Re: FORUM

[cool breeze]

This draft is deep enough that we're looking at really good talent out to and maybe beyond the 10th pick, so we should be in good shape.

Don, IMO, Stanley Johnson could fall to us with his poor showing in the tournament, at least I hope so. He's not tall for SF, but he's BIG at 245 pounds!

At that size, I'd take him unless Kaminski is there! Kaminski gets dissed a lot, but IMO, if he's used right(stretch 4), he will be a good player for many years! IMO, he should be projected to be somewhere between a Pau Gasol and a Dirk.

However, Johnson has a SOLID NBA body, and could be a mismatch at the SF spot nightly! Once he gets a year or so under his belt, he should be able to bully most SF's regularly, and has he speed to defend the position.

It might all come down to what happens with Monroe as to who Van Gundy selects for the first round pick. If Johnson is available and Van Gundy has the power forward position covered for next year then I hope Johnson will be available. Our small forward issue will be settled and all Piston fans will be extremely happy next season once they see him play. Johnson is 6 foot 7 inches tall so he is tall enough to play against any small forward. Some worry about his weight (245) and how that might make him too slow to play small forward. Johnson has very little body fat and he has quick feet. He is capable of being a really good defender. i predict that he will be an All Star caliber player. Johnson is going to shine in the draft combine and GMs with those first 3 picks might take him.

It appears that Monroe is leaving and there are some good big men in the draft this year. The upside with Kaminsky is the fact that he is ready to contribute next season. He is mature, smart and can make the outside shot which will fit really well in Van Gundy's system. He should be a consistent double figure scorer and will open things up for Drummond on the offensive end for sure. He could give a lot of power forwards fits with his accurate outside shooting touch. Regarding defense at first blush one would believe that Kaminsky is too slow to compete for rebounds or defend NBA power forwards. However, he beat Arizona two years in a row and Arizona had a pretty damn good center and power forward and held his position well on defense and got a lot of players in foul trouble in this last game. The other big thing that I like about Kaminsky is his brain. He is one of those big guys who is mentally in it to win every game he plays in. Big men seem to be the biggest head ache for coaches because you can never predict how they will play from game to game. Their bodies and minds do not work the same way as the smaller players for some reason. But one guy who people called slow and could never make it in the pros was Bill Laimbeer. He was mentally in it and got other players to play with an edge. One thought for me is that there is a lot riding for several big men in Wisconsin's match up with Kentucky next weekend in the Final 4. I am thinking that Kentucky has some real athletic big men who might take several years to make a rotation in the NBA that are rated high in this draft. If Kaminsky can hold his own in this next game, then his draft status might skyrocket. At first I was against drafting Kaminsky but we could do a lot worse for sure. I like him as a person and how he approaches playing basketball. If I were able to pick either Monroe or Kaminsky moving forward, I would pick Kaminsky with no hesitation.

[Oracle]

This draft is deep enough that we're looking at really good talent out to and maybe beyond the 10th pick, so we should be in good shape.

Don, IMO, Stanley Johnson could fall to us with his poor showing in the tournament, at least I hope so. He's not tall for SF, but he's BIG at 245 pounds!

At that size, I'd take him unless Kaminski is there! Kaminski gets dissed a lot, but IMO, if he's used right(stretch 4), he will be a good player for many years! IMO, he should be projected to be somewhere between a Pau Gasol and a Dirk.

However, Johnson has a SOLID NBA body, and could be a mismatch at the SF spot nightly! Once he gets a year or so under his belt, he should be able to bully most SF's regularly, and has he speed to defend the position.

[Oracle]

"People like to say that Pope is a lock down defender. that simply is not true." - Don

Who says that? I can't think of anybody that says that or believes it, it's ridiculous!

KCP is a good defender, not a great one, but he has the tools to be great defensively, but excuse him if he's not the best SG in the league in his 2nd year, sorry he couldn't get there faster for you guys

Seriously Don, don't listen to Wise on this, if he applied half of his crazy stuff to Burke or Josh, they'd both be run out of town on a rail!

Every young player has a sh!t load of work to do to get where they're more consistent and pay closer attention to detail... it's called growth and maturity, and it's slow! It ain't college ball, they're two different animals, and the only thing they have in common is that they're both called basketball! The devil is in the details!

Wise sits around waiting for a player he wants to bash to have a bad game and he's all over them!

