SB Nation - Walter Herrmann

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bad Boys

R Dizzle — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:33 -0000

Maybe I should leave the photoshopping to Tony.psd.

One could easily argue that the Detroit Pistons had one of the busiest offseasons. They're making more moves than Ford Motors! Actually, I take that back...I shouldn't make jokes about the dying American car industry...

With two of the most expensive free agents added to the Pistons roster this year, are they going to be able to break into the top 5 in the East?

Jump for some more thoughts.

Offseason Additions

VIA DRAFT
Austin Daye (No. 15)
DaJuan Summers (No. 35)
Jonas Jerebko (No. 39)

VIA FREE AGENCY
Ben Gordon (from Bulls)
Charlie Villanueva (from Bucks)
Ben Wallace (from Suns)
Chris Wilcox (from Knicks)

Offseason Subtractions

VIA FREE AGENCY
Rasheed Wallace (to Celtics)

VIA TRADE
Arron Afflalo (to Nuggets)
Amir Johnson (to Bucks)
Walter Sharpe (to Nuggets)

RENOUNCED
Allen Iverson
Antonio McDyess (to Spurs)
Walter Herrmann

WAIVED
Fabricio Oberto

Woooooowwwww. That's some crazy ish for Joe Dumars to be pulling in a city that can barely take care of its own people. I know, I shouldn't rag on Detroit and its financial problems, but I feel a sort of connection to the city now - more on that later.

Rewinding 2k8-2k9 Season: 39-43

For some odd reason, Joe Dumars thought practice wasn't important so he traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson.

It unfortunately did not answer much.

A.I. never really found his role on the Pistons, ended up becoming the 6th man, developed "back problems' at the end of the season and rarely played. The Pistons ended their season as the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference and had a quick 1st round exit to the Cavaliers.

Projecting 2k9-2k10 Season: 41-41

Q: What happens when you sign Ben Gordon for 5 years at $55 million and Charlie V. for 5 years at $35 million?

A: You don't win very much.

Don't get me wrong, Ben Gordon was huge in the Bulls-Celtics series. He's a great shooter and can turn on his Pistons (get it?) at any given point. Awesome offensive power and the man you want for that last minute three.

But that's about it. As Warriors fans, we know all about volume shooters (see: Jamal Crawford) and know the problems with running your team through that. $11 mil a year? That's a lot to dedicate to a one-dimensional player. Again, we know all about that as Warriors fans (see: Corey Maggette.)

As for Charlie Villanueva, as much as I love following him on Twitter, I don't like following his game on the court. He's got talent, but not enough to justify that new contract. He's basically another Al Harrington, so ask yourself, would you pay big Al $7 mil a year?

My review about Joe Dumars this offseason?

GO JOE?

NO JOE.

R Dizzle's Predictions

The Detroit Pistons end up 8th Place in the Eastern Conference
Get swept by the Cavaliers (again?!?)
Eric Gordon averages 25 points and 5 assists
Joe Dumars publicly admits trading Chauncey Billups was a mistake

For more on the Pistons check out Motown String Music.

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
New Orleans Hornets
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

How are the 2009-2010 Detroit Pistons going to do?

Bad Boy baby. Can't stop, won't stop.

90 votes

As we proceed, to give you what you need.

136 votes

226 votes | Poll has closed

Welcome to NBA free agency

Phoenix Stan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:03:22 -0000

With the NBA free agency about to kick off on July 1st, we can expect a lot of activity over the next few days as players opt out and teams exercise their options. Mostly though, we will see a lot of movement of some big name players and perhaps even more impactful will be which young up-and-comer signs where. There is rightly a lot of discussion about next year's free agent period dubbed "The Summer of LeBron" but don't go to sleep on who's available now.

Before we get into specific players and the Suns salary situation, lets first have a quick primer on some free agency basics.

Free agency period, salary cap, luxury tax and what not

On July 1st free agents become "free" and teams are allowed to begin negotiations with those players. July 1st in effect marks the official end to the previous season from a salary calculation standpoint and the rosters are in essence reset. Like a pumpkin at midnight, on July 1st those valuable "expiring contracts" official expire.

But before teams can actually spend money on new players the league has a moratorium on signings and conducts an audit to establishe the salary cap for the coming season. The salary cap is mandated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the teams and players and is designed to limit how much teams can spend. The salary cap is set at 51% of the total basketball related revenue from the NBA.

The audit that will be conducted over the next few days determines what the salary cap will be for the coming year. The cap is based on overall league revenues. If the league makes less money that translates to a lower salary cap and less money for players. A pretty smart system.

The salary cap determines how much money teams can pay free agents. If a team has $10m under the cap it can spend up to $10m to sign a free agent.

There are exceptions to the salary cap which allow teams to exceed the limit. Most of these exceptions like "Bird Rights" allow teams to exceed the cap to resign it's own free agents. The system is designed to encourage players to remain with the same team and limit player movement.

The other well known exception is the "Mid-level Exception" which allows a team to sign one or more players up to an amount equal to the average league salary. The MLE is expected to be about $5.6m this summer.

Between the MLE (which can be used on one player each year) and the various other exceptions you can see that teams quickly exceed the salary cap making it a so-called "soft cap". The Suns for example were $17m over the salary cap last season.

The other big impact of the salary cap is on trades. If two teams want to make a trade and both are over the salary cap then the salaries have to match salaries within 125%. If however, a team is under the salary cap it can use its cap space to receive the incoming player's salary and not have to send back and equivalent salary amount. This is a very important factor in trades and is why teams with cap space have a lot of leverage when it comes to making trades with teams wanting to cut payroll.

On July 8th, when the audit is complete and the salary cap is officially set teams can official begin signing free agents and can continue to sign them throughout the season.

The Luxury Tax is the next limit teams work within. The lux tax is established at essentially 61% of all basketball related income. Last season it was $71m and like the salary cap had grown about $3m every year since the 2005 CBA went into effect. This season both the salary cap and luxury tax are expected to stay about the same or perhaps decline as a result of the economy.

