The Official 2007-08 Detroit Pistons Season Thread

[timothy1997 0]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aq2m...p&type=lgns

Micheal Curry next Pistons head coach.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Carmelo is a whiny prima donna, for sure.

But then again I thought Sheed was a complete ass before he came to Detroit. I have a whole new respect for the guy ever since. Dumars is a fantastic judge of character. If Joe D thinks it would work, then I do too. If Carmelo becomes a Piston he'll have Michael Curry and probably Chauncey and Dice as examples to live by, and these guys don't allow shenanigans. The Piston locker room will change Anthony, not the other way round.

P.S.: I still don't think, and never will, that Darko was the wrong choice. Given the makeup of the Pistons at the time, they could afford to gamble, and if they'd hit a home run everyone would be talking about how brilliant they were for it. Nobody at the time called it a bad pick, so it's a little disingenuous to pile on now. Besides, Dumars turned Darko into Stuckey, who is on track to be the cornerstone of this franchise.

[betterREDthandead 58]

If Detroit is dealing, here are six trades that work - ESPN

A lot of these trades involve the Pistons trading for cap space. I can't see Dumars trading two of his core players for cap space. Honestly, what with stiffs like Mohammed, Flip Murray, etc., Dumars record in the FA market is mixed at best. My take on these:

1. Chauncey, Tayshaun for Melo, Chucky Atkins, #20 pick

Atkins is useless and worth only $3M of cap space. Not great. Leaves us with:

Stuckey

Rip

Melo

Sheed

Dice

Bench: Afflalo, Max.

Not a bad starting lineup, but there'd need to be a major bench fix, and a big leadership void that'd need to be filled.

2. Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Jarron Collins, Morris Almond for Rip, Tayshaun, Afflalo.

Chauncey

Stuckey

Boozer

Sheed

Dice

Bench: Max, Brewer.

Terrible. Boozer can be a force down low but he's not a go-to guy and can be stopped by good defense. If we're gonna give up two players from the core it had better be for someone the caliber of Melo. Brewer is a decent young player with promising upside but Collins is a ******* stiff, and Almond is totally raw and unproven. Great deal for the Jazz only.

3. Josh Howard for Tayshaun or Rip. Say Tayshaun, since they play the same position.

Chauncey

Rip

Howard

Sheed

Dice.

Bench: Stuckey, Afflalo, Max.

A steal. Howard is an upgrade. Trading Rip instead would make the deal more even for Dallas, but it would probably force Dumars to trade Tayshaun for 75 cents on the dollar due to a logjam, so that wouldn't happen.

4. Gerald Wallace, Adam Morrison, Sean May, #9 pick for Sheed, Tayshaun

Chauncey

Rip

Wallace

Max

Dice

Bench: Stuckey, Afflalo, Morrison, May, draft pick

Never happen. Wallace is not the Bobcats' best - Dumars won't talk about anything else. But they don't have the pieces to make us better. Morrison and May are serviceable players but are essentially cap space. This trade is 4 dimes for 2 quarters.

5. Richard Jefferson, Nenad Krstic, #10 pick for Sheed, Tayshaun

Chauncey

Rip

Jefferson

Max

Dice

Bench: Krstic, Afflalo, Stuckey

Can't happen until after the draft for NBA-weirdness reasons. So we wouldn't get to choose on the 10th pick. Bad deal right there. Jefferson can score a LOT but does nothing else. Krstic is a potential All-Star but also a potential stiff. That alone sours me on the idea.

6. Tracy McGrady, #25 pick for Rip, Sheed

Chauncey

McGrady

Tayshaun

Max

Dice

Bench: Stuckey, Afflalo, etc.

Tempting, but ultimately way, WAY better for the Rockets than for us. McGrady is overrated these days - he's not the superstar he once was, just another quality second-tier star. The main thing would be the long-term cap space from trading 2-for-1. Not interested.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Interesting stuff BRTD. Very pleasing to hear that Dumars isn’t going to stick with the same line-up after another unsuccessful run in the playoffs. I feel that it’s time for massive changes and I would start by trading Wallace. He has been a great player for the Pistons and has been near faultless off the court during his time here but I get the feeling that we’re not going to get anything better out of him and as a result it’s time to move on. I desperately want to see Prince traded too as he is overrated and inconsistent. We all know he can score 25 points and occasionally be a triple double threat but all too often he has sub 10 point games where he disappears. He’s at his best when he’s aggressive and driving to the hoop but he settles for jumpers when he is a streaky shooter. Let’s see if we can get a high draft pick for him, or package him with Rasheed and try and get a gun.

For a while now we’ve been the team with a lot of good players but no guns. It’s time for a gun, someone you can rely on to give you a huge game when the going gets tough. Hamilton IMO is the only current starter I consider off limits for opposition teams. Is Jarvis Hayes coming back or will he walk?

McDyess, Billips, Prince, Wallace should all be up for grabs. We need to turn to youth and start building around Stuckey, Johnson, Maxiell and Afflalo as they are the ones who will make this team great again.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

^^^I would only take trade No. 1, and we would have to do at least one other move to be elite if we did it.

