Tag Archive for ‘Walter Herrmann’

Tag Archive for 'Walter Herrmann'

Detroit’s looking at perimeter players

Published by Matt Watson on July 2, 2008 in Rumors. 105 Comments

The Pistons are expected to spend the early part of free agency focused on landing one of the following players: James Jones of Portland; C.J. Miles of Utah or Mickael Pietrus of Golden State.

Also, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald suggests the Pistons are interested in poaching James Posey from the Celtics:

A league source said yesterday the valuable swingman’s dance card will be top-heavy with contenders that appreciate more than ever the intangible ways Posey can contributes to a championship team. Posey now lists two NBA titles on his resume, after helping the Celtics to a championship last month and the Miami Heat to the 2006 crown.

Posey’s hometown Cleveland Cavaliers are said to be putting together an offer, in addition to the Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

Personally, I’d take Posey over Jones, Miles or Pietrus any day of the week (annoying mouth guard and all) — he’s a gnat on defense and has always seemed to hit a three-pointer against the Pistons at the worst possible moment. Considering he’s also seeking the full mid-level exception over 4-5 years, though, I don’t think the Pistons will be in this race for long, especially when you consider he’s already 31 years old.

The other three guys should be had for much cheaper. Just for context, Pietrus had a better season in 2006-07 than he did this past year, but even then he wasn’t able to garner a single offer as a restricted free agent than Golden State’s $3.5 million qualifying offer.

Granted, part of that is because teams have become reluctant to negotiate with restricted free agents in recent years, but that’s probably not too far from his market value. (Jones, meanwhile, made $2.9 million last year. Miles, who was drafted out of high school and is still just 21 years old, made less than $800K, but that’s because he was still working on his rookie contract.)

Also, ASB had this on Tuesday:

On the home front, the Pistons expect Lindsey Hunter to return next season, but it’ll likely be in an even more diminished role than the one he had this season.

Detroit is in the market for a No. 3 point guard — possibly a player who emerges from a summer league team in Las Vegas — who would play ahead of Hunter.

The Pistons also are expected to bring Theo Ratliff back next season.

Walter Hermmann is another possibility, but he’s expected to have more lucrative offers from overseas teams. And when you combine that with the fact that he may very well have another season with a limited role, he may decide to play elsewhere.

Hunter played just 24 games last year — what does an even more diminished role look like — 15 games? 10? If that’s really what’s in store, why bother? Why not save that spot for a rotating D-League flavor of the week?

I’m on board with the Ratliff decision so long as it’s a one-year deal. (That seems obvious, right? Don’t forget, we all assumed that’s all Hunter would get back in the summer of 2006 before Dumars surprised us by giving him two.) I don’t want to see Ratliff take a single minute away from Jason Maxiell or Amir Johnson, but this team need a backup center and he’s not (completely) running on fumes.

As for Herrmann, I’d be shocked if he’s back. Even if the Pistons really wanted to keep him (and if they did, they wouldn’t be going after guys like Posey, Pietrus and Jones), there’s simply better money to be had in Europe, especially when you consider that Euro contracts are net (not gross), include additional housing stipends and require players to play fewer games. Oh yeah, and he’d probably be a star over there but only a little-used reserve over here. It’s been nice, Fabio; be sure to send a postcard.

Herrmann and Brezec updates

Published by Matt Watson on June 17, 2008 in Former Pistons and Rumors. 29 Comments

From Ball in Europe last Friday:

Walter Herrmann, the current Detroit Piston confirmed to Greece’s Gazzetta newspaper that he has an offer from a Greek team. There are, of course, only two possibilities: Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.

Herrmann, who averaged 3.4 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in the Motor City, is the typical NBA player that can make a way more interesting stay in Europe than in the NBA. Serving only as a limited role player in the United States, Herrmann can firstly earn more money in Europe and secondly also play a far larger role in a very competitive championship, the Euroleague.

[…] The craziest rumor is, however, the possible return of Primoz Brezec to his home country of Slovenia. Apparently, a very rich entrepreneur wants to pay Brezec’ salary while he would play for Olimpija Ljubljana. How true this is, has yet to be verified but Brezec has already stated that he won’t stay in the NBA for less than USD 3 million (about EUR 1.5 million net), a salary that top European teams like Barcelona where he is rumored to go, can pay.