I don't have a problem with calling out the flaws in ANY of the players games, you can sit there and have a field day doing it, the question is one that you constantly pose!

Will they work hard to improve! Van Gundy believes that they can and will, but I guess what does he know!

"Winning meaningless games during the salary drive period of time before the playoffs for bad teams is the most ignorant thing a GM should allow." - Don

IMO, until this recent loss, it would have been worse for Stan to give up if the players hadn't given up, but that's what you expect and want a coach to do!

Having said that, this is where having the coach and the GM be the same person is hurting us! A GM should see the bigger picture! It's not about tanking, you expect them to try to win, but you play the youngsters meaningful minutes, and if they win they win, but you rest your core as much as possible.

I compare this to the NFL Preseason games where the real QB may play one quarter and everybody else gets to finish the game. We need our starters to cut their minutes in half and let Dinwiddie, QM, and others see if they can win! Hell, call up 2 or 3 good prospects from the Drive and get a good look before hitting the FA & trade market for something you may already have... who knows?

[cool breeze]

Hey Don,
Since you see a lot of Stanley Johnson can you give us your low down on how he fits the Pistons... his tournament performance has him dropping to us in some mocks.

merc I can't imagine how Johnson will drop to the 8th spot. If only we had lost more games to get down to the 6th pick they might be a chance he would still be there. I am sure at the combines Johnson's draft status will move up to at least the 6th pick but he might go as high as 3rd or 4th.

A brief history of Stanley Johnson. He won his first State Championship in high school playing center. He likes to bang and weighs in at 245 pounds. His teams proceeded to win 3 more state championships in California and he played every position including point guard. This guy can run the court really fast and he is so powerful on his drives that there is no way he will not finish well in the NBA. The college rules have limited Johnson and he also had to fit into Sean Miller's system that stresses the pack line defense. Johnson came in as a freshman thinking everything would revolve around him on offense. He attempted off balance shots and missed defensive assignments in his first two games and bench time was punishment enough because by the 4th game, Johnson was a team first player who often made the extra pass to the open guy for an easy score. His first step is really great and he can get to the rim very fast and powerfully from the wing. Johnson was the team's leading scorer for the season. He had big games in match ups against good teams and was often the player who would made a great steal in crunch time and go down the court full blast like a freight train for a powerful dunk. Johnson has a good pull up soft jump shot from mid range and made some big 3 point shots at the end of games. Arizona won the PAC12 title by 3 games and they won the conference tournament. So Johnson was a key player on a really good team. Somehow, he came up flat and had foul trouble in a lot of games during the NCAA tournament. He gets upset when the silly fouls are called that make no sense and let that affect his game bit in the tournament. I would say that the NCAA tournament gives no clue as to how Johnson will perform in the NBA. He is built for the NBA and has developed his game to fit the NBA much better than the NCAA. He can defend 3 positions well so he will not be a liability for any NBA team coming in his first year as a pro like a lot of players. And he can finish strong in the painted area unlike any small forward we have had in recent memory. My best guess is that Stanley Johnson is going to be rookie of the year next season in the NBA. He will kill his defender in iso plays for sure.

I look at a lot of players who have had great games in the NCAA tournament but will not have an easy time in their first or even 2nd season in the NBA. But Johnson is so damn strong, I can't see how he can miss being a great small forward in the league. He hates to lose more than anything and hates to disappoint his basketball fans when his teams lose. And his teams have never lost many games including pick up games in his entire life.

[cool breeze]

Not surprised Wade kicked on KCP ass......

I know many of you feel that if they put the uniform on then we should be instantaneously optimistic about said player.   I hear everyone and I try very hard to see all the positive things many of you say about KCP.  I see sh!tty shooting more times than not and slightly above average defense and not this lock down defender many makes of him.  

I understand that this kid likely have the potential to get better I'm just not sure he will considering his limited BB IQ to play in a structured system and this is the case with most scores.   I put all bias aside for wanting to keep Stuckey, or drafting Burke or MCW in which I'm still convinced that long term both will be light years better than KCP overall.   People KCP simply isn't as good or decent as many of you make him out to be and getting his ass whipped by an aging often injured Wade proves my point, for that I have yet to see him totally lockdown a player unless the definition of lockdown has changed.  I've seen Joe lock down an opposing player, I seen Rodman lockdown an entire team, I've seen the Gary Paytons, Bruce Bowens, Ben Wallace, and likes change a game defensively not with KCP.  I have seen players able to defend 3 positions deep but not this kid, KCP should be able to defend at least these 3 position PG, SG and SF effectively as much as some of you rah rah his defense that allows him a **** load of PT.