The luxury tax is calculated based on the total payroll a team has at the end of the season. This is important as a team that is over the tax and wanting to get under it has until the February trade deadline to shed payroll. The problem at that point is the only way to get under the tax for the current season is to make a deal with a team that has salary cap space.

When the Suns traded Kurt Thomas to the Seattle Supersonics to save $16m, Kerr had to "pay" the Sonic two first round picks to compensate the Sonics for using their cap space. If the Suns had held on to Thomas and traded him at the deadline as the Sonic did, they would not have saved the $16m as they would have had to receive contracts back. Again, this shows why teams that are under the cap have a lot of leverage and flexibility when it comes to making deals.

The luxury tax is paid dollar for dollar for any salary over the tax line meaning a team that is $4m over the tax line will pay $4m in tax. The tax gets distributed to non-tax paying teams making the process even more painful.

For more detailed CBA information see the Salary Cap FAQ

Where are the Suns now?

On July 1st the Suns will have 12 players under contract totaling about $73m in salary. That assumes they waive Pavlovic and are on the hook for only the $1.5m guaranteed portion of his full $4.5m contract. When you add in a $2m place holder for Grant Hill who is the Suns highest priority free agent and $800k for Taylor Griffin you are at 14 players at $76m which is projected to be about $4m over the tax line.

If the Suns hadn't made the trade with Cleveland they would be at $81m including Hill and Clark and assuming they wouldn't sign Griffin or any other players.

Ben Wallace has said that he's considering retirement. If he were to accept a buy out of $10m that would save the Suns $8m and put them in a sound financial position. If he were to be traded to the Hornets for Chandler's $12m salary the team would still save about $4m. As we said when the deal went down, Wallace's intentions are important to what the Suns do over the next few weeks. If he decides he wants to play next season the Suns have no option but to pay him the full $14m. Chances are good though that we will take a buy out and either retire or sign somewhere else for much less.

If the Suns don't do anything else other then sign Clark to the rookie scale and Griffin to a minimum contract and then lock up Grant Hill for about $2m then they will be paying $4m in tax. They've said they are fine with this.

What the Suns don't have (unlike numerous teams) is the room under either salary cap or the luxury tax to sign any of the free agents available. Using the MLE would cost the team over $10m in salary and tax and they are not going to do that.

Who's got money to spend?

Using $65m as the line between teams that can spend the MLE without going to far over the luxury tax, there are 14 teams that can be considered buyers in the upcoming free agency spending period. That doesn't mean all of those teams will use the MLE but they reasonably could. Those teams in order of highest payroll to lowest are:

Bulls, Rockets, Clippers, Warriors, Nets, 76ers, Trailblazers, Kings Timberwolves, Raptors, Hawks, Thunder, Pistons and Grizzlies. Those last three teams are all about $17m to $21m under the salary cap making them major players in this market.

That's not to say certain teams with deep pocketed owners won't go even further over the luxury tax to sign certain players. The Knicks who are already about $4m over the tax line are reportedly interested in signing Jason Kidd and the Lakers who are $5m over are going to have to decide how much more to spend on Odom and/or Ariza. The Mavericks with Cuban's checkbook are right at the luxury tax line and have the very movable contract of Jerry Stackhouse which should make them a player as well.

Who's available?

There are some big names out there to be had by those teams with money to spend. There are quite a few solid power forwards available and a couple of very good point guards. There are also some very interesting big names like Shawn Marion, Rasheed Wallace, Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. I can't wait to find out where those guys end up.

Stay tuned, the next few weeks are going to be interesting.

Here's a quick look at some of the bigger names. For the full list click here:

Centers

Rasheed Wallace
Mehmet Okur
Marcin Gortat
Chris Anderson
Zaza Pachulia
Rasho Nesterovic
Others include: Ryan Hollins, Johan Petro and Joel Anthony

Power Forwards

Carlos Boozer
Brandon Bass
Paul Milsap
Charlie Villanueva
David Lee
Lamar Odom
Glen Davis
Leon Powe
Marvin Williams
Chris Wilcox
Channing Frye
Others include: Rob Kurz, Joe Smith, Walter Herrmann, James Singleton, Hakim Warrick

Small Forwards

Linas Kleiza
Ron Artest
Trevor Ariza
Jamario Moon
Matt Barnes
Grant Hill
Shawn Marion
Hedo Turkoglu
Rashad McCants
Others include: Steve Novak, Stephen Graham, Gerald Green

Shooting Guards

Point Guards

Flip Murray
Stephon Marbury
Raymond Felton
Jason Kidd
Allen Iverson
Ramon Sessions
Nate Robinson
Andre Miller
Anthony Carter

The Shopping List

atthehive — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:03:53 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Ike Diogu is one of the 50 front court options NBA teams have this summer.

Browse more photos »

I took a look at our budget last post (1-2 million dollars to sign one player). Now, let's assess what people are going to cost.

I've tried to include every front court free agents (UFA and RFA) that I could find here, but if I missed any, let me know. Big thanks to this list from Depressed Fan and to ESPN player pages. Quick explanation of the table: Restricted refers to UFA/RFA status, competitors refers to projected number of teams that want the player, Salary projection is my estimation of the player's market value, and target refers to whether New Orleans can reasonably target the player (in parantheses is an explanation of why (expensive, etc)).

The full 50 player table after the jump.

