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The door is still open to Jose Calderon re-signing with the Detroit Pistons. The free agent point guard briefly talked with the Sacramento Kings before rejecting a contract offer, reports Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
Calderon turned down Kings offer within past hour, ultimately deciding against a full-blown rebuilding project, sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 4, 2013
But wait ... isn't Detroit a full-blown rebuilding project? After all, the Pistons (29-53) and Kings (28-54) finished with nearly identical records. Apparently Calderon feels differently:
Jose Calderon hasn't decided on a team yet and will continue negotiating elsewhere, including a return to Detroit, sources tell Y!
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 4, 2013
A few things might be going on here:
1) Perhaps Calderon feels the Pistons are closer to the playoffs. That's plausible, given Detroit's promising front court, Joe Dumars' eagerness to pull trades and use cap space, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's arrival.
2) Maybe Woj's sources are putting words in Calderon's mouth, and he's not quite as daunted by rebuilding as it sounds.
3) Maybe the dude just wants to get paid considering this is (likely) the last big contract of his career, and the Pistons are not only desperate but also capable of giving him more than any other team in the league.
Last but not least, there's 4) Perhaps he does want to sign with a readymade winner but is stringing the Pistons along to leverage their offer against another -- or simply to avoid ticking Joe Dumars off so he'll play nice with a sign and trade.
What's the right answer? Only Calderon knows for sure. The fact he rejected the Kings is absolutely good news for Pistons fans -- we just don't know how good. But let's imagine for a moment that he returns and Chauncey Billups agrees to be his backup. That's a whole lot of ball protection and 3-point shooting from the point guard spot. Do it, Joe!
(In non-Detroit news, the Kings didn't sit on their hands after being rejected by Calderon. They quickly agreed to a three-way trade with the Pelicans and Trail Blazers. By the time the dust settles, Greivis Vasquez will be Sacramento's new point guard, Robin Lopez heads to Portland and Tyreke Evans was signed-and-dealt to New Orleans.)
Now your thoughts.