A lot of what I see is bonehead 3 attempts, and opposing SG still managing to do their thing.  Please stop calling this kid a great defender when he isn't even or barely a decent defender.  

Really 4-15 FG and 0-6 on 3's topped off with some old guy whipping his ass for 40pt

Wisefan you have done a great job here. I agree with you. People like to say that Pope is a lock down defender. that simply is not true. He has made some absent minded mistakes on defense at times like turning his back to the guy he is responsible to guard and he has been guilty of allowing dribble penetration in crunch time. Fans and coaches might rave about Pope and perhaps that is because we have had so many guards during Joe Dumars last 6 seasons who ignored the defensive game plan prepared by coaches and showed that they could care less about expending any energy at all on defense. Offense was not the only reason why no coach for the Pistons trusted Rodney Stuckey. No he sat the bench when Singler started at 2 guard and knight started over him at point guard because he was just going through the motions on defense. So Stuckey, Gordon, Bynum, Daye, Hamilton (last season as a Piston), Calderon, Jennings who else did I miss as former Piston players who didn't give a rats ass about playing defense and never bothered to learn the defensive rotation system set up by by their coaches. KCP at least listens to his coaches. He is still extremely young and has talent but is far from a playoff type starting 2 guard. I think it will take him at least two more seasons to reach his full potential and who knows if he wants to put in the work to get there? I have wondered if Meeks is not the better all around player right now but he is pretty short to start and play against other NBA starting 2 guards.

One last comment on all of our players and how they don't pay attention to detail like winning teams are able to do. If you all watched the Elite 8 games this past week, you would have seen every player on every team play their asses off on both ends. There was no player that I watched who was not completely exhausted from their extreme effort in those game. On the other hand, we have all watched our players look like they had chugged a 5th of Jack Daniels just before the top off of a lot of games. They looked like they were sleep walking at times. There was no mental preparation where players try to get an edge to be tough from the get go by thinking about what they want to do in the coming game. We are still waiting for that one key player who does that and until we do, the Detroit Pistons will be chumps like they have been for too long. If one player gives an extreme effort in every game, others will follow but you won't get that player by drafting in the 8th or 10th position most of the time.

Winning meaningless games during the salary drive period of time before the playoffs for bad teams is the most ignorant thing a GM should allow. The GM has to force the coach to play the bench players to see if they are a potential fit for the next season. Everyone has seen what the regular players can do. The higher the draft pick the better chance you have to get one of those dedicated hard nosed players every team needs. If we get the 8th or 10th pick instead of the 6 pick for example is a killer and how many seasons have our teams put on a spurt at the end so we fans get screwed again. These players will play their asses off now because the end is near. But they will eagerly screw off in January and Feb when the good teams suffer through the hard times. Our players avoid hard times. Every NBA player is extremely blessed with physical gifts that other basketball players don't have. The players who really love basketball and will be willing to go through hell to improve are the players who play with an edge and kick our players asses night in and night out when the games matter.

Stan Van Gundy has not been involved with the Pistons for more than one season. We fans have watched some of the same players make the same mistakes and give half an effort in many games now for a damn long time. When people talk about giving Monroe a super sized contract, I want to put my finger down my throat and throw up. Monroe hasn't been a dedicated hard nosed in your face basketball player in his entire life. At Georgetown he was always screwing off on defense and his bad habits cost the Pistons countless games in the past. Please, Stan look at the game film over Monroe's entire stay and then take a guess if he will give an honest effort once he signs his next contract.

[WTF]

GM's need to stop paying for player potential for talent and start paying for talent. The risk of over paying should only come when you're looking at fit and chemistry.

Makes more since to see a player with talent and then speculate on if that player can fit a system or fit in with existing players oppose to just tossing $$$$ at hoping a player becomes something more. I like Jackson but I'm not for giving him a Max Deal or over paying him when he has not accomplishments attached to his resume. Maybe if he arrived here with some immediate results (leading this team into the playoffs as a 6th seed) some argument could be made. My suggestion 4 years 40 million as the absolute max and a minimum of 5 years 40 million.

