Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars sat down with David Mayo at MLive to discuss his philosophy as the trade deadline approaches. There is no groundbreaking revelation in the piece, but I think it makes it plain that Dumars would love to make a deal ... if only one would present itself.
That is partly his fault thanks to a bevvy of unattractive pieces he is trying to unload, but I also get the sense that everyone is sort of gun shy this season. The Magic are reluctant to trade Dwight Howard. The Nets don't want to move Deron Williams. And what else is there? As I type this, the lead story on HoopsHype is about a Boris Diaw buyout for crying out loud.
So what did Dumars divulge in the interview?:
Q: Philosophically, you're looking to the future, but how do you go about it, generally speaking, as you look to the trade market?
A: "If it can contribute to you continuing to build with your young base, then it becomes appealing to you. If it gives you flexibility to build with your young base, it becomes appealing to you. So I think the basis for anything that we do right now has to be in the sense that it helps us to continue to build with this young base of guys that we have right now. So for us, it's really not that hard as to what we're trying to do. We understand what we're trying to do. Now, it's not easy to make the deals. But the plan, the concept, of what we're doing, it's very clear."
Q: What is the likelihood that you find something attractive?
A: "We're open. We're talking to everybody, man. What are the chances? That's like asking me what the other 29 teams are going to do. I know what we'd like to do. But making a deal, it takes one or two more teams, and I can't tell you where they are. What are their imperatives? We have some things that are imperative for us to get done. But I don't know what other teams' imperatives are. That's why that question's always so hard to answer, because whatever percentage you give, you're speaking for some other organization. You know that you would like to continue to build your team, and you're open to doing that."
He also talks about just what it means to conduct due diligence and the philosphy going forward of building "toward the future."