Player	Restricted?	Last Salary	Competitors	Projection ($)	Target?
Rasheed Wallace	No	20.1M	3+	10-15	No ($)
Malik Rose	No	11.5M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Drew Gooden	No	3.0M	1-2	2-4	Yes ($)
Chris Wilcox	No	10.1M	1-2	2-5	Yes ($)
Stromile Swift	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes
Shawn Marion	No	20.1M	3+	12-18	No ($)
Ike Diogu	Yes	8.8M	0-1	2-4	Yes ($)
Lamar Odom	No	20.1M	3+	15-20	No ($)
Paul Millsap	Yes	1.6M	3+	unknown, but $$$	No ($)
Charlie Villanueva	Yes	10.3M	1-2	8-15	No ($)
Joe Smith	No	2.4M	1-2	2-4	Yes ($)
Shelden Williams	No	4.1M	0-1	Minimum	Yes
Maceo Baston	No	4.5M	0-1	1-2	Yes
Cedric Simmons	No	2.7M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Marcin Gortat	Yes	0.83M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Chris Andersen	No	0.83M	2-3	2-4	Yes (DEN)
Channing Frye	Yes	9.5M	0-1	2-4	No ($, sucks)
Hakim Warrick	Yes	6.4M	1-2	4-8	Yes ($)
David Lee	Yes	6.1M	3+	unknown, but $$$	No ($)
Steve Novak	No	1.0M	0-1	min-3	Yes
Donyell Marshall	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes (old)
Ryan Bowen	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes
Michael Ruffin	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes
Shavlik Randolph	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes
Leon Powe	Yes	0.83M	3+	Unknown, but $$	No ($)
Glen Davis	Yes	1.0M	2-3	3-7	Yes (BOS)
Raef LaFrentz	No	19.1M	0	Negative	No (sucks)
Rasho Nesterovic	No	12.6M	1-2	3-5	Yes ($)
Jason Collins	No	9.3M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Zaza Pachulia	No	8.0M	2-3	4-5	No ($)
Robert Swift	No	7.2M	0	Minimum	Yes
Aaron Gray	Yes	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes
Chris Mihm	No	5.0M	0-1	2-3	Yes
Saer Sene	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes
Jarron Collins	see Jason	4.1M	see Jason	see Jason	see Jason
DJ Mbenga	No	0.96M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Calvin Booth	No	2.7M	0	Minimum	No (sucks)
Melvin Ely	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes (sucks)
Ryan Hollins	No	0.83M	0-1	1-2	Yes
Lorenzen Wright	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes (old)
Adonal Foyle	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes (old)
Jamaal Magloire	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes (old)
Sean Marks	No	0.83M	0	Minimum	Yes (old)
Theo Ratliff	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes (old)
Johan Petro	Yes	5.9M	0-1	2-3	Yes
Jake Voskuhl	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	No (sucks)
Marvin Williams	Yes	14.1M	3+	10-15	No ($)
James Singleton	No	0.83M	0-1	Minimum	Yes (DAL)
Walter Herrmann	No	4.0M	0-1	2-4	Yes

So out of the 50 UFA/RFA big men of 2009, the Hornets can put 30 of them on their radar.

As you can see, there are a ton of guys out there. Not all of these guys (or even half these guys, I suspect) are going to find homes next season. Yes, there is a good deal of variance, but the supply is definitely greater than the demand.

There are four tiers the 30 players can be split into.

"Uh Oh, Everybody's Gone And/Or (Probably And) We're Broke."

Among the 30 potential signees, we can probably classify some of them as last gasp options due to suckage, old age, or some combination of the two. Of all the players I gave a 'yes' in the far right column, here are the ones I'd categorize as last resorts:

Steve Novak: The Hornets have gaping holes in their frontcourt, but specifically they need to target rebounders. When David West and Tyson Chandler hit the bench, Byron Scott won't appreciate a big man that spends 99.999% of his time between three point arcs. Novak's rebound rate is barely half of Hilton Armstrong's. Yeah. Consider this the last last resort.
Donyell Marshall- DMarsh is another three point specialist, but he's been a stellar defensive rebounder throughout his career. The issues clearly are that he's 36 years old, and he's nearing retirement. Toss in a recent comment about how he'd want to come in and mentor guys if he joined a new team (nothing on actually playing), and you don't have a great combination.
Michael Ruffin- He's undersized but a fantastic rebounder on offense and defense. The question with him is playing time. He only got 11 games last year, 46 the year before, and 30 before that. Nobody knows how he'd hold up over 82, especially now that he's on the wrong side of 30.
Ryan Bowen- Great hustle, but I don't think I need to elaborate much here.
Shavlik Randolph- Randolph only got in 89 games in his first 4 years in the league. But he's shown some serious potential on the boards. The risk is that if we pin our one rebounding hope on the 25 year old and he blows up, well, we won't be in great shape.
Robert Swift- Showed lots of potential, once upon a time. He's the madly tattooed, infinitely riskier Shavlik Randolph.
Saer Sene- 47 games in three years. He'll be mad cheap, but he's 7'0" and weighs 220 pounds. You tell me how that's gonna end up.
Melvin Ely- Yeah.
Ryan Hollins- I rank Hollins somewhere between Last Resorts and the next category. He's a great shot blocker with good timing, and while he isn't the most impressive defensive boarder, his offensive figures are nice. He brings great energy to both sides of the floor. With Eric Dampier rumored to be on his way out of Dallas, I wonder how much the Mavs will spend to keep him. My feeling is they like him a good bit... and Hollins is only worth it if he comes cheap.
Lorenzen Wright- With age, his offensive boarding figures have slipped badly. And last year, not one, not two, but three teams (ATL, SAC, CLE) tossed him in the their respective trash cans. He brings size (6'11), if not bulk (225), and he has a career full of good defensive rebounding. One of the better Last Resort picks, though it wouldn't be a flashy signing at all.
Adonal Foyle- And if you thought Lorenzen was the antithesis of all things stylish, well, apparently, you've never seen this guy. Most famous for clanging an open 7 footer off the side of the backboard, Foyle's actually a decent option. The problem here is that he spent most of last year injured. Not sure the Hornets are willing to gamble on a 34 year old's health.
Sean Marks- I think Marks is a last resort, not because of his play necessarily, but because it wouldn't go over well with the fans. Most Hornets' supporters are looking for a front court overhaul. The truth is, Marks' 9/18/13.5 rebounding split from last year wasn't shabby at all. An understatedly decent last resort option
Theo Ratliff- Ratliff hasn't been discussed in a basketball context ever since he legally changed his name to The Expiring Contract of Theo Ratliff some time in 2004. Though the dude is older than my pet rock, he provided Philadelphia some boards and some blocks last year. Overall, he's way too old to be considered a good signing.
Johan Petro- I'd rank the Denver center higher (his rebounding numbers are terrific) but he seemingly never plays, and he is straight up horrible at basketball. A center with a 43% true shooting percentage? Unbelievably atrocious.
Stromile Swift- From 2000-2008, SS was a serviceable player. Great rebounder, good shot blocker, coudl even put the ball in the bucket unassisted, once a month. Suddenly everybody forgot about him, and he played nineteen of the most anonymous games in NBA history with NJN and PHO last season. One of those guys where if he goes to the Knicks, everyone will rag on them for getting another overpaid bust, and if he goes to the Spurs, everyone will praise them for getting another underpaid overachiever. If he goes to New Orleans? Who knows.
Walter Herrmann- Imagine Hilton Armstrong with range. (If you can actually do this, I have just one question: are you on drugs?)