As much as Reggie could be all that and a bag of chips he could also be another Jennings, or Ben Gordon hell he could become a Charlie V. AS a GM IMO you have to ask does the stats warrant the money, and are those stats effectively helping teams win. Like I've said Moose has stats and his numbers are decent but just how much has those numbers increase our win totals.

Again I like Jackson, but look at his resume and then make a decision on paying him.

[WTF]

Not surprised Wade kicked on KCP ass......

I know many of you feel that if they put the uniform on then we should be instantaneously optimistic about said player.   I hear everyone and I try very hard to see all the positive things many of you say about KCP.  I see sh!tty shooting more times than not and slightly above average defense and not this lock down defender many makes of him.  

I understand that this kid likely have the potential to get better I'm just not sure he will considering his limited BB IQ to play in a structured system and this is the case with most scores.   I put all bias aside for wanting to keep Stuckey, or drafting Burke or MCW in which I'm still convinced that long term both will be light years better than KCP overall.   People KCP simply isn't as good or decent as many of you make him out to be and getting his ass whipped by an aging often injured Wade proves my point, for that I have yet to see him totally lockdown a player unless the definition of lockdown has changed.  I've seen Joe lock down an opposing player, I seen Rodman lockdown an entire team, I've seen the Gary Paytons, Bruce Bowens, Ben Wallace, and likes change a game defensively not with KCP.  I have seen players able to defend 3 positions deep but not this kid, KCP should be able to defend at least these 3 position PG, SG and SF effectively as much as some of you rah rah his defense that allows him a **** load of PT.

A lot of what I see is bonehead 3 attempts, and opposing SG still managing to do their thing.  Please stop calling this kid a great defender when he isn't even or barely a decent defender.  

Really 4-15 FG and 0-6 on 3's topped off with some old guy whipping his ass for 40pt

[merc]

Hey Don,
Since you see a lot of Stanley Johnson can you give us your low down on how he fits the Pistons... his tournament performance has him dropping to us in some mocks.

[Sparma]

An ideal loss: we helped our draft status, while our twofold core for the future had a bunch of spectacular plays. To wit: a lob by Reggie to Drummond for a reverse dunk; a terrific cross court pass by a double-teamed Andre to Prince for a 3 pointer; a 4th quarter lob by Reggie that went a bit too far that Drummond managed to tip in; a dribbling score by Reggie in which he beat at least 4 of the Heat who'd just switched to a zone.

Reggie's still a major risk if signed to a huge contract (caution SVG!) about whom I suspect we'll be complaining for years, but he's played like a superstar recently (in agreement with Oracle's comment about tonight).

KCP was off. Our rebounders didn't help Andre. The defense must have contributed greatly to Wade and Haslem's turning back the clock, even though it hard for me to pick up on exactly how (I did see that Drummond again blocked out poorly and that Prince was too slow when defending Wade). Oh well. I'll sign on for a loss like this for the rest of our games.

[Oracle]

Even in a loss I took more positives from this game... Drummond continues to improve his post game (thanks to Monroe being out)... Jackson just out played the top FA PG this summer.
Never thought I'd see Wade play like this again... kudos to their rehab trainer.
If they can keep the core together the Pistons will be a dangerous team next year after using their assets to add the right pieces.

Are you freaking kidding me, Reggie is looking like a superstar, and Drummond was dominant over the puny Miami Bigs!

Unfortunately Wade was in a zone, and you're right, I didn't think he had that level of game left, at least I haven't seen it in years!

I hope they have a sh!t load of ice to apply to KCP's arse, that ass whooping surely must have hurt!

What was so amazing to me was the efficiency of Reggie, 31pts on 12 of 17 shooting, and Dre, 32 points on 14 of 17 shooting, and on the road, that's impressive!

No matter what, we can easily see that if you surround these core pieces with guys that actually have talent and can play, this team is scary!

[merc]

Even in a loss I took more positives from this game... Drummond continues to improve his post game (thanks to Monroe being out)... Jackson just out played the top FA PG this summer.
Never thought I'd see Wade play like this again... kudos to their rehab trainer.
If they can keep the core together the Pistons will be a dangerous team next year after using their assets to add the right pieces.

[cool breeze]

Tom Izzo is a freaking wizard the way his teams always perform at a higher level in the final fours... just amazing!

State has no stars, but if your team has a weakness, Izzo will find it and attack it!

