wont get Kobe, but Boozer easily. And then theres 2010…I love the trade
Tayshaun should run the offense now. At this point, he can run it better than AI or even Stuckey. AI and obviously Rip are better off the ball.
Ladies and gentlmen, this trade will be made purely for financial reasons. Iverson’s $20million plus comes off the books in July 2009. The Pistons were on the hook with Chauncey for 4 more years (including this one) for around $12 million per season. McDyess’ contract goes for a couple more years as well. This move opens up $20million at season’s end, remember that Sheed also becomes a free agent at the end of the season giving the Pistons (approx) $30 million in cap space (what about Rip, is he a free agent as well?).
This move signals that Joe didn’t think the Pistons were good enough to win a title this year with the current lineup. Hell, they probably still won’t be good enough with AI but they will have money to spend in next year’s free agent market, which is almost certainly the motive behind this move.
Save us, Matt Geiger! Save us!!!
Ahhhh very interesting there QD. Maybe this has been the back of all of their minds since training camp. Where Tay said he was going to take a more agressive approach and handle the ball more. Very interesting thought there.
I still don’t quite get why we have to give up so much, even with AI’s expiring contract, but … I absolutely LOVE and RESPECT Iverson. He is an amazing talent, with great work ethic… always plays hard, throughout all the injuries. He’s never afraid to put his body on the line, and he’s a pretty small dude… Go Pistons!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Whew. I had just moved AI to the bench in my fantasy team with him being all bitter about not becoming a captain in Denver.
I think this is a big risk, but it may give us a higher ceiling in the playoffs. IMO our biggest issue in the playoffs has been that we lack that player that can create their own shot off the dribble when offenses tend to get stagnant…Iverson is definitely better at that then Billups. There’s no questioning his desire and he will now have the best teammates he’s ever had.
At the least, I’m very intruiged to see how this all plays out.
Now if we can just get McGrady……….
(I kid, I kid)
Clearly, we’re building around Herrmann now.
I’ve got the same concerns as everyone else: Iverson is old, small and not a true point guard. Billups is better right now. This disrupts our chemistry and possibly costs us our last shot at a title with this crew.
At the same time, to play devil’s advocate: AI is hungry, Billups isn’t. AI takes it to the hole with passion, Billups doesn’t. The Answer is every bit as clutch as Mr. Big Shot. The Pistons don’t need a true point guard because they share the ball and have Stuckey waiting. This deal frees up the space needed to land a big free agent while keeping all our other players. Stuckey can now become the star we all know he is. Iverson will be a great influence on this team down the stretch.
That being said I’m still torn. I loved Dice and am sorry to see him go, and I think Cheikh has a future in this league. Please let this be Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins for Grant Hill, not Darko over Wade.
Uh, Mr. Davidson, shouldn’t you know that Rip has a player option at the end of this season, since you own the team and all?
Craig: Also on the fact check front from that post, Chauncey’s deal has this year and three more years remaining, but the last one is a team option that no team in their right mind would exercise. Really, it’s bad next year and an albatross on a single season’s cap number in two years.
My first reaction was that we were clearing up space financially and in the rotation. But after thinking about it, what was it that pissed Joe D. off so much after last year? The switch, particularly in his captain. So doesn’t it stand to logic that he would be willing to part with Chauncey to acquire on of the biggest warriors of the last 10 years?
Yeah, he’s going to change the way our game is played. We will get out and run more with him and so many young bucks. We’ll probably turn the ball over a little bit more, but we’ve consistently been at the bottom of the league in turnovers since we run such a slow game. But will it really hurt our offense? Consider that Iverson has shot consistently at 45 percent from the field over the past couple years, where Billups has been at 42 and 44 percent.
I hate to see Billups go, I think we should have gotten some picks in return (especially if McDyess doesn’t make his way back home), and I don’t think we should have tossed Samb in, but I honestly think this trade will give us a better shot in June.
It couldn’t be as bad as the Kidd or Shaq trades, right? …Right?
I just don’t know how to process this.