I think some people need to chill about how Sheed needs to go or we can't win. I can't argue he may have wore out his time, or is a loose cannon, but how many guys at his position can you say are better then Rasheed Wallace? Off the top of my head I can name Howard, Bosh, Duncan, and KG...thats it. The guy also loves all his teammates, and was the only Piston to show up for Curry's press conference (which is respectful). Don't get me wrong I am open to trading him, but I wouldn't trade him just so you can say you did.

Edited June 15, 2008 by mannysBETTER3434

[betterREDthandead 58]

Well, I don't know what the Pistons were doing yesterday. We could either have D.J. White now, or D.J. White in three years after he's put some meat on his bones and played some actual basketball games. Trent Plaisted (the extra we got in exchange for trading down) had better make the team.

Some rationalizations - Mike Davis coached both White and Sharpe and might have told the Pistons Sharpe has the higher ceiling. We do already sort of have D.J. White, only his name is Jason Maxiell. But really, the only reason I can see this deal being worth it is that it frees up cap space should Dumars decide to go crazy with free agents and trades.

Still - I'd have liked the Pistons to take CDR instead of White. That would have helped fill the potential gap from trading Tayshaun.

Lastly - Sacramento just became a new team to watch for me, they drafted Sean Singletary.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Well, I don't know what the Pistons were doing yesterday. We could either have D.J. White now, or D.J. White in three years after he's put some meat on his bones and played some actual basketball games. Trent Plaisted (the extra we got in exchange for trading down) had better make the team.

Some rationalizations - Mike Davis coached both White and Sharpe and might have told the Pistons Sharpe has the higher ceiling. We do already sort of have D.J. White, only his name is Jason Maxiell. But really, the only reason I can see this deal being worth it is that it frees up cap space should Dumars decide to go crazy with free agents and trades.

Still - I'd have liked the Pistons to take CDR instead of White. That would have helped fill the potential gap from trading Tayshaun.

I agree on Sharpe/White, but the deal still kind of bothers me. DJ White is your typical Joe D guy. He stayed in college all four years (like Prince/Maxiel), and battled a lot of diversity at IU with injuries, and coaching changes. He fits the mold perfectly, and is a big body. Now we got Sharpe, who by all reports doesn't have his head on straight. He got kicked off Miss. State, and barely played for UAB because of grades.

I would have been much happier with White, CDR, or Walker, but I'll give this guy a chance. The off-season has just begun, and I think this is only the beginning of adding new faces.

[betterREDthandead 58]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...0421/&imw=Y

Sharpe got in trouble at Miss. St. for missing team flights, showing up late to practices and meetings, and academics. He was arrested last year for going clubbing and getting in a fight.

Plaisted and Deron Washington will head overseas, so, so much for the idea of Plaisted making the team.

And somehow, Joe D. is convinced Sharpe is misjudged, and likes his skills. He thinks the narcolepsy, which Miss State never learned about, had a lot to do with it. (On the other hand, his arrest at the club was not for falling asleep.) But Dumars has proven to be a fantastic judge of character, so I have to trust him. But it sure looks iffy. I'm hoping I'll be proven wrong and by January I'll be raving about Sharpe the same way I do about Stuckey.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Should've gone for Nathan Jawai. Sure I'm biased because he's an Aussie but he's a real good player.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Kwame Brown?! I just threw up in my mouth!!!

Here's to hoping Joe D turns another outcast into a star.....

[Packer487 3]

Kwame Brown?! I just threw up in my mouth!!!

Here's to hoping Joe D turns another outcast into a star.....

I kind of laughed when I saw we signed him, but that's a typical Joe D move. Young guy, still has potential even if it doesn't look like he'll ever realize it. But it's a reclamation project and it's a reasonable deal. If nothing else, he's an ok backup center. It gives them some flexibility if they want to move Maxiell or Johnson (or Sheed or Dyess I guess) in a trade.

For $4 million a year in the NBA, we could do a lot worse. I'm not wetting my pants in excitement over this one, but I'm not pissed.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I think the Kwame Brown signing is actually pretty good. For what he actually produces, the money is about right. Take the name off the deal and you're getting a decent bench guy who can give you 10-15 minutes a night of solid big man play, especially in the rebounding department, which he does pretty well. And though it may not be likely, there's always that hope of another miracle reclamation like the Pistons do. Still got Arnie Kander, so at the very least his injuries could be less of a concern.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

I think Joe D is going to have to wait for the trading deadline/midseason to change our core. Now with Artest going to HOU there goes the T-Mac rumors (fine by me by the way). Maybe he wants to see how Curry does at the helm, and hopes the younger guys take it yet to another level.......

[betterREDthandead 58]

I think Joe D is going to have to wait for the trading deadline/midseason to change our core. Now with Artest going to HOU there goes the T-Mac rumors (fine by me by the way).

Not to mention the Artest rumors

Even more fine by me.