I'm surprised he only got $5 million for 2 years. It seems like the Pistons could have offered that amount. Perhaps Detroit is going to give Delfino a legitimate shot at being a contributor this fall.

ESPN.com - NBA - Agent: Wells agrees to two-year deal with Rockets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2605639)

Denver, Boston, Charlotte and Miami also made offers but the Rockets did the best job of convincing Wells he was needed.

Good move for Houston. Man, have we sucked this offseason. :(

Pistons couldn't have made that offer.

The most we could have offered was a minimum deal, $2.1 over 2 years.

If McGrady and Yao were to stay healthy, of maybe even if McGrady doesn't, Houston has become a serious team. They already got Battier earlier in the summer. Bonzi seems to give them over 20 players under contract, so I'm not exactly sure how they works though.

Van Gundy's head is now officially on the block. No fast start, no Jeff.

Pistons couldn't have made that offer.

The most we could have offered was a minimum deal, $2.1 over 2 years.

$2.1 total or $2.1 per year? Could the Pistons have made that offer pre-Flip Murray?

At this point I'm just glad he didn't go to Miami.

Yeah, I'm with lurker. Too bad we didn't get him, but the next-best outcome was for him to stay in the Western conference, so that's good.

At this point I'm just glad he didn't go to Miami.

I agree. I thought that as soon as I saw this thread. Aside from signing him ourselves, this is about as good a scenario as we could have hoped for.

Even with Bonzi, I don't see the Rockets being a huge threat to come out the West.

Other than the 2 games we play them this season, this move will have very little impact on us.

$2.1 total or $2.1 per year? Could the Pistons have made that offer pre-Flip Murray?
$2.1 total. The Pistons had a whack of exceptions to use on their own guys, but only re-signed Hunter. So they had to use their "new free agent" exceptions (MLE/BAE) on replacements.

Now all they can do is offer minimum contracts, which for a player like Wells, an 8 year vet, starts at $1,065,918 per year.

Could the Pistons have made that (Houston) offer pre-Flip Murray?

No. The Pistons used the Bi-Annual Exception to sign Murray.

That is $1.75 million this year, with a maximum raise of 8% in year 2.

$3.64 million over 2 years. A little short :rolleyes: of Houston's offer.

$3.64 million over 2 years. A little short :rolleyes: of Houston's offer.

...and a lot short of the $50 million deal Bonzi wanted and the $36 millon deal he turned down from Portland. Maybe he shouldn't have fired his agent...

Here are some quotes that worry me:

"This isn't about the money, this is about being in the right place," said Wells' agent, Merle Scott of BDA Sports.

"Bonzi doesn't care about starting," Scott said. "He just wants to be some place he can contribute."

Obviously, this is agentspeak, but when exactly did we become the team that good players won't come to because they know they won't be able to play? This bugs the heck out of me and I want to know when the organization will wake up and notice that stale performance is what you get when you don't let the bench develop, both because the bench (obviously) doesn't play, and because no good player in his right mind will come here if they are wanted elsewhere (even by a bottom-feeder like the Rockets). How many cases in point does our organization need before it changes what it is doing?

(of course, the Rockets did seem to have a more promising future with all these recent acquisitions even before Bonzi, but this only bolsters my argument, because when teams with whiffs of potential beat out a perennial contender for promising free agents on a consistent basis, something needs to be changed)

You mean Sacramento...

He fired his agent because that guy overestimated the market for Bonzi and cost him a big payday.

The new guy at least got him a deal, rather than slipping away into obscurity like Sprewell. This looks to be the best possible deal on the market.

Same thing happened to Flip Murray. He cost himself $13 million by overestimating the interest in his services.

There is a lesson in all of this. Get a good agent. These guys are getting stung with 2nd and 3rd tier guys who either don't know the contract game, or lack the clout to close a deal.

Great post JC. I'm feeling it.

$2.1 total. The Pistons had a whack of exceptions to use on their own guys, but only re-signed Hunter. So they had to use their "new free agent" exceptions (MLE/BAE) on replacements.

Now all they can do is offer minimum contracts, which for a player like Wells, an 8 year vet, starts at $1,065,918 per year.

Could the Pistons have made that (Houston) offer pre-Flip Murray?

No. The Pistons used the Bi-Annual Exception to sign Murray.

That is $1.75 million this year, with a maximum raise of 8% in year 2.

$3.64 million over 2 years. A little short :rolleyes: of Houston's offer.

Thanks for the breakdown bro, makes me feel a little bit better. Lurker, you are right on the money. Thank God he didn't go to Miami!

Delfino is gonna make Bonzi his beech when we play the Rockets. :pound:

Delfino is gonna make Bonzi his beech when we play the Rockets. :pound:

That could be the title for a new thread...

At this point I'm just glad he didn't go to Miami.


My thoughts exactly!!!!!!

At this point I'm just glad he didn't go to Miami.


I will concur with that statement, and as Motown said we did nothing in the offseason to improve our chances of getting back to the EC finals let alone the finals itself. That Darko/Arroyo trade is starting to look bad everyday in terms of what we got for it and his non-development. :(