"Yeah If We Got Him, Sweet... But We're Not Getting Him"

Glen Davis- Boston is going to keep him. Danny Ainge will re-sign him. Kevin Garnett will continue to make him cry. I don't see many ways around this. Plus, his rebounding is mediocre, his offensive abilities are vastly overrated on the strength of one or two jumpers he made in the playoffs, and he really isn't that great at anything else. So "If we got him, sweet" would probably not be an accurate description of Glen Davis, now that I think about it.
Joe Beast- aka Joe Smith to those unacquainted with his hip hop skills. Smith is kind of like Davis in that his team is probably going to keep him (I can't see Cleveland performing a single action that does not directly contribute towards the appeasement of the Great One). Smith is also kind of not like Davis in that he's actually good at basketball.
Antonio McDyess- Dice is likely out of the Pistons' price range this summer, though they have said they want to keep him. He made 6 million+ last year. I know there's always the chance he takes a pay cut to join a contender... but who really considers the Hornets a contender now any way?
Chris Andersen- The league leader in block rate will be getting some sort of financial upgrade, and probably one from Denver. If not, there will be plenty of teams just salivating at the thought of overpaying the 31 year old.
Hakim Warrick- Warrick is another guy in line for an upgrade on his 1.5 million a year salary. He's not the most efficient scorer, but I'd say he's the most underrated foul drawer in the entire league (6.6 FTA/36, which would be 0.3 more than Chris Paul, without the aid of superstar calls). He's a decent rebounder too. If Memphis doesn't realize what they have on their hands, plenty of others will do the realizing for them.
Marcin Gortat- If recent rumors are to be believed, the Magic are in hot pursuit of Rasheed Wallace and/or Brandon Bass. It sure sounds like they're gearing up to lose their backup power forward. The Gortat situation is a tricky one to read. On the one hand, he made under a million dollars last year. On the other hand, he had a great postseason and pretty much the entire NBA now knows about him. Positives: beastly rebounder, very efficient scorer, brings terrific energy. Downside: fouls a lot, but who really cares. But all this misses a crucial point- several teams have already reportedly discussed offering Gortat a large part of their midlevel exceptions (five million plus).

"Maybe They'll Forgive Us For Not Taking Blair Now"

Radoslav Nesterovic- aka Rasho to those unacquainted with Slovenian. Nesterovic is one of the few 30+ options I wouldn't mind. He has size (7'), bulk (250), and the career rebounding split (10/17/13) to warrant a serious look. The biggest issue would be salary. He made 7 million+ last year alone, and he hasn't earned below 2.5 mil since 2002-2003. If he agreed to take a pay cut with us, that'd be terrific.
Aaron Gray- It's universally agreed that Aaron Gray sucks, but he could help us out big time in the rebounding department. With a 14/22/18 split last year, he would bring rebounding figures that very few free agent bigs could match. He should be dirt cheap (making less than half a million last year on a second rounder contract). With a lot of teams looking at the flashier names, we're likely to receive less competition to sign him. And of course, the kicker is that he's a big from the University of Pittsburgh, something a lot of people seemed to want around these parts.
Shelden Williams- I've always loved Williams. Seemingly not in possession of a neck, he'd be the perfect complement to Hilton "The Ostrich" Armstrong. He posted super awesome terrific rebounding figures with ATL his rookie year before they moved him to Sacramento. He finished last year in Minnesota. He seems universally unwanted, but he'd be a tremendous bargain for the Hornets.
Maceo Baston- Baston's first salary was 20,000 with the Chicago Bulls in 1999. So I'm thinking he might be down to make a couple million with us next year. Last year with Toronto, he posted an 11/15/13 rebounding split in 27 games. He draws fouls at a decent rate and has a nice offensive game. He can also block a few shots here and there. The biggest problem is his size- 6'9" and 215 pounds; I don't know how long he can hold up.
Chris Mihm- Mihm has posted very, very nice rebounding numbers throughout his career. (a career 11/19/14 split). I thought we'd seen the last of him after his sparring session with D.J. Mbenga, but who knows. Could be an attractive option, given the lack of competition and low price.
Jamaal Magloire- 14/24/19 rebounding split last year. That's all you gotta know about the Big Cat. He will rebound the hell out of that ball.
James Singleton- Thanks to reader Scott for e-mailing to me about Singleton. Personally, this would be one of my favorite signings if it happened. Singleton, who broke into the League as a swingman, has seriously bulked up in recent years. He posted a 12/21/16 rebounding split with Dallas last year, terrific numbers for any player, let alone one making the minimum. He was also very efficient at putting the ball in the bucket (the most efficient out of any of the 30 on this list). Want more? He didn't turn the ball over, and Dallas put a fair bit of responsibility on him when he was in the game. And, oh yeah, he has three point range. Unfortunately, it appears we have compeition. Both my Dallas contacts confirmed that the Mavs have definite interest in bringing him back next season, and Singleton seems to like his situation there too. Don't know if it will happen, but Singleton would be an amazing, cheap add.

