Ben Gordon: “I Don’t Have Any Bad Feelings Towards Chicago”
Jorge Sierra HoopsHype

"There’s not much buzz about the Pistons despite having you and Charlie Villanueva on board now. How do you feel about that?

BG: It’s very clear that the position in which Detroit now is a rebuilding stage. If you look at the team all the way back to 2004, when they won the championship, every year since the team has been competitive. Last season, they took a dip. Joe Dumars realized there were some changes that needed to be made. He kept some of the guys of the team that helped win the championship, but all the while it was time to get some new blood and get ready for another run. It’s only right and natural that we’re under the radar right now cause we’ve got to prove ourselves and establish ourselves. It’s not going to happen in one year, like I said. This is something that we’re trying to build over the next few years.

Do you expect your role to be similar to the one you had in Chicago? Got any idea if you’re going to start or come off the bench?

BG: A lot of that comes from the coach. I learned that early. It’s going to be the coach’s decision at the end of the day. I’ve been on teams where I led the team on scoring, but I was coming off the bench. I’ve been on teams where I started. It’s just whatever makes the team better and the coach feels is more helpful for the team. In Detroit, what I’m expecting is to show my overall game a little bit more. Not just be somebody who can score, but also one who can make plays for his teammates and make them better. That’s something I’m looking forward to.

There are many people who feel that you are just a shooter or just a scorer. Does that bother you?

BG: It doesn’t really matter to me. Everybody’s got a role on the team. There are guys out there whose role is to rebound, others whose role is to score points… That doesn’t mean they can’t do other things, but that’s their role on the team and that’s what the team needs them to do to be successful. What I pride myself on as a player is my preparation. Making sure that I do the right things to be in a position to do what’s necessary for the team. I can definitely do a lot more than what I put on display with the Bulls. I’m looking forward to those new opportunities and at the same time become a better overall player."

HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs - Jorge Sierra » Ben Gordon: “I don’t have any bad feelings towards Chicago”




Headlines To Watch: Central Division
My Blog

"It\’s hard to believe now, but once upon a time the Central Division was a powerhouse. As recent as 2006 it sent all five of its teams to the playoffs, and in 2007 it featured the top three records in the East. But last year? Only two made it to the postseason, including the disappointing Cavs, who followed up their NBA Finals appearance by winning five fewer games than the season before and failing to score as many points as they gave up.

Can the Central regain its luster in 2008-09? Well, the Pistons are still the Pistons, which means their ticket to the postseason is already punched, and the Cavs are tagging along for the ride so long as LeBron James is around. The Bulls, Pacers and Bucks will still bring up the rear, but at least there\’s honest-to-goodness hope they\’re headed in the right direction after making a series of offseason moves. Let\’s take a look at the most compelling storylines.

In Detroit, the fans want to know, What does Joe Dumars have up his sleeve? After firing Flip Saunders and putting his entire team on the block, Dumars proceeded to sit on his hands all summer long. Okay, that\’s not entirely true — he worked the phones hard but in the end couldn\’t find a partner to give him equal value for his starters.
But while Michael Curry may have inherited 95% of the roster that lost to the Celtics, that\’s not to say the roster will look the same come playoff time. Consider this: Rasheed Wallace will be a free agent next summer and Rip Hamilton is expected to opt-out. All together, that\’s roughly $24 million of All-Star-caliber expiring contracts.

Should Dumars get the sense either player will walk, or if he thinks his team is simply \”good enough\” and not \”great,\” he could deal one or both at the deadline for another elite player. Rasheed\’s Detroit career began by being involved in a blockbuster at the deadline that put the Pistons over the hump; who\’s to say it won\’t end that way?

Detroit may not be the only buyer at the trade deadline. The Cavs pulled off a massive three-team, 11-player swap at last year, and they might be just as active this time around. Danny Ferry has $20 million of expiring contracts in Wally Szczerbiak and Eric Snow to throw around, and it\’s not completely unreasonable to think he can fetch an All-Star caliber talent in return. If that happens, and if Mo Williams adjusts to his role as LBJ\’s sidekick, The Cavs might finally catch Detroit."

Headlines to Watch: Central Division « My Blog




Playoffs to Lottery: The Three Teams
Basketball News Blog

"16 teams go to a NBA Playoffs any year. The alternative fourteen go in to a lottery anticipating to get propitious with a ping pong balls.
Last year, a Heat, a Bulls, as well as a Blazers transposed a Raptors, a Nets, as well as a Warriors in a playoffs from a prior season.
This year, 3 2008-09 playoffs teams will lapse to a lottery in hopes of nabbing John Wall, or Ed Davis, or whoever ends up as a tip collect in subsequent year’s draft, whilst 3 lottery teams rouse their games to a post-season level.

OUT: Detroit Pistons

A projected front line of Kwame Brown as well as Charlie Villanueva is laughable.

It was a great run for a Pistons as well as enclosed an NBA Championship, yet a playoff strain ends this season.

Trading Billups for Iverson was a disaster, yet what’s finished is finished as well as a rebuilding has begun. But only since we outlay vast amounts of cash, doesn’t meant we softened your team.

The Ben Gordon as well as Villanueva signings will in a future be ridiculed as well as all a great things Joe Dumars did in Detroit might turn irrelevant."

Playoffs to Lottery: The Three Teams | Basketball News Blog




NBA Off Season Rankings (1-10)
Outside the Box Score Blog

"I've been waiting for the last domino to fall. Ramon Sessions was that last domino, and he fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the wake of Ricky Rubio signing with Real Barcelona. So much for New York's summer. Anyway, I'd been writing pretty regularly about the off season for the first few weeks, but then it started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. Thus, the last domino approach. I know Nate Robinson and David Lee are still up in the air, but I've written anything having to do with the Knickerbockers off for the next 14-ish months. 'Kay? M'kay.

That said, I wanted to give you a last look at the off season as we move steadily closer to some real games. Following is a run down of how well each NBA team fared this off season, starting with the very best and ending with the abysmal. Questions? Okay, good, let's get right to it.

7. Detroit Pistons: Are they going to be a good team this year? Probably not. Did they have a good off season? Well, they needed to in order to even be in the playoff hunt. Time will tell, but at least they did something, and at least they got younger. Ben Gordon, Charlie V, Ben Wallace (with a new number), and Chris Wilcox. They lost more than they gained, but that was the point. Good bye Rasheed, Allen, Antonio, and the odd pair of Walters. Why didn’t you take Rip with you?"

NBA Off Season Rankings (1-10) | Outside the Boxscore

__________________
"Most of the arguments to which I am party fall somewhat short of being impressive, knowing to the fact that neither I nor my opponent knows what we are talking about." Dangerfield