(Note: those two links were from Ball in Europe’s original post, though I swapped out the first one for Google’s Greek-to-English translation. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t have a Slovenian-to-English translation for the second link. My apologies to everyone sitting on the edge of their seat for the latest Brezec news — there must be ~~hundreds~~ ~~dozens~~ one or two of you.)

Update: DBB reader GD offers an interesting translation to part of the Brezec interview in the comments:

“I was really disappointed with Flip Saunders. I don’t know what he is so afraid of. As a coach he is absolutely afraid to make any risky moves. If he could have it his way he would play the whole season with five players only. He lacks authority and his players practically ignore him.”

Disclaimer: I don’t speak Slovenian so I can’t verify this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is accurate, especially considering the way Brezec burned his bridges in Charlotte.

Walter Herrmann is a wanted man

Published by Matt Watson on May 29, 2008 in Alley-Oops and Rumors. 2 Comments

Courtesy of PistonsForum comes the news that Pamesa Valencia, a team in Spain’s ACB league, wants to sign Walter Herrmann, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent. Chris McCosky thinks Herrmann “will get the first crack” at being Tayshaun Prince’s backup if he wants to return, but if that’s really the case, it’s a little surprising he’s been put on moth balls in the playoffs this year. Valencia can obviously offer more PT, and thanks to the weak dollar, they may not be too far off with the money. Stay tuned.

There can be only one

Published by Matt Watson on April 11, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 2 Comments

Have you seen the new Walter Herrmann commercial for the playoffs?

No Olymmpiccs for Herrmann

Published by Matt Watson on April 7, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 8 Comments

Walter Herrmann has decided against playing in the Olympics: “He feels the need to be with his family and loved ones rather than playing in the national team,” [Argentina’s coach Sergio] Hernandez revealed to Ole Newspaper. “He told me that basketball is only a job for him, but he explained that the national can’t be considered a job, that it should be a breather, joy and pride but he doesn´t feel this way anymore.” Could it be that wasting away at the end of NBA benches has killed his love of the game? If so, that’s awfully sad since it’s obvious he can play. (via TrueHoop)

Saunders open to deep playoff rotation

Published by Matt Watson on April 4, 2008 in From the news. 22 Comments

For most of the year, we’ve been led to believe the rotation will inevitably get shorter in the playoffs. After all, that’s what conventional basketball wisdom says teams are supposed to do. A little bit ago, I argued that perhaps the Pistons ought to ignore that school of thought since their ability to bring a steady stream of rested players off the bench might be what’s kept the opposition on their heels for most of the year.

Now, with the playoffs on the horizon, it seems Flip Saunders is starting to come around. Here’s some comments from a recent radio interview (via Full-Court Press):

“If we continue to play the way we’re playing, maybe we do extend our bench the way it is right now and the way we’ve gone most of the season,” coach Flip Saunders said on The Stoney and Wojo Show on WDFN-AM Detroit.

While Saunders declined to name which players would be included in that rotation, he did say that Theo Ratliff would be amongst them as a situational defensive substitute.

The depth of the Pistons bench led Saunders to conclude that this year’s Pistons team is the best he’s coached.

“There’s probably five or six games we could have won this year if we hadn’t played as many young players, but I think it’s paying dividends for us right now,” he said. “I think because of the way the bench is and the depth that we have that this is probably our best team.”

Saunders specifically praised the play of reserves Amir Johnson and Walter Herrmann, who he called the second- and third-best players in Tuesday’s comeback win over Minnesota.

For fans of Herrmann, it seems we should see a lot more of him down the stretch. From Chris McCosky’s blog:

Back to the business at hand, if you guys were chomping at the bit to see more of Cheikh Samb, back off. It’s not happening. Here’s Flip Saunders after practice today:

“We’ll play him some, but it’s not like we say we’re going to play Cheikh a lot of minutes because I still want to play Amir a lot. I still want to play Maxey and play Walter, too.”

Samb’s an interesting prospect, for sure, but I have no problem whatsoever with this decision. There’s no chance that he’ll even be active for the playoffs, let alone getting any PT, whereas Herrmann has enough experience under his belt to think that he could step up in a pinch should the right matchup arise. Not saying it’s going to happen, but I don’t think it’d surprise anyone if it did.