I don’t mind tossing in Samb. He’s got a bit of game, but not enough to make me want to wait out his development. Also, welcome back LawyerBoy! Just in time for the AI era.
Rasheed
Amir
Prince
Rip
Iverson
Stuckey
Maxiell
Herrmann
Afflalo
Kwame?
Fadel: That looks like one of my fantasy drafts in NBA Live. w00t.
I guess we’ll never see that Samb Trey again.
Okay, I’m over my initial shock. If Tayshaun is running the offense, I think I’ll be okay with this on that end of the court.
On D, tends to gamble too much but there’s a chance he’ll enjoy Curry’s press defense.
I’m just sitting at work about to have a breakdown… Maybe I’m just overvaluing our own guy but isn’t Chauncey better than Iverson??
San Antonio
Boston
Miami
These are the only teams to win a championship since Detroit in 2004. One thing they have in common– no true PG. Not saying that its a winning formula, but the understanding that you can win without a true PG does make me feel a bit better about all of this.
Allright, say this goes down. AI is a player that I have loved watching from afar, but I’m not sure how I feel about relying on him. I’ve got incredible attachment to Chauncey from watching him hit a half-courter again New Jersey in a game five to watching him lead the team for years. The Mayor will always be loved in this town.
Most of the core is still there, I just wonder what happens to the chemistry. Talent is equal before and after, Maxiell re-signed, maybe something to do with Dyess being involved, although let’s hope he comes on back home. Samb is a project and may eventually pan out, but we’ve gotten our hopes up about projects before, haven’t we, Darko?
This board is bright and has a high basketball IQ, but Joe D. is a paid professional who likes what this deal does. In Joe I trust.
“Okay, I’m over my initial shock. If Tayshaun is running the offense, I think I’ll be okay with this on that end of the court.?
I’d like to see Tay run the offense a bit more now too. One thing to remember is that Curry new offense has less of a need for that “true pg”.
Pros: More minutes for Afflalo (subs Rip) and Stuckey (subs Iverson).
Cons:
Rasheed has no one to sub for him except Kwame. Amir needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble, and it seems like his learning curve is flat.
How does the team feel now? Chauncey was the absolute leader and mentor for everyone. I really feel sad to see him go. Now we can’t retire his jersey number. First Ben and now him. This sucks! Dice probably feels like crying at this point.
MP, I think both tony parker and rajon rondo are true points. Miami had gp and white chocolate. That said, the pistons will be fine.
Wow, this sucks. I actually think Chauncey is a better player than Iverson. His PER was 23.48 last year; Iverson’s was 21.06. (Yes, I know PER isn’t everything.) Chauncey is also a better defender and a much, much better shooter from long-range. Chauncey’s game isn’t one that will decline that much as he ages. Also, Iverson is more of a one-on-one player, which makes it hard to integrate him into a team offense.
Fadel: I’m not sure how this works for Stuckey. For one, AI is used to playing 40 minutes a game. For this to work with Stuckey, he needs to play closer to 30. Something to consider.
Whoa, Tony Parker… not a true point guard?
LOL, that’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard
Stephan A and WDFN have both said that they think McDyess will likely be bought out by Denver…so he may return to Detroit.
“Rasheed has no one to sub for him except Kwame. Amir needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble, and it seems like his learning curve is flat.”
I guess it means we’ll be seeing more of Herrmann at 4 and Afflalo at 3. Maybe even a chance for Sharpe to get out there a bit. Hopefully we’ll have Dyess back in a bit and we can test out if we can rely on Kwame for more than just beating up on the Andrew Bynums of the world.
Saying that a guy isn’t a “true” point guard isn’t really a knock — there are only a handful of “true” point guards left. Everyone else is a combo guard, and that’s okay.
Any change of heart, yet, Matt? I’ve been seeing a lot of AI in denver for the last 1.5 years, and if anything, I like him more then I did when he was with Philly. My opinion is that Karl has been holding the team back more then the personal. And he might not be banging his head on the basket support as much as KG, but AI’s just as motivated to win. Hard to count out that kind of talent and desire.
