You're the GM: Which 5 Pistons would you keep?

Potentially, he's nothing more than what he is right now. He has reached his potential. He won't improve substantially from what he is now. Not that what he is now is a bad thing.

I'd have to agree here. After this season, it's all downhill for Stuckey.

Walter...how am I going to understand that last sentence?

My Grandpa use to tell me: never trust a man who wares both suspenders and a belt.

I have a feeling that whoever signs Rodney Stuckey to his next contract is going to over pay.

The clincher to that statement is that Joe D is still in love with the guy.

I'm in love with him too at 3 - 4 mil per year.

I would love to have both Stuckey and AA on the roster. I think they would compliment each other perfectly and be a great back court in the coming years.

I'm willing to pay him 6th man money, and will wait to see what the CBA looks like before I put a number on that. I don't think he'll admit it, but he looks so much better coming off the bench and not having the pressure of being the starter.

I like him off the bench if he's hot give him the 30 mins. If its not there, they can go back to another option. He just scares me when he has to be the man for us to win.

Stuckey's malcontent actions this year make it likely that the price paid for him as a RFA will be lowered a bit. Let's face it - the guy is very talented. He's still one of the biggest/strongest/fastest guards in the league, and if the team assembled around him compliments his game, he can be a key piece in any team's puzzle.

What pieces? A guy who can play high post, point center BB, and who is highly intelligent. We've got that guy for sure in Monroe. Great outside shooters. We SHOULD have two pieces like that already in Daye and Gordon. JJ should also be a great fit - although losing him this season pushes back his development a bit. JJ also fits because he's an excellent athlete. We totally missed what he brings on defense and in the effort and energy department, but he's also a great team player.

What pieces do we need to subtract? Thank god Tay is gone. His style is AWFUL for a team with Stuckey and Monroe. We need to subtract Rip to make room for Gordon or creating a spot for a SG/PG who better fits with Stuckey than Rip does.

What pieces do we need to add? Hopefully Daye and Gordon are major assets next year, so we don't need to replace them. But obviously we need Monroe to continue to develop, and we need to add one or two athletic erasers: a great young PF prospect plus another big man who can impact games defensively off the bench. Maybe will get super lucky and White can prove himself a fine prospect.

We'll still likely suck next season as the team will have lost their glue defender in Tay - and perhaps we'll luck into a top pick in the 2012 draft, so we can find a big star to add to what really could be a solid core. I can also see Rip being traded at the 2012 trade deadline, given his contract is expiring (since his 2012-13 contract has a low $ team option buyout) so he could turn into an asset as well.

Bottom line: Stuckey is staying. Hope for the best, amigo's.

Here's the issue. Stuckey is not a player that you assemble a team around. He's one of the complementary pieces you can use when you're building a team around a franchise guy.

Where have you read this? I was checking up on his contract a few days ago and found nothing about any low $ team buyouts. I might have been looking at the wrong places but I found several sites presenting his 12-13 salary as a guaranteed. I hope you are right, it would make it alot easier to get rid of him.

It's either a $3 million or $5 million team option buyout. I'm pretty certain I'm write.

1. Prince: Most likely he won't want to be back and I don't think the Pistons want him back either but I would want him back.
2. Greg Monroe
3. Jonas Jerebko
4. Austin Daye
5. Will Bynum - Not as a starter but as a backup PG.

Rest can take a hike. Then draft a PG/Center.

This article says Rip had $25M left on his contract which is consistent with the contract numbers I've seen ($12.5M 2011-12 $12.5M 2012-13) but if they calculate from the date of the trade offer it's consistent with some kind of buyout clause but then it should be up towards $8M or something, right? I have no idea how much he had been paid at the time since I dunno if the payments starts when the regular season starts, when the summer camp starts or what ever.

Report: Pistons-Cavaliers deal falls apart because Richard Hamilton, Cavs could not agree on buyout | MLive.com

Um, going to have to vehemently disagree here. MOST players don't start declining at the age of 25. If anything, Stuckey should be entering the best 4-5 years of his career.

Do you honestly think that Stuckey is only worth Will Bynum money (and a third of Hamilton/Gordon money) or do you just think that every NBA player is overpaid?

Stuckey is getting A LOT more than 3 million per. They wouldn't even start the negotiations at a price that low.

Stuckey has shown that in an up-tempo style; he can flourish in points and assists. With Rip and Tay on the roster things get too bogged down.

Wouldn't mind seeing Stuck lead that type of offense.

REBUILD! Get rid of all those Free Agent buys and just do like most of you are suggesting, keep the drafted guys like Stuckey. Is there an honest to goodness Big man in the draft that the Pistons can get?

I doubt Stuck will decline for another 6-7 years. I also doubt he'll get any better than where he currently is. I wouldn't mind keeping him for the right price.