Fair enough, Buddha. I forgot that Amir came from SoCal. Your interest makes a little more sense to me.

And you're right, Amir does have a lot of work to do. I worry about the work ethic of kids who are urged to jump to the NBA from high school. They've been told how great they are all their lives. I'm not saying I'm a fan of Stern's "19-year-old rule," but hopefully Amir understands, like you, that he has a long way to go. I would hope for $3M per, he'll be willing to put in the work.

Peace.

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"I don't believe there's any problem in this country, no matter how tough it is, that Americans, when they roll up their sleeves, can't completely ignore. - George Carlin

I think to put the whole AJ thing into perspective.

Lets compare where he stands compared to Maxey

Maxey played 4 years of big time college hoops.

His first year with us when he as 22-23 he averaged 2 points and 1 rebound.

AJ has had no college experience and prior to this year he had only 50 games in the D league 60 in total beyond high school if you include the 11 games with us over the last two years.

AJ is still only 20 years old and won't be 21 until the playoffs, which is about 2 + years younger than Maxey was when he joined us.

So far AJ is averaging 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds a game this year, which are already better than Maxey had in his first year with us and those numbers should go up by the end of the year.

So if you compare him to Maxey, I would say that AJ at this time in on a relative time, experience and age basis compares very favorably to Maxey.



Jason Maxiell - Detroit Pistons - Career Statistics - NBA - Yahoo! Sports


Amir Johnson - Detroit Pistons - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

I am going to add something to the part about needing more floor time to gain the experience.

Not long ago, people were harping on JMAX's rebounding. I told them, hold on, he has not had time enough to get comfortable out there. Wait. And gee, JMAX, with floor time, got comfortable. Now other teams hate to see him out there because they can't keep him off the offensive boards. And his defensive rebounding is just fine.

Now, listen to this. Amir is a far superior rebounder compared to JMAX. With some time on the floor, some experience, some comfort level, Amir will be clearly our best rebounder, and there will not be anyone to ever question it.

In addition, Amir is far and away the better offensive player vs. JMAX. Time will see everyone understand that.

Further, Amir is a far better shot blocker vs. JMAX.

Further, on dunking, JMAX looks impressive, but you ain't seen nothing yet until you see Amir get comfortable out there.

In sum, give it time. Amir is one of our best players. We absolutely need him to play as much as possible this year so we can win it all this year. Next year ain't going to help this year. The time is now for Amir to get minutes, and thats the only opinion that matters on Amir.

So, I ask this - who out there thinks he should be getting regular minutes now. (Vs. watiting until next year.)

I'll give my vote. Play him now. Anyone who wants to set up a poll on this, please do so.

Lee just go to the Amir tracker, must of us are down.

Maybe on the defensive glass, but Maxiell is the Pistons' best offensive rebounder.

If you look at rebounding and blocks per 48 minutes.

AJ is our leader at 14.4 rebounds per 48 minutes which would put him 20th in the league if he had enough minutes.

AJ is averaging 6.9 blocks per 48 minutes. The league leader is Mourning at 5.2 blocks per 48 minutes. Maxey is averaging 3.1 which makes him 16th in the league.


ESPN - NBA Statistics and League Leaders - National Basketball Association

I love it that he attacks the offensive glass the way he does.

To THE HOGMAN!!:

That was sooooo kool! U are once again 'the king of all Palace media"!!! Great pics(with the exception of the big heads in front of u). Maybe next time you can take a couple of xtra $$$$ to buy your way into the front row. I dont know who Megan fox is but my daughter got on me because I thought you meant Megan Good!!

ON THE GAME:

Wouldnt it be a wonderful world if every Piston could play 30 minutes each, and average 12 pts, 8 rebounds and 5 assists a game?? The nature of this team is Piston DNA and the object of the game is TO WIN. Our goal is THE 'SHIP!
It doesnt matter that Amir gets more PT or Stuckey and AA win Co-Rookie of the year or that Ed Herrmann 'IS' the head vampire because I remember when this team was a 16 and 66 laughing stock!!
When it comes down to it will be #1, 22, 32, 36 and 24 when it counts. #54, 3, 28, 9 and 7 will be valuable commodities and # 25 and The Checkster will watch and learn as Salley and Rodman of our future.

NOTES from the bench:
CAREER: (in 3 to 5 years)
AA: Will be a stud in the Dennis Johnson clone factory. He has better range and better footspeed, though. I just like all the intangibles.
CARRER: 15 PPG, 5 RPG, 5 APG

STUCKEY: Anyone remember Joe Dumars? That's Stuckey if he improves defensively. Dumars wasnt a "true" point guard, but he knew how to run a team. Rod will understudy with the two masters, Dumars and Billups as he becomes 'Volume 3-BAdBoys' captain.
CAREER: 20 PPG, 4 RPG, 7APG

THE BRAHMA: Big Nasty with Hops! He will never be more than a 24 Minute-man, because of foul trouble and match up problems, but he could become the best 6th man in Piston history not named Rodman.
The best plays are his pullup jumpers and tenacity on the O-glass. Will always be a fan favorite.
CAREER: 14PPg, 8 Rpg, 2 BSpg

AMIR: John Salley.(period) He will be a lil better than Spider because of shooting range and ballhandling. But Spider lived for the "winning". Amir is still about the moment. But he is still only 20, but not as mature as Spider was at 20. AJ's time will come, but as long as he knows he has to play a role for this particular team for at least 2 more years.
CAREER: 13PPG, 11 RPG, 2 BSpg

THE CHEKKSTER: Lots of upside. If he puts on 20 more pounds, I SWEAR, he could be a poorman's David Robinson. He will never be the scorer the ADmiral was(71 pts in one game, remember), but he CAN be a game changer because he's a good passer and agressive defender. I know I show my old age a lot, but in the 70's there was a center named Artis Gilmore who pulled on 25 lbs after college and became a freight train.Im telling u, Samb can be the same.
CAREER: 12 PPg, 10 Rpg, 3 BSpg

This will be the basis of all of our future drafts and signings. TAY will be the leader in the locker room (17.7 PPg) and CB will be the old man. Rip will be traded and Dice and Sheed will have retired.(Especially if we can get another 'ship)

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I , WHO LAUGHED FIRST,LAUGHED LAST!!!!!!!!!!!

Whoa there, buddy...I'd be happy if Samb just ended up being the next Sam Dalembert. Although maybe we're saying the same thing, since Dalembert the last couple of years has been around 11 ppg, 9-10 boards, 2 blocks. But would you call Dalembert a poor man's Admiral, or even a poor man's Big Artis?

He has the potential(if he gains weight) of a Gilmore(remember how MOses Malone took off after adding a few big macs?) But just not a 23 ppg scorer. Artis was an impact player BITD! I just see something in Samb's DNA that says he 's not quitting on this team. Dalembert has no heart....