It's upon us: The 2009 NBA Free Agency period. Will we wake up to any breaking news? What types of tricks does Joe Dumars have up his sleeves for his biggest free agent period since he first rebuilt this Pistons team?
We've been discussing all the options for the Pistons this summer, most people laying out all the big names on the list that could fit well with the Pistons. I want to remind everyone how Joe Dumars built this team back before the 2004 championship: A hasn't hacked it yet point guard from Colorado (Chauncey Billups), an undrafted journeyman from Alabama (Ben Wallace), and a guy who was not even the best player in the deal at the time (Richard Hamilton). Those three, a couple unexciting draft picks, and a big deadline deal turned into a championship team and six straight years of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Sure, Hedo Turkoglu, Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon, and David Lee are going to be options, but what Dumars ultimately decides may surprise you, upset you at the same time, and then wind up being the best move for this franchise.
Joe Dumars says it best in this Dan Wetzel column on Yahoo:
"The hardest thing is to convince people that fantasy basketball and running a team are two different things," he said. "You can’t just write down names that look good on paper. We’ve seen in the past that’ll get you a ways, but not all the way."
It's going to be a very interesting time period from now until this team starts to take shape for next season. Let's enjoy it and hope Joe Dumars uses the loads of money wisely. Happy Free Agency.