i think we should go for mike james. hopefully he hates losing at will want to come back. we know hunter is a great defender, but him and mike james killed on D plus know we hjave another defender of the bench at the gaurd position in delfino. he has surprised many, but he is a heck of a player on both ends. mike james, lindsey, delfino, dice, maurice, and dale are some nice bench players. i like acker too so he might have some pt as well. i like the trade because darko needs to be on a team that is willing to accept when he makes mistakes in a game, and detroit was not in that position and is still not since they compete for championships. arroyo i thought couldn't stay with his man consistantly, and he dribbled out lot of the time on the shotclock. when will cato be healthy? because if for some reason we don't trade him than at least he can give us much needed size inside the paint.

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"That's the end, man." Rasheed Wallace

my concern is that this ends up being like jermaine oneal's situation. did he show anything to the blazers while he was there? or did they just never trust him?

Its a reach... but maybe the rookies might get more time now because darko is gone. Flip was maybe afraid to play them in front of darko for fear of hurting his psyc... or his trade value.... like i said its a reach

saying that.... i think darko will be a solid starter for somebody for years to come... wish him all the best

G-Rap:
Good question. Dice and Arroyo had GREAT chemistry offensively. We're gonna miss this aspect of Arroyo's game.

Hunter/Delfino should be able to give 12-15 min a game. Gonna take Hunter a while to get his motor runnin anyway. Next year, Acker should be ready.

It's a safe bet that pick would be a lottery pick, and prolly in 07. Orl should have enough "on paper" to keep out of the basement, but not enough for the playoffs. If they make the playoffs, 07 is still a deep draft. The later we choose, the better our choice.

I suggest Earl Watson. If not Earl I vote we sit tight.

And don't forget lovable ole Mo.

Lot of good points in this thread. If Darko really is a bust then we are going to be loving that 2007 or 08 pick wherever it falls. I cannot see Orlando becomming a contender over the summer so we should be seeing it at around the 10th spot in 07.

The other picks deemed unworthy of wearing a Piston uni ( Cleaves and White ) are no longer in the league anymore so Dumars does have a great eye for these types of things.

Backup point? Acker has not played much so that looks like plan C. Dumars said on WDFN that he is trying to get another backup guard so we will see.

I think the team expected more from Arroyo but he was an adequate backup and better than nothing. Dealing him is a risk to the championship and you really do not get too many seaons like this. It will impact the team. Must have been some financial pressure from Davison although Dumars will never admit that.

We will be ok.

From what I've read he won't be sticking with the team after his 10 days are up.

I have very few concerns at this moment. Hunter is back, he had a ton of time to heal/rest. Imo he should have a little pep in his step and be fully ready to contribute come playoffs. Delfino has shown most of the doubters (I was one) that he is ready to ball.
If the Pistons dont activate Cato that means we can activate both Acker and Amir, and lets face it we will have many more blowouts to see them in. Besides Joe might not be done on wdfn he said he will be workin the phones till the deadline.

Honestly how much PT was C.A. going to get with Hunter back anyway. Right now the Pistons stand to run 8 deep with mainly Dyess Evans Hunter and Delfino getting the minutes thats better than LB's 7 man rotation. Throw in some spot duty for D2 Acker and maybe Jmax thats a healty 11 man rotation.

If you start in on the what if something happens to Billups B.S. no backup pg out there will be able to do what Billups can. He runs the show on the court calls plays ect. If we got Watson or Knight or Speedy they would all be behind who is on the team now. They would have to learn Flips system, learn how to play with the guys here, and would take time to work into the rotation.

Imo the sky is not falling because Arroyo is gone. If the pistons make a move it should not involve Cato unless the player we are bringing in has an expireing deal like Cato, should not involve any first round picks ever, and should not require us to part with any of our rooks.

Right now it is a waiting game 2 see who gets desperate to make a deal and that is not us.

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" Either you play with a sense of urgency, or you will be leaving. It's that simple." Joe Dumars
Ok Joe it's time to prove it!!!!!!

mlive has some audio from the John Hammond interview. check it out

Joe is GENIUS!!!!! More and more I love this move. Ya gotta think 2 moves ahead of the game. We are already stockpiling young talent CHEAP. Soon Dyess and Sheed will have expiring deals that will bring A-1 talent, that's when Rip and Tay's games will be peaking and we will have one of the best 2/3 combos in the league since MJ and Pip. We'll have 2 great young players that would have materialized from the 05 and 07 drafts. Man Y'all have got to look down the road at the timing of this thing......it's simply beautiful. Howard and DMC in a best case scenario compliment each other pefectly.....but Orlando's front office is so screwed up it won't materialize into titles. Now if we can get Ben to go for a 4 year deal for say around 55mill everything will work out perfectly.

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Play hard, Play smart, Play together, share the ball, have fun....Play the right way!!!!!!