Wow the Spartans roll to the Final 4 to play Duke. I think that Michigan State does have some players who compare with some of the guys who are getting all the hype. I have always appreciated Valentine since he played like Magic Johnson in the high school State Championship game. That performance was so good I thought that he would be a one and done college player. But Izzo forced him to play in Izzo's system and his system never seems to change regardless of the individual talent some of his players hide through most of their college career. You must conform to me says Izzo and that is old school. I love it. In crunch time, Valentine was the guy who wanted the ball and had the skill to create things for his teammates. I will be really surprised if he is not a big success at the next level. He has the size and creativity on offense but he will have to work his ass off.

[Oracle]

Tom Izzo is a freaking wizard the way his teams always perform at a higher level in the final fours... just amazing!

State has no stars, but if your team has a weakness, Izzo will find it and attack it!

[Oracle]

Don, two things.

1. Joe was a dumbass for making the trade at all, but if Knight had stayed through the Josh Smith era, he would have gotten ALL of the blame for losing, of that I have no doubt! Middleton would have been a 9th or 10th man as KCP's defense would have kept him from the SG position, and Singler would have blocked him from the SF! In both cases, I can hear the usual suspects bringing up a million reasons why Knight should be traded and Middleton just isn't good enough to start!

2. In that article, they weren't saying that we had the highest ranked point guard tandem in the league, but that we placed two guards on the list higher than any other team's two guards. In fact, our guards haven't played a minute together or as a backup  on the same team. I totally agree with you that we might want to move Jennings, but the question is when!

When Jennings contract is up, we can get a LOT more for him, but there is a danger in waiting. If he doesn't show well next season, his value would drop, but if we move him before the season starts, we'll get less, but the risk will be less.

I'm going to have to lean towards what you're suggesting, and trade him to the Lakers for a player and a pick(replace a 2nd rounder we lost to OKC?). I would say include Monroe, but I like the Monroe to Phoenix for the Morris twins, or one of them better, though unlikely!

Spartans down 8 at the half! They need to guard the paint a lot better!

Never mind that Dumars traded Brandon Knight. All along Joe was concerned about including Middleton. But Joe wasn't concerned at all about trading Brandon Knight for Brandon Jennings. Oh no that was such a great deal, Joe at ants in his pants to get it done. No other NBA team was really attempting to sign Jennings at the time. Management for the Bucks and Jennings teammates were sick and tired of watching Jennings ignore his responsibilities on defense and hog the ball on offense. So somehow Hammond was able to convince Joe Dumars that the guy they already announced was no longer welcome on their team to not only give Knight away but also include Middleton. There is a short sentence about possible impact of Jennings agent on Dumars. Hmmm should Gores request a polygraph for Joe Dumars over this deal? This trade made no sense at all for the Detroit Pistons. It will never make any sense to anybody who follows the NBA. Did Jennings remind Joe of Iverson? What in hell was he doing running the Pistons for so many years. This guy is a basketball player only. He had no business negotiating with professionals. Dumars saw no upside in Brandon Jennings or Arron Affalo. How much money did Joe have to give Denver so they would take that problem (Affalo) off Joe's hands. Joe had his player board set with Rodney Stuckey and Austin Daye at one time. I wonder what his player board looked like at in his last day of work for the Pistons. How long did Joe ponder about pulling the trigger on that insane trade for Jennings?Any chance Van Gundy will hire Joe has a consultant? That is a scary thought.

The other article relating to the Pistons having the highest ranked point guard tandem is really funny. The NBA has some fantastic two way All Star point guards who will eat up this tandem if Van Gundy is foolish enough to keep both of them. They will never co exist on the same team for one season. Which player is going to be the stopper on defense? I would keep Jackson and trade Jennings to the Lakers where he wants to play.