Practice! We’re just talking about practice!
Ok, somebody had to say that. If we get Dyess back, I’m kind of OK with this, although I do wonder how the duties normally assigned to a point guard will be handled.
@Ryan, Craig:
What Matt said.
http://images.ballhype.com/uploads/photos_large/2008/05/26/comboguards.jpg
I definitely think, when Billups retires, we’ll hang #1 in the rafters. This isn’t like Ben, where he sort of betrayed us. This is just a trade, part of the business. There’s no ill-will here. For his 7 years of exceptional service rivaling that of any Piston, Chauncey’s number will definitely be retired.
Everyone who is saying Chauncey is better than AI needs to take a couple of steps back and reevaluate things. AI has played 13 seasons, Chaucney has played 12. Did you know that? One is a 9 time All-star and former MVP and one is a 2 (3?) time All-Star. Both are on the down side of their careers, but Iverson is a much much better player than Chauncey. Even on his bad days he will still be better than Chauncey. Plus, Chauncey’s defense had started to slip the last couple of seasons, so its not like we’re losing an all-world defender here.
Plus, the #1 complaint of nearly every Pistons fan is that this team’s offense goes stagnant and we like to “flip the switch.” Adding Iverson gets rid of both of those problems.
Persoanlly, I really like this trade. The scary part about it is that we are thinner up front and next offseason is going to be an adventure to say the least ($34-$46mil of cap room depending on whether or not Rip opts out).
Also, I think if Denver is going to by Dyess out, I beleive he has to wait like 60 days or something like that to resign with the Pistons. They changed that rule after Hunter was traded to Boston, cut, and resigned by the Pistons in a span of like 2 days.
Well, at the very least, Iverson should wear 111 on his Jersey.
Why? Because the number of 1s on our PG’s jersey determines how many championships they win.
Love the Pistons. Love Iverson.
HATE this trade.
Its an end of an era in the D and a sad day. The offense is gonna be a hot mess
Sad to see Dyess leaving…I really hope they resign him. He deserves a ring in Pistons uniform!
prophecy_projectz:
Why is the offense going to be a hot mess? I keep hearing everyone say that, but no one says why. Its not like Chauncey is Steve Nash or Chris Paul. Iverson is every bit as good of a ball distributer as Chauncey is. Plus, he is much better scorer and can get to the line and get a basket when the team really needs one. Something this team has been lacking the last several years. So please, explain how the offense just got worse.
CK, Iverson has certainly had a better career that Billups. That’s different than being better right now and in the immediate future. Iverson has a reputation as a great player (much of it deserved) that has led to all the accolades. That’s because the general populace looks at the points, the assists, the steals, and the highlights. What gets left behind is the missed shots, the poor defense, and the one-on-one play. Chauncey’s numbers would look a lot better were they adjusted for the pace of the game.
I know I like the idea of Stuckey working against Iverson everyday in practice. Not even the game…
WOW.
There is along list of positives but for some odd reason, I got this feeling that there is a longer list of negatives.
One thing I have to say is that Iverson definitely doesn’t waste shots more than Billups does. Billups’ fast-break pull up threes have a tendency to be ugly. Chauncey shoots at around 42%, Iverson’s always around 45%. We’ve got him built up in our head as such, but Chauncey absolutely isn’t a great shooter or exceptional scorer. And he’s been getting torched on defense by fast guards more and more every year. He’s great, and I love him. But he’s declining just as quickly as Iverson is, and we’re on the hook for 3 more years.
This is…interesting. The loss of McDyess doesn’t hurt too much given the development of Maxiell. Depth is nice, but we are crowded in the frontcourt. And he could still get bought out and return. Cheikh is a C-level prospect at this point.
So it’s basically Chauncey for Iverson - which I think makes us slightly worse this year. But it’s not as awful as it seems. Iverson has become a vastly more efficient player in Denver. His fg % has been north of .450 since he’s been a Nugget. And his turnover rate is actually fine (remember when you compare his TO’s to Billups that Iverson played on the fastest team in the league last year, and Chauncey played on the slowest). Hollinger has them as a wash this year and last year in TO rate.
