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

I'm so out of the loop anyway. So I'll admit I have no working knowledge of this team now. I did see an interview about Villy trying to deflect his being thrown out v. Cavs. It seems this team is just disjointed, disinterested and just plain dissed. Joe D needs to either gets some brass ones and start over or leave.

Clearing up the Rip Hamilton rumors - RedsArmy.com - The Voice Of Celtics Fans

ESPN: Detroit Pistons extend Rip Hamilton's contract | MLive.com

Richard Hamilton's buyout offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers reported at $16 million | MLive.com (this one suggests the buyout is $9 million - a $3 million savings)

There is a team option - but now I'm wondering if it allows us to buy him out for $9, not merely $3 million.

Well, I disagree. Stuckey's just entering his physical prime right now. He should get better, but it's really all up to him. The physical tools are there, but I don't know how mentally tough he is.

You Said it yourself.... I'm not sure you want to invest starter money on somebody who could very well be better suited to be a bench player. I have never questioned his million dollor skill set, I just worry about what tends to be his 10 cent brain. IF he ever got that worked out then he can be a great player in the league.... but.... will he?

Haven't heard from Kgreg on this yet. As a matter of fact we haven't heard from him in a while??

Here's a good piece from the FreePress about who they'd keep and dump.

Jamie Samuelsen's blog: The nine Pistons I'd keep ... and the six I'd ditch | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

The problem is most great players start to turn the corner their 3rd year or at least show flashes of greatness. Rodney Stuckey has never done either. At his best, he's looked like nothing more than a decent starter on a terrible team. His ceiling is what? A smaller Corey Maggette? Tons of players have the physical tools to be great. It's not even necessarily the mental tools with Stuckey, it's the skills. He doesn't possess the skills of a great player. He is what he is. He needs to go. There is nothing easier to replace in the NBA than an average guard.

Keepers:
Greg Monroe
Jonas Jerebko
Austin Daye (Why not)
Terrico White (Never know)

Stuckey is probably the best player on the team right now. You don't let your best player walk without a viable replacement in place. Stuckey is better than average.

I disagree with you on two parts. One, that Stuckey has never shown flashes of greatness before. That's exactly what he's done throughout his career: show flashes of elite play, but mirrored in much longer stretches of mediocrity. But this recent stretch he's been on is the only time that he's combined scoring and passing so well.

I also disagree with you on saying Stuckey has no skills. Stuckey is a great free throw shooter and great at getting to the foul line (a completely underrated skill), great at getting to the cup, and I believe he is a very good passer (he's been threading the needle on passes lately). It was always his decision making that was in question in the past, not his actual ability to pass the basketball.

Mostly, I agree. However, I want to add one fact: this kid has NEVER played on a stable team in the NBA. Instead, he's had to endure a ton of change, a ton of indecision, and a huge team-wide fall from grace with fossilized veterans holding onto the past with a rusty-iron grip. [pardon my mixed metaphors]. Who the hell knows what Stuckey could/would turn into on a franchise with stability and direction?

Stuckey's assists are artificially inflated because he has Rip, Tay, Monroe, and Wilcox on the floor with him.

Yeah, they should put Stuckey out there with the four worst offensive players on the team. Then we'd see what this guy is truly made of without all this all nba talent surrounding him.

Being the best player on a bad team is tantamount to nothing if you aren't going to be a big help in the team doing forward.

Stuckey will never be great, he just doesn't have it in him. And he is replaceable. He's shown nothing to the contrary. His ability to get to the rim is nice, but this is the only year of his career where he's been even an average finisher. Likewise for his efficiency. And he's proven over and over he's not a PG.

Rodney Stuckey's ceiling looks something like the combo guard version of Corey Maggette. Color me underwhelmed.

EDIT: To say Stuckey will never be great because he doesn't have it in him is harsh. But there isn't anything to suggest that he's on that path. Literally nothing. He's a solid NBA starter, why can't that be enough?

Monroe Jerebko Daye Stuckey 2011 Draft Pick

You would think adding this young stud/teams best player/building block to the fossilized veterans (who won 59 games, played in the ECF and were the only team to beat the champions on their home floor the year before.) would help the veterans keep chugging along ala R Rondo and the Celtics.

Instead the young stud folded. That doesn't say anything about him?

If Kuester stays...It doesn't really matter which Pistons are kept...

While I agree with you, I just don't get the leap folks are making from him not being fired as the final whistle blew last night to the fact he will return next year. We have a new owner that I'm not sure how things will work legally... If Q is fired before the exchange of ownership is made I'm betting that Karen will have to pay the salary, while if its after the swap that the new owner picks up the tab. With the CBA situation such that it is.... I really don't think there is any hurry, if its like the NFL (and I'm only guessing here) then getting a new coach that sits in his office and does nothing isn't a high priority atm.

If I'm wrong and he is retained... you all have permission to throw rotten fruit at me though :D

Bowl of Rotting Fruit by Roe Ethridge

The fans are going to be hard enough to win back. Not firing Kuester, who is immensely unpopular and who presided over a highly dysfunctional team, is a silly concept. He's goner than gone. He's done.