Herrmania

Published by Matt Watson on April 2, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 1 Comment

PistonsNation: An appreciation for Walter Herrmann.

The Argentine Solution: Why Herrmann should replace Hayes

Published by Matt Watson on February 20, 2008 in Guest Writer. 22 Comments

Continuing in a series of cameos by DBB readers, here’s Mike Payne. — MW

__________

By Mike Payne

With the looming NBA trade deadline just a few days away, DetroitBadBoys.com has been abuzz with reader trade proposals. Some have been ambitious, others intriguing, while others yet have been strictly for entertainment. The common trait of many of these trades is the addition of a veteran small forward to Detroit’s roster. Names like Mike Miller, Andrei Kirilenko, and even Ron Artest have been suggested as inbound players, with Detroit giving up little more than bench players who rarely, if ever, see a spot in Flip Saunders’ rotation. Another common trait of these proposals? The departure of Pistons forward Walter Herrmann.

Perhaps these trade proposals are the result of interest in who is being shopped. This also suggests, however, that the Pistons have a hole to address at the small forward position behind Tayshaun Prince. This raises one very important question: is Jarvis Hayes the best option as Detroit’s backup small forward? If not, who should the Pistons seek to replace or supplement him before the trade deadline closes? While a player like Mike Miller would be magic behind Prince, this guest blogger believes that there is an easier option. Enter our favorite departing player in DBB trade talk, Walter Herrmann.

As our favorite blogger did with Amir Johnson, I call for more playing time for Walter Herrmann and a spot in Detroit’s rotation over Jarvis Hayes. Jarvis has a few obvious problems that must be addressed going into the playoffs. In making this case, I’ll outline Jarvis’s weaknesses and show how Walter Herrmann is an improvement across the board.

Consistency

This season, Jarvis Hayes has had a noted problem with consistency. He’s had some hot streaks, he’s had cold streaks, he’s had on nights and off nights. In the six games spanning January 12th through the 21st, Hayes shot just 7 of 35 from the field. That stretch included Detroit’s longest losing streak of the season, with losses to Sacramento, Chicago and Orlando. In a seven game series, Hayes’s performance could be a flip of the coin. Will he help, or will he tank?

While his sample set is much smaller, Walter Herrmann has proven to be a consistent scoring option in his career. In the last 20 games of the 2006-07 season, Herrmann shot a remarkable 61% from the field– 131 baskets on 214 field goals. During this stretch, Herrmann’s worst night involved 40% shooting on 5 field goal attempts against the Boston Celtics. This speaks to the next issue that needs to be addressed with Jarvis Hayes, his shooting.

Shooting Performance

It appears that Flip Saunders’ primary employment of Jarvis Hayes is as a perimeter shooter and occasional slasher. Flip runs plays for Hayes to be the converter, so when the ball is in Jarvis’s hands, he’s going to shoot it. Alongside Hayes’ consistency issues, he’s not the reliable shooter Detroit needs to hold this job in Flip’s playbook. Over his career, Hayes is a 40.7% shooter with a 35% 3-point average. While he’s improved to 38.6% from downtown this season, he’s no Rip, Tay, or Chauncey. He’s also no Walter Herrmann.

Over his career, Herrmann is a 49.5% shooter and 42.2% behind the 3-point line. Herrmann’s 61% shooting to close out last season was unreal for any forward not named McDyess. What makes that all the more amazing is that 84 of those 214 field goal attempts were from behind the 3-point line. This included Herrmann’s career best game to date on April 14th against the Milwaukee Bucks. Herrmann put up 30 points on 12 of 15 shooting including 6 three pointers and 9 rebounds. Looking at the other 19 games in that streak, its easy to see that this game was not a fluke.

