Joe wants DW9 back next season. But is it just a Dumars smoke screen? Do Pistons want Damien Wilkins back or is it just a Dumars pump fake? - Detroit Bad Boys
I don't mind Dumars paying $1 million for Wilkins. The guy works his tail off, plays decent defense and probably has a great work ethic and attitude at practice and in the lockerroom. As long as his role is in the 12th to 14th slot, he is perfect.
Instead of focusing on an aging 'Nique's Nephew, Joe should be focusing on bringing in as many of these dudes as possible: Spencer Hawes - unrestricted; will likely be too much $$$, would be awesome next to Monroe. Greg Stiemsma - unrestricted; shot blocker!, needs to rebound more Semih Erden - unrestricted; cheap, he looked good in Boston Memo- unrestricted; at the right price, could be looking for a fresh start Jason Thompson - $4.1 mil qualifying; prolly too expensive Marreese Speights - $3.8 mil qualifying; would look good next to Greg Monroe Jordan Hill - unrestricted; young PF with upside, scrappy on D Ian Mahinmi - unrestricted; young C/PF dude with upside DJ White - $3.0 mil qualifying; young, scrappy PF option Nic Batum - $3.2 mil qualifying; prolly too expensive but has "star" potential Steve Novak - unrestricted; league leading 3pt specialist @ SF Eric Gordon - $5.1 mil qualifying; prolly too expensive but worth a shot, would have to make room for him Landry Fields - unrestricted; glue guy, good all around player Courtney Lee - $3.2 mil qualifying; cheaper than Stuckey, proving himself this year CJ Miles - unrestricted, back up SG/SF, could maybe start in front of Tay John Lucas - unrestricted; back-up PG; would push BK Patty Mills - unrestricted; back-up PG Ish Smith - unrestricted; cheap back-up PG Greg Oden - broken, unrestricted; no risk-high reward project for Arnie Kander All (most) of these guys are gonna be dirt-cheap compared to guys on the current roster. Because Joe is over-paying so many of the current guys, he doesn't have much left to go shopping. Every dude on my list has flaws and an argument could be made for not wanting them. This is the reality of the current budget situation of the Detroit Pistons though. Joe's gotta look for bargains.
With Big Ben coaching next year, Macklin in D league limbo next season and max still grabbing 2 boards a game, they will need a big to help out on the boards with Monroe. Moose is already thin himself, and with the thinner Tay and undersized JJ, the Pistons will continue to get out muscled on the boards next season unless they bring in a proven vet that can bang, board and shoot.
2 of the 1st 3 guys you list are or were young big men who play for the Celtics. How are they finding these guys when they've been one of the top teams in the L for a while now while the Pistons keep coming up empty? I guess part of it is the Pistons just won't play their V Macklin's of the world no matter if the team is good or bad. I sometimes think the only thing Joe values less than bigs is coaches. FYI, you forgot to mention Cheik Samb, Walt Sharpe and Trent Plaisted on your list.
Danny Ainge has a good eye for 2nd round/FA big men. Neither Stiemsma nor Erden were on anybody's radar. Both of those guys are serviceable NBA bigs and Stiemsma is a helluva shot blocker. I love Wikipedia. While looking to see where in the heck Greg Stiemsma came from, I ran across this update from YESTERDAY:
Billy Simmons was talking about Stiemsma today in an article about the C's and mentioned that he is playing 19mpg in the NBA now when he never played more than 12mpg in 4 years of college.
Stuckeys been the surprise for me. I went from hoping he would play in China to being glad we signed him. Prince was not a bad pickup either. Its all the other bad contracts CV, BG, thats bringing this team down. Right now I am very pleased with the effort. Take away the 4-20 start and this team has been playing above .500. When they do lose its simply a matter of lack of talent - not of effort or bad coaching. On Dumars - maybe there is a method to the madness. Lot of our guys - Maxiel, Prince, Bynum, and even BG to some extent are going to be worth a lot more on the trading block this summer. Grading on a basis of the output for their ability level - I actually would give everyone decent grades except Daye and CV.
Good point. Despite all the negativity about the signings from last offseason, Gordon and Villanueva are the deadweights on our salary cap.
So the Pistons are likely locked in at #9 in the lottery. I'm not sure about getting a quality player in that spot. Should Joe trade that pick? If the answer is "yes", who do we target?
We need shot blocking and defensive presence in the paint like nobody's business. Looking at the big men in the NBA that fit that bill, I sorted the active centers and power forwards who played 40+ games at more than 10+ min/game based on defensive plays (steals+blocks+charges). Top 10 Power Forwards: 1- Serge Ibaka: no chance 2- Josh Smith: depending on how Atlanta does in the playoffs, this might be a possibility I think 3- Cousins: Sactown's not trading him 4- Millsap: Utah's not trading him 5- Brand: do we really want him? 6- Kris Humphries: he's FA this year, so this would have to be a sign & trade 7- Tyrus Thomas: Charlotte may be willing to play ball, but do we want his CV-esque contract? 8- Kevin Garnett: we don't want another grandpa 9- Blake Griffin: no chance 10- Pau Gasol: might be possible, who knows? Top 10 Centers: 1- Howard: no chance 2- McGee: I doubt Denver would part with him, but he would be a good complement to Moose 3- Marc Gasol: no chance 4- Gortat: maybe, if Phoenix blows it up this year 5- Chandler: no chance 6- Al Jefferson: Depending on how Utah does, he might be available, but would he play for us? 7- Hibbert: no chance 8- DeAndre Jordan: hmmm... that's interesting 9- Bynum: no chance 10- Stiemsma: who?
I think Stiemsma might be the most realistic name on your list Walt. He'll be pretty cheap and I like his upside. He's a legit shot-blocker and defensive specialist. His rebounding numbers need to improve but defensively, he'd be a good big to pair with Monroe.
I agree that the Pistons should target a center in free agency. Monroe will REALLY thrive if he can move to power forward.
Hmmm, looking at him a little closer, it's intriguing. He's averaging 1.6 blocks and 3.2 rebounds in less than 14 minutes a game. Could be a good target. I mean he could easily become the 2nd best big man....