[cool breeze]

Never mind that Dumars traded Brandon Knight. All along Joe was concerned about including Middleton. But Joe wasn't concerned at all about trading Brandon Knight for Brandon Jennings. Oh no that was such a great deal, Joe at ants in his pants to get it done. No other NBA team was really attempting to sign Jennings at the time. Management for the Bucks and Jennings teammates were sick and tired of watching Jennings ignore his responsibilities on defense and hog the ball on offense. So somehow Hammond was able to convince Joe Dumars that the guy they already announced was no longer welcome on their team to not only give Knight away but also include Middleton. There is a short sentence about possible impact of Jennings agent on Dumars. Hmmm should Gores request a polygraph for Joe Dumars over this deal? This trade made no sense at all for the Detroit Pistons. It will never make any sense to anybody who follows the NBA. Did Jennings remind Joe of Iverson? What in hell was he doing running the Pistons for so many years. This guy is a basketball player only. He had no business negotiating with professionals. Dumars saw no upside in Brandon Jennings or Arron Affalo. How much money did Joe have to give Denver so they would take that problem (Affalo) off Joe's hands. Joe had his player board set with Rodney Stuckey and Austin Daye at one time. I wonder what his player board looked like at in his last day of work for the Pistons. How long did Joe ponder about pulling the trigger on that insane trade for Jennings?Any chance Van Gundy will hire Joe has a consultant? That is a scary thought.

The other article relating to the Pistons having the highest ranked point guard tandem is really funny. The NBA has some fantastic two way All Star point guards who will eat up this tandem if Van Gundy is foolish enough to keep both of them. They will never co exist on the same team for one season. Which player is going to be the stopper on defense? I would keep Jackson and trade Jennings to the Lakers where he wants to play.

[Sebastian]

more Andrea Bargnani than Nikola Mirotić in my most humble opinion and I hope like hell that GM Stan does not draft him.

[cool breeze]

The just didn't have either the skill or size to compete with Wisconsin!

Which is why I still don't see how State is winning with that small ball offense, but I'm glad they got this far!

I'll be rooting hard for State tomorrow, but the Badgers hardly broke a sweat beating the Wildcats... good win!

Don, Stanley Johnson??? Seriously?

I've seen him in two games and he looks like the freshman he is, I can't see anything special about this kid, but the big games sometimes drains a player!

Having said that, I do trust your evaluations, so I assume he's just having a bad tournament!

DX, take a bow, your boy, Frank Kaminsky, is looking like a real winner! He's got the full package!

He can shoot the 3, put it on the floor, and has some great post moves! Most of that won't work as well in the NBA until he gets some experience, but the shooting should translate.

Gotta say that I really like him, but I am still concerned how well he'll do in the NBA unless he moves from center to stretch PF!

Wisconsin's coach said it well in the post game press conference. That was a special performance by those Wisconsin players. I have great doubts that those players can play that way again but I hope they knock off Kentucky. They made so many clutch low percentage shots as the shot clock was expiring and shot over 80% from the field in the 2nd half. Arizona failed to get the ball inside using Ashley on the low block against Kaminsky in the 2nd half. In the first half Ashley was able to score against Kaminsky and in foul trouble. The only problem was that ashley was in foul trouble all night long. Relating to your comments on Stanley Johnson, I still stand my my evaluation which is the same evaluation most pro scouts have on him. Johnson gets frustrated with the refs and the way they call the touch fouls in college and especially the silly PAC12 refs. Stanley likes contact. He weighs 245 pounds and is really fast. His drives to the rim are powerful and he has nice mid range and 3 point shooting skill. The charge call in college needs to change. Defensive players are moving when the offensive player has left the ground and defenders can simply step in front of a player when they are both less than 2 feet from the rim. Johnson had difficulty in this entire tournament but his transition to the NBA will be much easier than a player like KCP for example. Johnson is prepared for the pro game. He can guard a 2 or 3 in the NBA and the guy can really rebound well. He is a perfect fit for an NBA small forward in today's game. With that said, Johnson was never my favorite Arizona player this season. But he came in playing selfish and left as a team first player.

Michigan State gave the Big Ten Championship tournament game to Wisconsin at the end of regulation and perhaps that was a motivator for the Spartans. Go Spartans!

[deusXango]

I think whether or not Calipari is ready to return to the NBA is being answered as I type this. He has a loaded team, not only with talent, but size, and the Fighting Irish is at his natural ass; what'll he do going against stiffer competition with, comparatively, lesser talent? I think he should stay where he can do his best work and be satisfied there; don't be a diva in the Larry Brown mold, you ain't the coach he is!

Thanks for the shout out Oracle, I was always of the mind that Kaminsky's game was tailored more for him to be a pro PF than a center, that's why I campaign for him to replace Moose when, hopefully, he walks. He's not a veteran, but he is a four year college player and no further behind in his development on the pro level, coming in, than the core of Drummond, Jackson, KCP, and Dinwiddie as far as maturity and basics go.

