Dumars: Trades, free-agent signings possible

Very interesting but why would we want him to come off the bench? I think that if we keep Rip HE should come off the bench. It's already been discussed in other threads how Rip slows down our offense waiting for him to run off 3-4 screens. I think Gordon is a more explosive scorer to boot.

I don't know . . . He was answering specifically about his time w/ the Bulls and mentioned "it doesn't matter if i'm starting or finishing" and being out there as much as possible. From what i understand during his Bulls tenure, there has been drama about him coming off the bench and when he doesn't play in the 4th. He's not going to AI-flat out refuse to do it, but he would likely prefer it, and who know how he'd react for a team that wasn't CHI.

Unless we're trading Rip, i'm not sure why we would go after BG. And if we are trading Rip, i'm still a little unsure as to why we go after BG. People are quick to look at his BOS series, but what about his series against us? Also He can score yes, but who can he defend ?

Is Joe trying to field the all-undersized team ? IMO this year's PO's have cemented the need to have big guards.

To answer your question is my pipedream of swinging a deal for Danny Granger and have Ben Gordon be the scorer off the bench with the starting 5 having better defense.

I just don't think you go out and spend the money that Gordon will be demanding on a bench player. Granger would be sweet but do you really think Indy would trade a blossoming star to another team in their own division?

Ben Gordon will want to be a starter. He's paid his dues.

...or guys that are 7' and get their layups blocked by 6'6" SF's because they're double pumping at the rim.

So the Pistons are going to use a good portion their oh so valuable cap space to get an upgrade at the back-up PF spot?

I see your point with Ben Gordon, but with Indiana, they are a financially struggling team being one of the teams getting loans from the league. They'll always be a borderline playoff team/late lottery unless they bottom out and get a star in the draft. I know Danny Granger is a "star" but he's likely in the situation like Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were and would be better served playing with pieces such as the Celtics. Like the Celtics, our group could be Stuckey, Gordon, Granger, and a big (Boozer/Bosh/Amare?).

I didn't say pay him tons of money.

Also, it would be for the starting PF position. AJ/Max are the only PFs we have next year (I don't think Dice or Sheed are coming back).

I still think it is not wise for a financially struggling team like Indiana to trade away their only player that excites the fans.

Won't happen.

How can you be so sure?
This new frontline would solve 3 of the pistons glaring weaknesses. Rebounding, Low post scoring, and Blocked Shots.
The Birdman could easily get you a double-double with starter (30+) minutes. And you could pencil in Boozer for 20-10 on most nights. The presence of a shot blocker would lead to more fast break opportunities.
Realistically, I don't think that there are any moves (as far as free agency is concerned) that will immediately return us to championship contention. But this would be a step forward and probably leave us with money to play with for next summer.

To pass99, would be sick though

I didn't say I was sure. That was just my prediction, a wild guess. All of those are darkfinger numbers I pulled out. Birdman has been impressive coming off the bench, but I'm not so sure that his production will improve in a linear fashion if he's put in a starting lineup.

The one glaring hole in that roster (Stuckey-Rip-Tay-Boozer-Birdman) is that there isn't a good playmaker. If Stuckey has a breakout PG season, then it's a different story, but I don't expect that to happen because there's nobody teaching him how to become a good PG. That roster won't do much better than this year's if our offense starts with 10 seconds of Tay palming the ball out of bounds.

Besides, in that roster, I suspect Boozer can keep up the production level he had at Utah. Boozer is most effective playing pick-n roll and neither Rip nor Stuckey can do that at the level Deron Williams can.

Everybody on the list is a good player. The younger front court is also desirable. It's just that I don't think those players fit well together. They'll probably do better than what we've seen this year, but not by much.

Walter:

I will tell you like I told another poster. Chris Anderson is definetly not a long term solution. I do think he could get us around 10-10 in a starter's role just off effort alone. He could hold it down while we go after Bosh or another elite post player. His high-sprited play could bring some more interest and enthusiam back to the Palace crowd The pairing of Boozer and Birdman would not be perfect but it's the best I can come up with out of this poor Free Agent class.

I agree with you there. Trying to concoct a sure winner out of this years FA class feels like an exercise in futility at times.

What about Gortat? Everyone and their Grandmother was clamoring about him just last week. The hype seems to have calmed down a bit. :nerd2:

Gortat would be a nice addition if we could get him as a mid level exception. Wouldn't pay any more than that salary range for him.

I'm wit' cha Walt.

...Go ahead and punt in regard to this years FA class.
I'd rather see Joe use AI's cap space effectively than urgently. If it takes a little longer to do this, I'm on board.

It'll pick up again on Thursday after Howard piles up 4 fouls in the first half.