Speaking of talkative agents, Bill Duffy, who represents Tayshaun Prince, recently told Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press that Joe Dumars contacted him (before the lockout) to confirm his interest in re-signing Prince once free agency begins:
"I would expect teams to call the first day. Usually, you would see a two- or three-week period of free-agency. Even if the lockout lasts until November or December, you still have to have free agency. You have to allow time for guys to sign with other teams, or allow time to go through that process."
[...] Duffy said Prince will test the market, but wouldn't mind returning to Detroit, where he helped the team to a championship in 2004.
Teams weren't allowed to call Duffy until Prince was a free agent, and now they can't contact Duffy until after the lockout.
"Tayshaun's a hell of a player and a champion and a great person," Duffy said. "So you would expect teams to be interested. I've been told Joe would like to re-sign him."
This strikes me as insane. For one, Prince was among the most visible of last year's malcontents -- if Dumars is serious about changing the team's culture, he must recognize this and make a clean break.
But more importantly, it's simply asinine to keep an expensive veteran on a team that's at least several years away from seriously contending. Invest the money in a big man, and invest the playing time in developing younger, cheaper players who almost certainly have more productive years left in their career like Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye and (yes) Kyle Singler.
Am I being too harsh? Make your case in the comments.