Net net, I think you give up TS% and assist rate for superior paint production and consequent foul drawing. I’d rather have Billups, but it’s not as ridiculous as I thought. It’s certainly a shakeup for this year.
Then there are the long-term considerations. If you sign a great, young free agent in the summer (Boozer?), you just “rebuilt” the team without ever having to suck - i.e. sort of a funky twist on the Stackhouse trade.
Final thoughts: I think we win the trade if 1. shakeup for shakeup’s sake helps and 2. we land a great free agent. We lose if we overpay a second-tier free agent.
Iverson is not a better scorer than Chauncey. Iverson’s True Shooting Percentage (which takes into account free throws and the better reward of three pointers) has never gotten above 57%. Chauncey in the last 4 years has been at 60%. Chauncey also beats Iverson in assists per 40 minutes, rather significantly. Iverson’s stats are inflated because he plays so many minutes.
Also Chauncey’s defense has become subpar IMO. I think Iverson will have a better time staying with Rondo than Billups, who is laterally slow.
Chauncey’s TS% is high because he’s money from the stripe. Luckily, we’ve got another great foul shooter for Techs and late-game foul-a thons in Rip, so that, at least, is no great loss.
I also think if we went small it could be really fun and tough to defend a line up of Iverson-Stuckey-Rip-Tayshaun-Sheed.
Gogol - he’s also a very good 3pt shooter and attempts the shot on ~40% of his attempts (’07-08 as example). It’s a combination of that and his free throw shooting, probably more the latter.
Iverson is a better scorer than Billups because he simply scores more than him. Always has, always will. You can come up with all of the fancy new basketball stats you want, but there is a reason Iverson scores a lot — he’s better at it than the majority of the people in the league.
Also this theoretical “per 40 minutes” stuff is garbage. I want to know what they actually do in actual games. Not in magical make-believe everyone plays the same amount of minutes games. There’s a reason why some people play 40+ min a game and some people play between 30-35 min a game.
Iverson is really good at the game of basketball.
I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect AI to put up 18-20 ppg and 8-10 apg in around 33 mpg for the Pistons. I guarantee that Curry and Joe D are going to make sure that he knows the Pistons’ expectations of him– tough D, distribution, clutch shooting.
And let’s be honest people, AI is going to be motherfucking HUNGRY. This is the best team he’s ever been on, by far. Superstars can and do buy into the “team” thing– look at Boston.
Worst case scenario, we have literally enough cap space to sign TWO players to max contracts in 2010.
Check it: http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-36-1/Joe-Dumars-Strikes-Again.html
“Down the road, the Pistons become the driving force of big-time free agency as soon as Iverson’s contract comes off the books next summer. The Pistons will combine a winning environment, one of the most respected general managers in the game, and — depending on salary cap levels that are yet to be set, and extensions that may yet be given to existing Pistons — likely enough cap space to sign two free agent players to max contracts over the next summers of 2009 and 2010.”
BOO-YAH.
CK, Iverson is a better scorer because he takes a ton more shots. Misses and makes aren’t fancy new basketball stats. Iverson has had a lot of misses.
Practice? We’re talkin’ about practice.
@Garrett.
Hahahahaha.
For those saying that this is a great move financially, who do we go after with all this cap space at the end of the season?
According to ESPN’s slightly outdated Free Agency Report for 2009 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=09FreeAgents-080915), two of the top 5 truly free agents in the market are AI and Rasheed. Furthermore, the only player that I would even be remotely interested in is Kobe and he’s only going to leave if the team falls apart and he exercises an early termination option. Furthermore, Kobe would never leave the spotlight and sun that is LA for Detroit.
So are we clearing all this cap space for the 2010 free agency market? If so, are we taking a mulligan on this season and next season? I’d argue that we’re not for this season as Iverson is still a solid point guard and one that really wants to win a ship.