"The Heavens Have Smiled Upon Us"

Chris Wilcox- Wilcox parlayed a terrific contract year with the Clips into an overpaid two year stint with the SuperThunder. This summer, he's likely to return to his rightful tax bracket, and if so, the Hornets stand to benefit. At a career 9/20/14 rebounding split, Melvin Ely's twin would make Melvin himself a distant memory. Wilcox can also jump out the gym, so Chris Paul could still have an alley-oop partner when he's on the floor with the bench and Tyson's off. Wilcox's defense has been questioned repeatedly... but dude's trying to make the New Orleans Hornets' bench, not the All Defense team. I'd take him in a heartbeat, providing he agrees to slash his salary to the 2 million range.
Ike Diogu- Enter Mr. Diogu. I like Ike, and you should too. He never really got a chance with the GSW, or the IND, or the POR. Finally, he got some minutes with SAC last year, and they were predictably glorious. In the last two games, he dropped 32 on Denver, and 28 on Minnesota (oh, what's that you say about Denver resting its starters and Al Jefferson being injured? I can't really hear you, you're going to have to speak louder). He can rebound, and he draws fouls like a maniac. While he's kind of foul-prone, he doesn't turn the ball over. The kicker? His full name is Ikechukwa Somotochukwa Diogu. Pau Gasol is already recoiling in fear.
Drew Gooden- For a while there, it appeared Gooden's basketball ability had taken a back seat to him cultivating that ridiculous beard. But now all is well. Ever since he left the company of the Great Shining Internationally Renowned Supreme Basketball Talent, Gooden's been looking on the up and up. Rebounding last year? Try 10.4/22.6/16.6. 52.6% true shooting. 11.7% turnovers. 4.0 FTA/36 minutes. The one flaw is that he's lost all ability to put the ball in the bucket from the floor... but I can excuse that. Another downside: Signing the 27 year old Gooden would probably cement Jeff Bower's place as the Greatest GM in the History of Western Civilization.

So there you have it.

50 options -> 30 reasonable options -> 25 actually reasonable options -> 9 actually reasonable and good options -> 3 actually reasonable and very good options. Happy shopping.

Morning Shootaround: Iffy Praise, Hope, Heart, and Three Good Reasons to Watch Game Four

Packey — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:30:09 -0000

Ball Don't Lie gives the Pistons "iffy praise" for the way they battled the Cavaliers in Game Three. I think that's a pretty good way to describe it.

I posted this before Game Three, but Chris Broussard's ESPN piece deserves a second look/recognition. He thinks the Pistons are down, but not for long. I happen to share his hopefulness.

A Shelby Junior HIgh School helped out a great cause, the Detroit Pistons Feed the Children telethon, by raising $1,175. The teacher at the Junior High School used a creative method for the class to have some fun while raising the money: an "Apprentice" style challenge. I know a lot of people wish they were Donald Trump and could tell Michael Curry, "You're fired," these days.

This fall for the Pistons is "killing" Richard Hamilton. And as if being down 3-0 after a miserable season and seeing Chauncey Billups doing so well for the Nuggets in the playoffs weren't enough; even Lebron James had to make mention of the fact that we're without Billups.

Detroit4lyfe wants to know why the Palace makes it a custom to offer playoff rivals tickets to a Pistons home game and asks them and fans to show some heart. I understand it's been going on since the early '80s, but there's no excuse for a Detroit home playoff game to not be sold out. I don't care if it's 2-0, 3-0 or there's a huge rain/snow storm. Pistons fans, and Detroit in general, didn't get tabbed as having some of the better fans in all of sports by not selling out playoff games.

John Davis of Pistonscast has an interesting video of the "real" Coach Curry and the "real" strategy on how to beat Lebron James. If only this strategy had surfaced sooner!

Let's try to get a little game thread action going for Game Four. They have been weak thus far, so let's not emulate the fans who are deciding to opt out of traveling to the Palace for games. Join me tomorrow and we'll talk about the game, the upcoming draft, and hopefully about a potential trip back to the Q.

Are you asking yourself why you should watch Game Four? Pistons Nation has three pretty good reasons.

For as tired as Rasheed Wallace's act has been this season, he was an instrumental part of this team for years and one of the main reasons, if not the reason, we won the championship in 2004. This may very well be his final game as a Detroit Piston and I think we owe it to him to chant "Sheed!" one last time whenever he touches the ball. I hope this isn't, though.

As always, if you have any tips, links, or general inquiries please feel free to email me. Now hit the showers and get ready for Game Four. Don't bring your brooms, I don't want to do any cleaning today!

Roundtable Discussion on the Detroit Pistons

Packey — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:36:07 -0000

Dan Feldman of Piston Powered got seven esteemed Pistons writers and I to join him for a Detroit Pistons roundtable discussion about our boys in red, blue, and white.

Here is the list of the panel's participants and the respective links to their sites where you can find more, solid Pistons analysis:

Chris McCosky, Detroit News
Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press
Greg Johnson, The Grand Rapids Press
Dave Dial, Full Court Press
Matt Watson, Detroit Bad Boys
Zack Slabotsky, Count That Baby And A Foul
Brian Packey, Motown String Music
Jesse Murphy, Pistons Nation
Dan Feldman, Piston Powered

Dan did a phenomenal job gathering everyone's responses in a timely fashion and putting this together. He asked us all the same five questions and then followed those up with a specific question for each individual. Overall, I think this turned out really great.

(Disclaimer: There are a few answers that were given before the playoffs started and/or before the Pistons knew who they would be playing in Round One.)

For just my (somewhat edited) responses, you can continue reading this post.

1. How far do you see the Pistons going this year (some answers came before the playoff seeding was set)?

Everyone has been saying, "it’s not a matter of how far do you think the Pistons will go, it’s a matter of how many games do you think they will squeeze out in round one, if any." I think that’s fair given they play Lebron/Cleveland, the No. 1 seed who have lost just two games at home all season.

People knock the Pistons because of their record, yet I see this team as predominantly the same that helped lead them to six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals sans Chauncey (granted a big part).

Now, if I was a betting man, I probably wouldn’t put anything on them making it past Cleveland, but then again, I would never bet against my own team either. That being said, if the Pistons play the type of basketball they played the five games before Miami (minus the final six minutes of the Bulls game), I think they are more than capable of making this a very competitive series.