Defense

Defense is a little harder to quantify by reviewing game logs, career stats, etc. Neither Hayes nor Herrmann have significant steal/block numbers that are characteristic of solid defense. For those watching the Detroit Pistons at the Dallas Mavericks on January 9th, you’ve seen the defensive pest Herrmann can be. In an otherwise hot night for Dirk Nowitzki, Herrmann shut him down on defense, forcing Dirk into poor shot after bad pass after offensive foul. Recalling DBB’s LawyerBoy on January 9th, “Regarding our game, me likes what me sees from Hermann. He was playing Nowitzki tough and frustrating him. The foul on Hermann was a complete acting job by Dirk (a very good one, I credit him), and then Hermann baited him back into the offensive foul. Very much the Pistons mantra, I love it.” So do I, LB. And while Hayes is not a real liability on defense, Herrmann could be argued to be an improvement here as well.

In closing, there are many of us here who have liked what we’ve seen out of Walter Herrmann. In a season that is seeing great developments in players like Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Afflalo, Jason Maxiell and Amir Johnson, the only remaining question mark remains in the shooting hands of Jarvis Hayes. Statistically, historically, Herrmann is an improvement over Jarvis Hayes. While this guest blogger was happy to see Jarvis fitting in so well in Detroit, our collective focus remains on an NBA championship. Solving this perceived weakness should not require a trade, only a renewed interest in the participation of Walter Herrmann in Flip Saunder’s Pistons rotation.

The Pistons are in Chicago

Published by Matt Watson on January 19, 2008 in Bulls and Previews. 65 Comments

The Pistons are in Chicago tonight (8:30, TV20) looking to shake off last night’s loss to the Kings. But be warned: Chicago always seems to have the Pistons’ number in the regular season, even when they don’t have anyone else’s. Plus, when the Pistons drop a game, they tend to do it in pairs: eight of their 11 losses this year have been part of a back-to-back defeat. (Is there such a thing as a “reverse jinx?” I hope so …)

Kirk Hinrich is likely to sit out for the Bulls, which puts Thabo Sefolosha in the starting lineup next to Chris Duhon. I have no clue who the Bulls plan to guard whom in Detroit’s backcourt, but either Rip Hamilton or Chauncey Billups will have an advantage all night long, even (especially?) when Ben Gordon comes off the bench.

Also, like I said last night in my post-game post for HOOPSWORLD, I’m curious if Walter Herrmann’s PT last night was an effort to get him sharp for matching up with Andres Nocioni tonight. Those guys are teammates on the Argentinian team, it should be fun to watch them go at each other, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

That’s enough pseudo-analysis for now: as always, leave your thoughts in the comments.

Pistons look to rebound against Spurs

Published by Matt Watson on January 10, 2008 in Previews and Spurs. 93 Comments

A bunch of other stuff commanded my attention today, and to be honest, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about dissecting last night’s loss to the Mavs (although this headline is awesome). One of the few bright spots, though, was the play of Walter Herrmann (aka, Strretch Arrmstrronng), whom Flip Saunders singled out for praise after the game. From Booth Newspapers:

“Walter Herrmann was the only guy we had tonight that gave anything to Nowitzki, as far as made him fight,” Pistons coach Flip Saunders said.

Herrmann is hopeful that his play will lead to more opportunities to play meaningful minutes, beginning tonight against a San Antonio Spurs team that features Manu Ginobili, who like Herrmann, is from Argentina.

“Everybody knows Ginobili,” Herrmann said. “He’s a really, really good player. We need to play hard. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow but I hope to play and help the team win.”

Speaking of Ginobili, I’m reminded of a HoopsHype article that DBB reader Ohad alerted me to last month about how flopping (on both sides of the ball) has infested the NBA:

For 23 years Stern’s silence has implicitly condoned flopping, flailing, diving, leg-kicks and unnatural arm-lifts by shooters (the two fastest growing forms of cheating), and other fool-the-ref techniques employed to gain unmerited free throws and/or saddle key foes with unmerited foul trouble and unmerited bench time in pursuit of unmerited victory. The problem is perpetuated by coaches who teach or at least condone these tactics and by broadcasting clowns who praise the deceivers and thus teach the next generation of hoopsters that this is how a true pro plays the game.

I won’t claim that the Pistons aren’t occasionally guilty (or that the original Bad Boys weren’t innovators), but it’s gone too far, and I’d welcome some kind of penalty being assessed to the worst offenders.

In any case, the Pistons are on the second night of a back to back but most of their starters didn’t even crack 30 minutes last night. The ball tips in a few minutes — leave your thoughts in the comments.

Detroit Bad Boys