But next year, we’ll likely not re-sign sheed nor iverson. Are we saying that we’re okay with having a potential starting 5 of:
-Stuckey
-Hamilton
-Prince
-Maxiell
-Amir
-Herrmann
-Afflalo
-Sharpe
-Brown
That doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense…
Mr. Dumars is on record that he would prefer to have two (or more) combo guards rather than a true PG. We have that now, trading Billups for AI does not change that, we still have Stuckey, Rip and (now) AI.
Coach Curry has said his offense will be designed around more scoring in the paint. AI brings an asston more in the paint points than Billups does, looks like Coach Curry gets his points in the paint.
A starting lineup of Iverson, Hamilton, Prince, Johnson and Wallace looks like an ECF (at least) lineup to me.
In game adjustments are a plenty; for example: A back court with AI and Stuckey, Rip on the wing, Amir, Maxy,(hopefully) Dyess or Sheed on the box. Sheed can still drift out leaving Maxy, Amir or Dyess for put backs, Dyess can hang out at the elbows while Sheed stays on the box, we still have Prince and lets not forget Hermann who can play the 3 and the four.
Worse case, I think Prince looses PT (or should I say will get some rest) with Iverson coming aboard, obviously, the matchups will dictate the lineup, but, all in all, I see this as a win for Detroit.
I don’t think speculating on what Mr. Dumars does with 30+ million in CAP space now is prudent, Stuckey and Amirs developement, Rips option and Brown’s performance, I think will be the keys to whom the Pistons look to acquire next year.
I feel Other Matt re: emotions. It is hard to process. I am pumped about seeing AI in stones uniform. Our style of play already seemed faster in the first two games. It will only be more so with AI. Of course, I am worried about Defense and Turnovers, but mostly I am sad for Dyess and for Chauncey, too, to a lesser extent. I really hope Dyess can come back.
@ James B.:
Quick idea– get Boozer for the max in ‘09, then go after LeBron/D-Wade/Joe Johnson/somebody else in ‘10.
We would have cash for both. Or, we just save our money next year and spend it all in 2010. Even with that starting five you threw up there, the Pistons are still a playoff team. It’s not *that* much of a mulligan.
I feel terrible about this trade. We all knew this day was coming, but that doesn’t make it easier to take. I’ve watched so many Pistons games that I feel loss that the familiar guys won’t be out there. This is a little harder for me to take than when Ben left. I feel worse than I did when Pudge (my all-time favorite baseball player) was traded from the Tigers.
However, this is absolutely the right move for the long-term future of this franchise. It’s not even a close debate. Detroit isn’t exactly a hot destination for free agents. But when you consider the new core, the talent level that will be in place: Tayshaun, Stuckey, Amir, Maxiell, Afflalo, and you then offer these top tier guys like LeBron and DWade the opportunity to either play together or with a top level big man like Stoudemire, Boozer, or Bosh. Well, now Detroit becomes a really attractive option for a young star looking to build a dynasty and win some rings.
If we get McDyess back, I absolutely love this deal from all perspectives. You eliminate the “flip the switch” mentality all together. You get a hungry, hungry guy superstar who’s going to kill himself to win. And he’s a 7 month rental. This is a ridiculously low risk move. We probably weren’t going to win the championship as constructed this year, this certainly changes the way we’re going to play. The NBA has changed over the last few years away from the type of team we were built as. AI brings the dimension that we needed, he can get into the paint and create. He’s one of the all-time best at it. He’s not as good as he once was, but he’s better than Chauncey at it. And hopefully it teaches Stuckey a thing or two.
Joe D has done it again, I’m amazed.
I’ve commented elsewhere, but this deal does give the Pistons a real chance at signing LeBron. LBJ may get $50M extra to play in NY, but if he signs here, you can start the dynasty right there and then. Detroit has been consistently a 55-60 win/yr team without LBJ, Cleveland would be hard pressed to win 30 without him. LBJ also stays close to home.
There are also a number of excellent UFAs in ‘09, headed by Kobe, but I only expect Kobe to resign for obscene money in LA. Which leaves you someone like Boozer, a true PF.
I really like this deal. Like everyone else, I didn’t at first, but it makes perfect sense to me.