FanPost

BSG's 2015 Pistons Offseason Project

1st Things First

Before we can talk about draft picks, and who should go where and what not…the Detroit Pistons need a point guard.

It is assumed that Reggie Jackson will return (you know what your momma said about assuming) to the Pistons who foolishly gave him this opportunity. Foolish? You had a very good point guard on a great contract in DJ Augustin. It was Stan’s best offseason move and one that looked like it would pay dividends. Then out of nowhere comes this bad trade. Bad because Reggie can’t play? No. He’s shown that he can play a bit. But it was a bad trade because had the trade never been completed, Reggie would have stayed on the end of the bench with limited playing time, and you could have signed him this summer on an MLE sized contract. And DJ Augustin would still be on the team. Instead, you allowed him to start showcasing his forgotten talents and positioned him for a massive payday.

But I have my doubts. 27 games starting is not enough for a team to warrant a 10+ million dollar contract. Add that to the fact that most teams don’t need a point guard. Of those teams, which ones are willing to shell out that kind of money? I can only come up with 3. Houston, LA, New York. Houston is positioned well in the draft to get a promising prospect, either Tyus Jones or Terry Rozier. 2 really good players inho. That leaves NY and LA. LA has free agency options. And believe it or not, LA in a player’s eyes is still more attractive than Detroit. If for no other reason but the wife would rather be in Los Angeles. So that said, I have a hard number for Reggie Jackson. That number is $9,000,000. Jeff Teague makes less. Mike Conley makes less. And despite how much you may like him, he has not proven himself to be on the level of either Conley or Teague. You don’t want to be the guy paying Ty Lawson 12 mil.

We Need More Young Talent

I’m going to say Reggie takes the deal. And he’ll be part of our first option. If not he can walk. There are other options. Including getting New York’s first round pick. New York (one of the teams that needs a point guard) isn’t excited about the 4th pick. The Pistons trade a proven player who was playing well before he got hurt…Brandon Jennings. A deal that could work is the 4th pick for Brandon Jennings and our first round pick next year. Brandon Jennings is wayyy better than Mudiay (the player most linked to New York). Before you get your pants all twisty…who exactly are you foaming at the mouth to draft next year? THIS is the draft that can determine your future. Two picks in a deep draft is a good way to make up for not having a pick last year. Provided that Dangelo Russell is available I’d do whatever it took sans the big fella to make this trade work (including throwing in KCP). Russell solves 2 major issues for the Pistons. Creating offense for others, and getting in a legit "shooting " guard.

With the 2nd first round pick, I have to go with Sam Dekker. Between Winslow, Stanley, Portis, and Harrell (all really good players imo) Sam is the only one that I can see being a legit star. At 6’ 9" and the ability to handle the ball, he brings something to the table guys his size usually don’t. He finishes. He can shoot. And he is solid defensively. Winslow is better defensively, but he can't create his own offense. Sam has that kind of ability. I think Stanley Johnson has peaked already. He was touted as possibly the #1 pick last summer, and fter one year of playing he's dropped significantly. I see Stanley being a 15 ppg 6 rebound guy. I see Sam being a 20 ppg 7 rebounds 5 ast player. Stanley's body also concerns me because he’s still young. He could easily be 270 lbs on a frame that wouldn’t hold it well. So my draft board for the 8th pick ranked is

1. Sam Dekker 2. Justice Winslow 3. Montrezl Harrell 4. Kristapis Porzingas 5. Bobby Portis 6. Terry Rozier

With the 2nd round pick I select Tyler Harvey Guard, from Eastern Washington who led the NCAA in scoring at 23.1 ppg. This after averaging 21.8 in the previous year. Based on what I’ve seen from him, he could end up starring for us in the future. There are plenty of examples of small school guys who lit up their leagues who can come in the NBA. Earl Boykins and Rodney Stuckey off the top of my head.

Moving Forward

There aren’t many enticing power forward free agents. Frankly drafting a power forward is the "needy" thing to do. But again, if you think a guy is a legit star (Dekker) than you bypass need. Anthony Tolliver played well for us last season. The bigger name guys aren’t coming here, and you certainly don’t want to overpay for lesser players. The Pistons need interior defense help and none of the available free agents besides Amir Johnson offer any defensive stoutness. Amir could work but by the time this team is ready to win he’ll be entering his 12 th year. So you wait on that rare power forward who can shoot and rebound and play defense. The only power forward in the draft that can do all those things is Harrell. So in the meantime I’m going to platoon the power forward spot. I will instead sign (edit) Brandan Wright who averaged 7.0 ppg and 1.2 blocks in 21 minutes. A contract in the neighborhood of 4.5 millions should do the trick. Rounding out the major moves for the season will be picking up KJ McDaniels or Gerald Green. And lastly of the major moves, Jason Smith, a sharp shooting big man who played well against the Pistons this season. We’ll have to draft a PF in the future or trade for a young player as the rest of the cap money will be used to sign Andre Drummond. PRIORITY! The bottom line is, teams like Detroit, Golden State, Minnesota and Memphis have to build their teams through trades and the draft. Its been that way for years. The Pistons have never been the franchise where top free agents want to come here. We have a hard enough time trying to keep the guys that we draft.

Option 1

PG REGGIE JACKSON (signed for 9 million)

SG KENTAVIOUS

SF SAM DEKKER

PF TOLLIVER

C DRE’

BENCH

BRANDON JENNINGS

JODIE MEEKS

TYLER HARVEY

BRANDAN WRIGHT (4.5 Million)

JASON SMITH (3 Million)

KJ MCDANIELS (3 Million)

SPENCER DINWIDDIE

CAP 52 Million approx

Option 2

PG DEANGELO RUSSEL (3.5 Million)

SG KENTAVIOUS (2.8 million)

SF SAM DEKKER (2.8 million)

PF TOLLIVER (3 million)

C DRE’ (3.3 million)

JODIE MEEKS (6.2 million)

TYLER HARVEY (500 thousand)

BRANDAN WRIGHT (4.5 Million)

JASON SMITH (3 Million)

KJ MCDANIELS (3 Million)

SPENCER DINWIDDIE (700 thousand)

VETERAN PG AND WING PLAYER ON MIN CONTRACTS

Cap 41 Million approx (with the dead contracts)

If Reggie walks and New York says no deal

PG BRANDON JENNINGS (8.5 million)

SG KENTAVIOUS (2.8 million)

SF SAM DEKKER (2.8 million)

PF ANTHONY TOLLIVER (3 million)

C DRE' (3.3 million)

Bench

JODIE MEEKS

TYLER HARVEY

BRANDAN WRIGHT (4.5 Million)

JASON SMITH (3 Million)

KJ MCDANIELS (3 Million)

SPENCER DINWIDDIE

VETERAN PG AND WING PLAYER ON MIN CONTRACTS

Cap 42.5 Million approx (including dead contracts)

All these options allow our draft picks to grow together. But you’re still in position to make a big move in case the team gels together and shows they can compete. You’re not going to free agent your way out of this thing. Keep the salary low and grow.

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