What was the true downfall of the Pistons? Comparing the Pistons to the Spurs.

Joe's model looks very promising. He just needs a few more seasons and the ability to go deep into luxury tax territory (i.e. to have his hands untied).

What's the most you would pay for any player during his prime for a year with the cap rules of today without the possibility of going into the tax (strictly from a winning perspective only)? Would you pay $35M for Magic during his prime? $40M for Jordan during his prime? $45M for Sammy Meija during his prime? And would you rather sign Jordan during his prime for $45M per year for 5 years or DaJuan Summers during his prime for $15M/year for 5 years?

Fair point. He probably would have taken a bigger cut if necessary.

I like LBJ because he is such an insanely talented basketball player. As a person I believe that he does some really good things. Yes he makes sure they are well documented, but I honestly think that this doesn't mean they are not good acts.

I'm sure that we can settle on the fact that Dwayne Wade is a total douche. No sportmanship, no class. Utter bellend.

If my aim was winning, I would write a check for whatever amount they wanted.

For MJ in his prime in 2013, I'd sign him for $30MM.

That would violate the restriction of not going into the lux tax. My main interest was to find out how large part of the available resources people would spend on one player, not how much people would pay with fantasy dollars.

...no way.
He can't hit a curveball.

As a GM, I'd agree to hire him if he paid the organization $30MM.

In that case, I would pay him the max under todays rules with bird rights - $28m I think it is.

Beyond that, he doesn't have a high enough replacement value over other players

Welcome to 3 weeks ago, Vince Goodwill!
Pistons' fall contrasts with Spurs' rise | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com

Got his story idea from pf.com?

I don't really get the comparison between the two organizations other than each being an unpopular NBA Champion in the last 10 years.

The Spurs have been a mark of consistency for the last 15 years since they've gotten Duncan. Their 4 best players over that stretch (Duncan, Manu, Parker, D-Rob) were drafted by the team. They have a legendary coach and a top-10 all time player. They've done fantastically acquiring role players throughout the draft and free agency. Their model was so structurally sound that they were able to recover from setbacks including running into the Lakers and injury problems.

The Pistons, as we know them at there most recent success, built a team in a very modern way. They made some trades, a couple of free agent acquisitions, and solid draft picks. They had a half-decade window and managed to get a championship out of it.

Not very many parallels. Those Detroit teams probably compare more favorably to the most recent incarnation of the Celtics, honestly.

I think the two teams were compared at the time 04-06 as similar in that they both "played the right way" so to speak and stressed defense.... but as Jayborne said thats where the similarities ended.... I liked the celtic comparison.

If Larry Brown was a stable human being and would have committed to the Pistons organization all these years, I think that we could have done something like the Spurs are doing. But, we would have never got LB in the first place under these assumptions. He'd still be coaching at Kansas.

Simmons on the best bargains in the NBA:

The Sports Guy breaks down the best contracts in basketball - Grantland

I agree with Simmons when he's saying that teams shouldn't be overpaying non-All-Star perimeter players 8 million and up because there are so many cheap options out there.

OJ Mayo = $7,999,999.99/yr?