(First things first: Wow, they're just letting anyone post on Pistons.com these days -- take a look at what this guy had to say.)
OK, I've had this idea kicking around my head for a while, and I think it could be fun. As evident by the conversations we've been having in the comments lately, it seems like we all have a theory about what the Pistons will (or should) do. So let's add a dash of accountability to this and see who really knows what they're talking about.
In the comments to this post, I want you to predict what the entire 15-man roster will look like come Opening Night 2007. We'll award points for every correct player, with the number of points determined by how a player is added to the roster. It'll work like this:
- 1 point = a current player already on the roster. We already know who's on the roster, so you don't earn bonus points for going with the status quo.
- 2 points = a first-round pick from the June 28th draft. There's a realistic pool of only 5-6 players who might be picked at No. 15, so no huge points for getting that right. Granted, nailing that No. 27 pick will be tough, but I wanted to stay consistent.
- 3 points = a free agent. There are a lot of free agents out there, and since every team in the league is theoretically a suitor, you get more points for correctly guessing that.
- 4 points = a player acquired via a trade; or, a second-round pick, Trades are worth the most points because those often come out of nowhere (and unlike free agents, it's not like there's an official list of "who is on the block.") Also, it's harder to pinpoint who the second-round pick will be, and even if you got that right, it's even more difficult to correctly guess that he'll actually win a roster spot.
To head off any potential confusion, let's clarify some ambiguous players/situations:
- Since Chauncey Billups has already opted-out, he'll be worth 3 points if he re-signs.
- Since Amir Johnson is a restricted free agent, he'll be worth 3 points if he re-signs.
- Antonio McDyess hasn't opted out, but (I think) there's still technically a chance that he could. If he does and ends up re-signing, he'll be worth 3 points. If he signs an extension without actually opting out first, he'll only be worth 1 point. (And, of course, if he doesn't sign an extension nor opts-out, he'll be worth 1 point.)
- Alex Acker played in Europe last year but is technically still a restricted free agent, so if he ends up coming back and re-signs, he'll be worth 3 points.
- Chiekh Samb was a second-round pick who never signed a contract, so if he finally signs he'll be worth 3 points.
- Sign-and-trades: we're going with the spirit of the rule instead of the letter of the law. (This might cause confusing down the line, so I reserve the right to make a judgment call on scoring if needed.) Basically, if the Pistons want to sign a guy who's currently a free agent, but the only way they can acquire him is through a sign-and-trade, the player in question will be awarded 3 points as a free agent. However, any players already under contract who are included to make the salaries work will be worth 4 points as a player acquired via trade.
- This is unlikely, but if we traded for another or different first-round pick, he'll be worth 6 points (2 for being a pick, 4 for being acquired via a trade).
So what's at stake? The person(s) with the most points will earn eternal bragging rights here at DBB, as well as a guest post, if they so choose. I'll also put up a DBB T-shirt of the winner's choosing (though if there are more than two winners, I'm drawing names in a hat, since I'd go broke in the case of a massive 15-way tie for first place).
Also, and this is important, only the first unique combination will count, so read everyone else's entries first and make sure yours is different. And you can only enter once (though if you realize after the fact someone already posted the same entry as you, we'll bend the rules and let you enter again). To make it easier on me to check these later, try to follow the format I used in my entry. Comments on this post will close Thursday afternoon, so get your entry in now!