Unfortunately, Cleveland is still 39-1 at home this season with their normal starters in the lineup and the glory of having home court advantage is they get to play one more game there in a seven game series. I might get slapped in the face for this somewhat bold call, but Cavs in SEVEN.

2. How well do you think the Pistons handled the Allen Iverson situation? What’s his future in the league?

I think the Pistons handled the A.I. situation about as well as they possibly could. There were only a few instances where Iverson publicly complained about his role on the team and it reached newspaper headlines. And, if you recall, the Pistons squashed those rather quickly.

All along I predicted that the back injury to Iverson was a Detroit Lions/Jon Kitna-like cover up and while we may not know the real truth, I think the Pistons took advantage of an opportunity to let Iverson back into the shadows with some dignity and in turn, let the Pistons move on without him.

The trade was a high risk/high reward type deal (in addition to the money it’ll free up) and obviously, the high risk part shined through.

As for Iverson’s future, I definitely don’t think he’s done. If he’s in fact healthy some team is definitely going to want him. He just didn’t fit in with Detroit’s style. Him signing elsewhere depends on the market for him. I think A.I. is going to have to compromise again with a new team, where he might have to agree to sign for less if the team gives him more minutes. Or possibly even vice versa if the team can afford it.

3. What do you see as Michael Curry’s future with the team?

There have been so many grumblings about Michael Curry’s ineptness as head coach and people crying out that he should be gone for someone like Avery Johnson this off-season. With all due respect, I couldn’t disagree more with those people.

This is Curry’s first year on the job and he was thrown into a terribly awkward situation two games into his first season when Joe Dumars traded his star team-player point guard away for A.I.-guy, “the answer.” Curry, for the talent he had, managed to play a full career as an NBA journeyman, he was president of the NBA’s Player Association, and served as Vice President in the NBDL. This tells you he’s managed to hold important leadership positions before. In addition, throughout those years, Curry has been known as incredibly hard working and a people’s person.

What makes you think, given his history of hard work and dedication to succeed and this season’s circumstances, he should be gone after just one year? I think it would be highly unfair and I think there’s a better chance of Allen Iverson suiting up in the playoffs (zero) than Curry getting fired after this year.

4. If you were Detroit’s coach, how would you adjust the rotation?

If I were Detroit’s coach, I would play Walter Herrman 30 minutes a game merely because I think he’s fun to watch.

Seriously, the rotation is tough to analyze as it often depends on the opponent. That’s probably a cop out, but it’s true too. I wouldn’t mess with the rotation we had during our latest three-game winning streak. I think Will Bynum and Aaron Afflalo get just enough minutes to the point where they are maximized. Jason Maxiell should see 15-20 minutes a night with Kwame Brown seeing maybe 20+.

Against the Cavs in the first round, I think it’ll be important to rotate accordingly with the Cavs. Timing up the rests coach gives the players will be underrated keys to winning games. I also think the Pistons are going to have to rotate often as I have a feeling it’s going to be a very physical series, with a lots of fouls.

5. What’s a realistic off-season plan for the Pistons?

They will have to make a decision with Sheed (which I think will be "see ya") and decide if they want to spend their money this summer or wait for the bigger names in 2010. I think they will probably start by trying to improve with the draft and depending on who falls to them at 15, that will impact the rest of their summer spending.

Someone brought up an interesting trade idea, too. Rip for Bosh this off season and then lock up Bosh long term before he’s a free agent after next season. I don’t know how feasible that is, or if Toronto would ever do that, but I was intrigued by the idea of it.

As the newest Pistons blog around, what do you want to offer that isn’t available anywhere else?

First and foremost, I’m no different than any other one of the Detroit Pistons blogs in that I want to be able to offer up-to-date news and analysis on what’s happening with our Detroit Pistons. That being said, every blog has their own style, set up, or voice in their writing and I just hope I can provide a little more pizzazz.

Also, SB Nation is great in that it allows fans to get directly involved with the blog through comments, FanPosts, and FanShots. I’d like Motown String Music to be the blog where every fan can feel comfortable going to on a daily basis to post their thoughts, link to relevant material, and be heard by the rest of the Pistons fan base. In the end, I’d like it to be more of an interactive Pistons community rather than just a blog.

Pistons End Regular Season with OT Loss to Heat

Packey — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:07:04 -0000

More photos » by Wilfredo Lee - AP

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This game, the last of the regular season, felt about as meaningful as the last game of the pre-season. With both teams having clinched their playoff spot and seed, nearly every starter sat tonight to rest for the playoffs, which will start either Saturday or Sunday (schedules will be released sometime around 2 AM EST tonight).

Tayshaun Prince started and played 9 minutes to run his consecutive games streak to 494, which spans over six seasons. Every Pistons fan was probably surprised to see Rasheed Wallace starting after it was originally announced he would be amongst the starters not going to see action tonight. Instead, he played nine minutes and knocked down the only shot he took, a three pointer.

Unfortunately, the Pistons couldn't capture whatever little momentum this game would have provided for the playoffs as Chris Quinn, a third-year guy out of Notre Dame, had a career game for the Miami Heat. He shot 9-13 and scored 26 points carrying his team late in the game en route to their 102-96 OT win.

Six Pistons scored in double-figures including double doubles from Kwame Brown (17 pts, 13 reb) and Jason Maxiell (16 pts, 10 reb). The Piston player I was most excited about seeing play added minutes, Walter Herrmann struggled (4-13), but finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds in 37 minutes. The last time Herrmann saw minutes like that was when he was a rookie and averaged just under 20 PPG in 38 minutes per game during the month of April. Lastly, it was not good to see Will Bynum have another down game, despite the fact he finished with 16 points.

The Pistons will have to deal with a three-game losing streak heading into their series with the Cavaliers and hope they can flip the swagger switch again.

