While Dumars getting rid of gordon's terrible contract was defintely a step in the right direction, Hawks GM Ferry is making a huge splash by trading Joe Johnson to the nets and Marvin Williams to the Jazz for Devin Harris. sources: Brooklyn Nets agree to trade with Atlanta Hawks for Joe Johnson, sources say - ESPN New York Atlanta Hawks trade Marvin Williams to Utah Jazz for Devin Harris, according to sources - ESPN What does this mean for us? Well, the 2012 Playoff Picture was: 1. Bulls 2. Heat 3. Pacers 4. Celtics 5. Hawks 6. Magic 7. Knicks 8. 76ers The East has been in recent years much more open than the west. Every single team is going through some major off-season adjustments with the exception of the heat (wade and bosh are going through rest/surgery and missing the olympics, but they should be fine when the RS starts). Bulls - Rose ACL out for year, Deng's wrist, Asik might be lost Pacers - Very likely to lose Hibbert due to Portland giving him max contract Celtics - Most likley losing Allen and with the loss of many rotational players and continued decline of garnett/pierce Hawks - Out of the Playoff picture almost certainly w/o johnson/williams, but setting up with enough caproom for both paul and howard - Holyyyy Magic - Howard basically screwed them 6 ways with being indecisive. They might get some nice potential and a nice pick, but I don't think any team is going to give the magic a ridiculous offer for a 1 year rental of the league's most childish/indecisive/help i'm getting blackmailed player Knicks - Lin uncertain, Melo and Stat clearly declining more rapidly than the knicks expected, JR opting out, etc. 76ers - no signficant changes, might move up a bit might stay the same - coin-toss situation So let's recap the playoff picture for 2013 1. Heat 2-8. WIDE OPEN As long as Drummond isn't Darko, we have an EXCELLENT chance of making the playoffs. This is the list of teams in the East and how I think they will fare in the 2012-2013 season: 1.Hawks - breaking up their core means they're gonna suck this coming season, but the massive cap flexibility they will have at the end of next season is going to be clutch 2. Celtics - they get older, w/no siginifcant upgrades besides rondo improving and jeff green coming back - still a playoff team, but 0 chance of ship 3. Bobcats - nice to have MKG, but still dumpster team for next 3-4 years 4. Bulls - rose is gone for this season, I don't care what they do, they're pretty much irrelevant until next season 5. Cavs - Draft picks really confuse me, even so Irving and co. will have to spend 3-4 years at the minimum to become relevant 6. Pistons - I'm too biased, but hopefully stuckey, monroe, and knight all make strides in their game and drummond steps it up - if joe can make some more moves :D 7. Pacers - I see them losing Hibbert as a very likely scenario, but even then I still see them as a Play-off team 2nd round-exit yet again 8. Heat - Repeat champs unless something suprising happens 9. Bucks - I see them getting marginally better with the jennings-ellis core getting more time playing with each other. But I don't see them as anything better than a 7/8th seed at best possible case. 10. Nets - Deron Williams, Joe johnson, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez sounds alright on paper - have them as a possible playoff seed 11. Knicks - too much drama - will still be relevant, but 1st/2nd round exit guaranteed 12. Magic- they're done for 3-4 years unless something magical happens - corny jokes +100 13. 76ers - no dramatic off-season changes means they'll get a little better, but noting amazing happening here 14. Raptors - the prospect of nash signing here and instantly making the raptors a playoff contender with the addition of the lituanian kid plus trading away calderon - I don't know if the raptors have had this much excitement since Vinsanity 15. Wizards - picking up beal is nice and getting okafor ariza to pair up with nene - wizards playoff team real soon Possible playoff teams (besides Heat) Celtics Bulls Pistons Pacers Bucks Nets Knicks 76ers Raptors*(if nash signs) Magic**(If howard stays and plays like he normally does, but there's no incentive...) 8 slots, 11 teams, We have more than a "shot" this season. Honestly it's pretty wide open right now. I feel pretty darn good about being a pistons fan into the future. Feel free to give me feedback guys, also I'm been wanting to start a video blog so If you guys like what I write I might be motivated to get on that :D
I don't think Drummond will have any reasonable impact this year other than on the defensive end - he's at least two years away from positively contributing and while he'll probably have as negative an impact on the team this year as Knight did last year, the Pistons still have to play him because, you know, he's the future of the franchise and all that. That being said, I've already stated think the team is about a .500 team right now, with or without Drummond. Give them team chemistry from the offseason and a season's improvement from Knight and Monroe, and you'll see them in contention.
Nice write-up. Last season, the Pistons were 10th in the east..........10 games out of a playoff spot. This year....I see us 11th, but only 6-7 games away from the playoffs.
If the season started today, I would say the Pistons are just outside the playoff picture. If Detroit adds one impactful free agent and perhaps rids itself of some extraneous pieces (Prince, Villenueva, etc.), I think they slide into the playoffs. Whether making the playoffs in 2013 is important or not, that is another question.
I don't see any reason why we won't clip along at a near .500 pace. The coach got through his first year, has implemented his fundamentals, and has the respect of the players.
I believe that any meaningful rise will hinge on our 3 spot. If Daye or Middleton can play almost as good as Prince, we'll have a wicked team. If joe can swing a deal to bring in a good 3, we'll be good. English looks like afflalo with a shot giving us a good 3 guard rotation if English can establish himself as a bone fide player. Unless this Ukrainian dude is a revelation, we will still be utilizing CV which is a waste of money, minutes and practice space. This going to be exciting. I'm hoping BK shuts the critics up and develops a passing game.
1. Miami 2. Chicago (If Rose is back) 3. Jersey (IF Howard & D-Williams sign today) 4. Philly 5. Milwaukee 6. Indy 7. Cleveland 8. Washington 9. Boston 10. Toronto 11. Detroit 12. Orlando 13. ATL 14. Charlotte
Nets will get Deron back in the fold, which means only a trade will net them Dwight now with JJ's contract (he's paid more than Lebron!) also coming on the books for them once the trade is finalized. The Magic will milk them for all they're worth; Orlando's GM is no Otis Smith, and Billy King is horrible. They might be good, or they might be the new Knicks. Guess we'll see.
Think he will - anticipating as big a rise in play as we saw from Monroe this past season. Going on the latter part of the season once Frank had time to get his game plan going and the players had time together, we will be in the playoffs next year. I expect to see large improvements not just from BK, but from JJ also - and continued, but slower than last season, improvement from Monroe. Think Stuck will also play more like he did in the latter season, benifiting from BKs improved game and ongoing solid coaching.
How about the Knicks? They are looking to add Nash: Report: Knicks In Lead For Nash « NBA.com | Hang Time Blog
This doesn't really belong in this thread but it doesn't warrant a new thread. It's funny, irregardless: Michael Jordan's 'very intoxicated' son arrested | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
