The race for the most ping pong balls

So, are the lottery positions finalized now?

well, they#re doing this the right way. Pistons would have won by some last-second heroics from scrubs like CV.

What # draft pick could we get in exchange for Brandon Knight right now? How about for Monroe?

He should have led the team in blocked shots. Monroe (2,056) played twice as many minutes as Ben Wallace (957), but had less blocks (46 to 50). Maxiel had 49 blocks in 1,452 minutes. Moose' defense has gotten better, but there is definitely much more room for improvement.

So, do you think that we could trade Monroe for the #1 pick this year?

Yes, add 1st round unprotected pick and then we'll see...

No, I'm asking if we can wait until we know who has the #1 pick and then offer them Monroe in exchange for Davis essentially. i.e., what pick # is a proven Monroe worth? Also consider that we have Monroe for cheaper than the #1 pick will sign for, so if a bad team wins the lottery, which probably will happen, would they consider taking one of the league's best young big men at a below market contract in exchange for an unproven Davis who will require a higher contract?

??? Doesn't that speak AGAINST Monroe as he will demand a larger contract way earlier than a possible #1 pick since his rookie contract is up after next season?

I guessing we could exchange Monroe for #2 or Stuckey for a #6........no others could draw attention.

Do you honestly think that there's a GM out there that would swap a #6 pick for "Mr March"?

That would be nice..........for us.

The Pistons went from 4-20 and a top 5 pick to the 9th pick. There is something wrong with this scenario considering how bad the team has been the last three years and all the Pistons have gotten from the draft is the 7th, 8th and projected 9th pick. I expressed my worries on this board a few months back when I sensed the Pistons were losing valuable draft position for a few wins. It has come to pass unfortunately--again.

The flip side of this is that despite poor draft position, the Pistons managed to get Monroe and Knight who, due to GM ineptness or just plain imperfect information about college players and how they project in the NBA, fell in the draft. They are both top five picks in reality and so the Piston future is actually on the bright side for the first time since the end of 2008. And, despite the seeming inability of the Pistons to play the tanking game, the team actually got better, making tanking naturally a lot tougher.

The Piston problem is not Monroe and Knight, who are the future, but the lack of real winning production from the team's veterans (Stuckey, Gordon, CV, Tay, Maxiel). Knight and Monroe will improve and step up. Stuckey has found a game--finally--but must show he can play defense and win. Maxiel is a legitimate 2nd team guy but not a starter. How does one play Gordon and CV and get a positive overall contribution. If anyone can make this happen, this coach can. But I suspect that this team will have to make major changes around Monroe and Knight within two years.

I agree with that, and though I don't expect to get a player with Anthony Davis' game changing ability at 9, I'm hoping we can at least get a guy who complements Greg Monroe, which means a big man. Tanking was always going to be hard to do with such a demanding coach and a new owner they all have to answer to, imo. If a team tanks, I think it has to be with the owner's consent as well, and it doesn't seem to be Gores' style.

I also think changes will be coming, at least if you believe Tom Gores:

He also believes they're a playoff team next season.
Detroit Pistons' owner Tom Gores says team has to regain respect of its fans | MLive.com

Wowww... Awesome nickname !! lmao!!!!!

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I think we have a shot at the lottery.. but IF not, I'm not to worryied about the draft, I know that after 4th pick, it will get confusing and there will be players drafted at 5, 6 , 7 that are not THAT much better from players drafted at 12 - 13 .. so we just need to do good job in the scout as we have been doing the last seasons (Knight was more luck than good scouting work, but Monroe is a piece of gold I won't trade him for a 2nd round pick, only for a first round pick because I know that Davis is a huge star..)

Draftexpress have Sullinger going 6th, Barnes 7th, Henson 8th and Perry Jones 9th.

For all I know, PJ3 could be a good fit and maybe fill a nice need. If not, beyond Jones you have players like Meyers Leonard, Terrence Jones, Tyler Zeller..

And the all-time Joe Dumars' favourites, a lots of Combo Guards, like Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Marquis Teague.. And IF that doesn't satisfied our great GM, we can also draft skinny tall men who have long arms and no muscle, like Quincy Miller.

Beside the jokes, I think we really have a good shot at drafting something valuable with a 9th or 10th pick.

And if somehow we can draft with the 1st, 2nd or 3th. the choices must be

Anthony Davis, if taken, Andre Drummond, if taken, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. We can't have a 4th pick so.. its 1,2,3 or 9th,10th,11th or 12th .. right?

I think Joe has to have a good 2nd round too.
He has two chances in round two. At least one of those guys has to be a legit rotation guy.
We can't make any trades or sign any notable free agents. The draft is pretty much our only shot at seeing an improved roster next year.

Gores even said as much yesterday, saying this team has great players and he'll be disappointed if the Pistons don't make the playoffs next year. It sounded like he wasn't expecting any trades or free agent moves.