One positive the Pistons can take from tonight doesn't even come from their own game. If they look at the NBA scoreboard, they'll notice that the Cavs lost their second home game of the season tonight. I realize they weren't playing any starters and some of their bench guys went off while Philadelphia was playing their regular lineup. I'm probably grasping at straws here, but let's hope that one-game home losing streak carries over to the playoffs. Maybe, just maybe, the Pistons can add to that total this weekend. In the meantime, let's get ready for the ball, Cinderella.

Hawks beat Heat in meaningless game number 1; Miami finishes regular season at home tonight against Detroit in meaningless game number 2

DolPhanDave — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:25:48 -0000

It was nice to see the effort from some of our ‘less used’ players, but other then Michael Beasley there wasn’t a lot to be excited about during last night’s game. I’m not saying that some of our guys didn’t play well, but this game saw the Heat playing without four of their regular starters. C’mon now…we had enough trouble winning on the road this year with ALL of our starters, how we gonna do it with only one?

Beasley was great from the opening tip, and while the Heat were in the midst of an opening quarter shooting slump, B-Easy took the team on his shoulders and single handedly kept the team close enough to the Hawks early on that the Heat were able to take a slim lead after the 1st quarter. He would finish with his 3rd straight double double (23 and 13) and hit another three.

I realize that the Heat losing by 2 points can be disheartening, but look at the personnel that Miami went with in the final minutes. When Mark Blount and Dorell Wright are on the floor during crunch time, you can’t think that Heat coaches were overly concerned with the outcome of tonight’s game.

Overall, there isn’t a whole lot we can get from these final two games that can be considered a ‘warm-up’ for the playoffs. I don’t expect that we’ll be seeing any kind of extended minutes out of guys like Chris Quinn, Dorell Wright and Joel Anthony, who all played over 24 minutes in Atlanta and will likely see similar playing time tonight against Detroit.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

While Daequan Cook was having an ‘off’ night (to put it mildly) it appeared to be nothing more then just that…with his sore shoulder not appearing to be much of a problem anymore.

Chris Quinn on the other hand was gross last night…and not in a good way. How does our ‘offensive bench point guard’ who only comes in the game to drill jumpers and really nothing else, go 0-for-9 from the field and 0-for-4 from beyond? I’ve never seen that poor a shooting game from Quinny.

After limping off the court early in the game, Mario Chalmers returned and promptly hit a couple trays. He is expected to get the start again tonight and become the first Heat rookie to start all 82 games, no easy feat for a rook.

Dorell Wright had a pretty solid game and showed a couple glimpses of the player the Heat may have expected when using a 1st round pick on him, but after tonight against Detroit we wont be seeing Wright do anything but watching the Heat during their (hopefully long) playoff run.

Did anyone notice that Diawara was on the floor for over 30 minutes? No? Didn’t think so.

James Jones had an O.K. game, but its still very frustrating that he is only a shadow of the guy we have grown accustomed to drilling three-pointers and playing pretty solid D. While the D is pretty much where it should be, his offense is nothing compared to years past.

TONIGHTS GAME

A meaningless game for both teams as they are cemented into their respective playoff seeds. Expect more of the same out of Miami tonight, and I’m sure you’ll see players on the floor for Detroit that you haven’t heard much of. That means get ready for a healthy dose of Walter Hermann, Amir Johnson, and maybe even Walter Sharpe (who?).

Morning Shootaround: Dangerous Playoff Team Clinches, Herrmann's Top Play, & Sharing a Straight Jacket with Britney

Packey — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:30:09 -0000

This will hopefully be a morning regular (at least on game days), which will allow you to read up on other Detroit Pistons stories. It's like a team's morning shootaround in that it's somewhat informal, brief, and gets you prepped for the game.

The Pistons won their third game in a row, clinching their eighth straight playoff spot Friday night against the Nets. Keith Langlois of True Blue Pistons thinks the that with the way the Pistons have hit their stride recently, it suddenly makes the playoffs seem very intriguing.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Head coach Michael Curry revealed after the Pistons victory on Friday night that he would be sticking with the same nine or ten man rotation during the playoffs He also expressed sentiment regarding the Billups/Iverson trade that led to such a problematic November. Coach Curry thinks the biggest problem during that stretch was not having Antonio McDyess.

In a recent post, I said that I had never seen such a thorough tongue-lashing before I saw Jason Whitlock's FOX Sports News article that berated Allen Iverson. Well, I went a full 16 hours before witnessing its match: a response to that very piece. The Hoop Doctors' have a physician on staff named Dr. Anklesnap who strategically picked apart Whitlock's brain, or as Dr. Anklesnap would rebut, lack thereof. Speaking of rebutting, Dr. Anklesnap has an entertaining exchange with a commenter following the article.

Walter Herrmann made Sportscenter's Top Ten plays last night...from the bench. While sitting in a chair on the sidelines talking with someone, Herrmann playfully flipped up a reverse-underhand finger roll and it went in, nothing but net. I'm not entirely surprised given Herrmann's past in making ridiculous shots, which probably explains why a camera was zoomed in on him talking to someone during pre-game warmups as opposed to being on someone else or more reasonably, off.

John Davis over at Pistonscast is creating his list of "Most Important Pistons Players: Post All-Star Break." 13-8 are posted right now with 7-1 to follow sometime next week. Any guesses as to where Will Bynum might fall? If you would have told me before the season, or even before the all-star break, that Will Bynum was going to be a top 7 or top 5 important Pistons player post All-Star break, I would have told you you're fit for sharing a straight jacket with Britney Spears. I would have been very wrong. I'm proud of Bynum.

If you feel I need to link your work or I'm overlooking some relevant links, please feel free to contribute in the "tip drill" either by commenting, posting a Fanshot, or emailing me. Remember, I'm still a n00b at this.

Pistons Flip the 'Swagger' Switch

Packey — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:04:05 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

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The other day, Rasheed Wallace said the Pistons' "swagger will come with the playoffs." Well, it looked like it came Wednesday night at the Garden.

With just five games remaining before the playoffs begin, 'Sheed and the rest of the Pistons seemed to be bouncing around with a little extra pep in their step. According to the MLive write up, the pre-game routine of layup drills and jump shots turned into an NBA Jam slam dunk contest. Apparently 'Sheed's pre-game dance incorporated a little more Michael Jackson-ness than usual, too.

They carried that swagger into the game, by starting on a 10-0 run and never looking back. In the 113-86 victory, The Knicks were never within eight points, save the first couple minutes.

All five Piston starters scored in double figures, in addition to ten from reserve, Walter Herrmann. Richard "Rip" Hamilton paced the Pistons' scorers with 22 points. Antonio McDyess (13 points & 16 rebounds) and Wallace each had double-doubles. It was McDyess' team-leading 15th double-double. The Pistons shot 54% from the field and held the Knicks to just 36% shooting.

With the win, the Pistons increased the distance between them and the Charlotte Bobcats for the No. 8 spot to three games ('Stones are actually tied with the Chicago Bulls for the No. 7 spot, but the Bulls hold the tiebreaker for now).

This win, albeit against a team playing for a better draft pick rather than the playoffs, was big for the Pistons and fans alike. A lot of the media/fans have been down on the team, and deservedly so, but a strong finish could create a strong (not false) sense of hope heading into the playoffs.

It started yesterday for the Pistons, with 'Sheed's comments:

We’re still trying to win that championship, even though most people don’t think that we can. But we still believe that we can.

...And I think our swagger will come with the playoffs. We have a lot of veterans on here who we’ve all went deep into the playoffs for the last so-and-so years. So I think we’ll definitely get our swagger back once we get that rolling and get into the playoffs; that whole playoff atmosphere, playoff mystique then — we’re good.

These comments may have raised some eyebrows as they could have come off to some as more him excusing the Pistons for the way they've played this season, rather than as hope or inspiration geared toward their playoff run. The Free Press' Jamie Samuelsen viewed the quotes in the former light:

So Rasheed is basically saying, "Yeah, we really didn’t try too much during those first 82 games. But in the last four, we’re going to give it our all." Reassuring words — especially in this economy.

I guess if you're someone who links everything back to our nation's less than desirable economy, no matter how irrelevant it may be, I can see how you might view 'Sheed's comments with a little cynicism.

That's not the main point, though. The gist of Mr. Samuelsen's article is that the Pistons need more action and less talk, as the title reveals.

It’s just words. And the Pistons have kind of become that this year — a lot of talk. Allen Iverson told us that he’d do anything to help the team win. That lasted about two games. Michael Curry told us that he was going to use the bench as a tool to motivate players.

... And now words from Rasheed, who doesn’t have the game or the health left to back them up.

While I definitely agree that what Iverson said in the past could create some skepticism now, I (and I guess I could be alone on this) completely disagree with the crux of the piece:

So I’ll bet Pistons’ fans read Rasheed’s comments without relief, surprise or alarm. I bet they just read them and then went on to the next article. They’re just words. Words no right-minded Pistons fan expects to come to fruition.

Personally, 'Sheed's comments pumped me up like an old pair of Reebok's. Throughout this season, I don't recall any of the Pistons being aggressively confident. All year, the Pistons have essentially said, "we should be better," "we need to be better," or "we could be better." Well, 'Sheed broke that pattern and declared that the Pistons can and will.

"For the last few (years), everyone said, ‘Oh, oh, Pistons, Pistons, Pistons,’" Wallace said in a mock plaintive tone. "But even then, honestly, for the last few they counted us out. They never said we won’t be there and this and that, but we’ve always been there. So now we definitely have to prove to it, that we will be there"

That quote has to feel good to, at the very least, those fans who always see the glass half full. Now, I agree that you have to back up what you say, as Mr. Samuelsen's article suggests. But I loved what 'Sheed said yesterday, as he got the blood flowing a little bit. Then he and the Pistons backed that up tonight. Hopefully they keep it going and roll into the playoffs, as they could be a very dangerous No. 7 or No. 8 seed.

Heat @ Pistons GAMEDAY

DolPhanDave — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:24:18 -0000

If ever there was a time for a big win, this is it. The Heat will take their 3-game losing streak into Detroit, and will one again face a team dealing with major injury problems. The Pistons have been without Allen Iverson for a few weeks, but will also be missing Rasheed Wallace who is suffering from a calf injury and probably Rip Hamilton who is nursing a sore groin. Rodney Stuckey, who missed the Pistons last game suffering from a bad cold, but will likely be back in the lineup today against Miami.

The Pistons haven’t been playing to well lately, having lost 5 of 7 before winning their last game against the Clippers. Injuries haven’t helped…but it’s given the opportunity for guys like Antonio McDyess to lead the scoring parade and Walter Hermann to drill the clutch 3’s he’s always said he could hit.

Meanwhile, the Heat have lost 3 straight, all on the road. In fact, they have been downright disturbing on the road of late, dropping 9 of their last 11 away from the AAA. It doesn’t get any easier, with today being the first game in a 4 game in 5-night stretch, 3 of which are on the road.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Kwame Brown filled in very well for Rasheed Wallace against the Clips, dropping in 14 points and grabbing 4 boards in 27 minutes. He’ll provide a worthy adversary for Jermaine O’Neal; both will be looking to establish a low post presence and dominate the other. Should be fun.

Daequan Cook is dying to break out of his slump, and one positive thing he can think about is his performance the last time these teams met. Cook shot 6-for-11 for 16 points, including 4-of-8 from beyond.

Maybe it’ll take a ‘big game’ (typically Heat-Pistons game on National T.V. are big) to get D-Wade back to his 40ppg status.

If you are thinking that Michael Beasley will get more minutes since he’s been playing so well lately, prepare for disappointment. Coach Spo has been clear in saying that offense is not the problem with this team. So expect the defensive minded coach to keep Udonis Haslem above the depth chart over Beasley.

IN THE STANDINGS

4th	Atlanta	41-29	--
5th	Miami	36-32	-4.0
6th	Philadelphia	34-33	-5.5
7th	Detroit	34-34	-6.0

The Hawks lost in Cleveland, so everyone picked up a half game. Tomorrow the Sixers are in Sacramento, who have lost 3 of 4 at home and 5 of 6 overall.