Sebastian, I'm surprised at you for suggesting we trade our first round pick for T.J. Warren when a S&T for Moose (if they wanted him for his asking price) would get that done....what happened to your support of Quincy Miller? Miller and Warren would easily answer or SF problem; better than what we stumbled through this season with.

[Oracle]

The just didn't have either the skill or size to compete with Wisconsin!

Which is why I still don't see how State is winning with that small ball offense, but I'm glad they got this far!

I'll be rooting hard for State tomorrow, but the Badgers hardly broke a sweat beating the Wildcats... good win!

Don, Stanley Johnson??? Seriously?

I've seen him in two games and he looks like the freshman he is, I can't see anything special about this kid, but the big games sometimes drains a player!

Having said that, I do trust your evaluations, so I assume he's just having a bad tournament!

DX, take a bow, your boy, Frank Kaminsky, is looking like a real winner! He's got the full package!

He can shoot the 3, put it on the floor, and has some great post moves! Most of that won't work as well in the NBA until he gets some experience, but the shooting should translate.

Gotta say that I really like him, but I am still concerned how well he'll do in the NBA unless he moves from center to stretch PF!

[Oracle]

I say R.Jackson is A way better starting pg then B.Jennings. What wins me over is how Jackson is so smooth and under-control. B.Jennings is craziness in motion. Jennings is A very talented  player who plays at A uptempo pace but you will have plenty of bad, off balance shots and with Jackson, you just don't get the wild..hero..bad shots, Jennings PG play. The kid is steady and smooth. And he will only get better.

And how about A hand for KCP....  This young man is growing up right in front of all our eyes. Amazing young SG. It's been fun to see KCP develop and work himself into one of the best young, up and coming 2guards in the entire NBA. When the Pistons have A great regular season record Jackson, kcp and Drummonds will be making all star weekend plans. NICE YOUNG CORE moving forward....

A number 1 pick would be the icing on the Pistons cake.

Jackson vs Jennings is truly about styles!

Jennings is unpredictable, and that's an advantage in a lot of situations, where as Jackson is more steady, and you're right, that's the prescription for both regular season and playoff success.

The bottom line on who to keep turns out to be more practical than I originally thought.

We simply won't be able to afford Jennings next contract if he recovers and is playing well. He'll be due for an even bigger raise than Jackson next season, and we won't pay that.

Jackson is a player that we can shoot the wad for, and lock him up for 4-5 years and secure the PG for our core!

KCP had a pretty awful shooting game, but he did manage to score decently, but his biggest contribution was defense. It's great to have a SG that can compensate for a bad game in so many ways. KCP can score from deep, score on drives to the basket, and if none of that is working, he can defend.

KCP had 4 effing steals!!! Steals are additional possessions and hopefully more points! Yes, he was the better choice over Burke!

IMO, we're due for some luck in the draft, so I'm hopeful that we either get a #1 or move up significantly!

[Oracle]

Oracle, corrupt minds think alike... good post.
I'm thinking that RJ's 3s are going to continue to improve with consistent minutes.
Anyone notice that DRe is starting to force his way closer in before releasing the baby hook?
Hoping he works hard on his left hand this summer for a counter move... then Monroe will just be a distant memory.

Yeah Merc, we were two of the few calling for patience with Reggie, and it's finally paying off with stellar play at home and away!

Drummond absolutely needs to use his size and bulk to get closer, he can muscle almost anybody out there, and once he realizes that, there are an array of moves that will immediately become effective for him.

Sometimes he gets mad and just bulls his way to the hoop to score, and he needs to do more of that, but it will come in time, just like with Shaq, it took time and a good coach to instill in him that nobody could stop him if he wanted it!

But he has to be able to punish them if they foul him! His FT stroke is a good one, he just needs a long and steady diet of reps to get it right! All he needs is to get to just better than 60%, and he's good to go!

IMO, Monroe is close to fading from the memory of Piston fans! He's still a very skilled big man, and I like him, but we're just better off with a PF that has different skills.

[Phil-Good]

I say R.Jackson is A way better starting pg then B.Jennings. What wins me over is how Jackson is so smooth and under-control. B.Jennings is craziness in motion. Jennings is A very talented player who plays at A uptempo pace but you will have plenty of bad, off balance shots and with Jackson, you just don't get the wild..hero..bad shots, Jennings PG play. The kid is steady and smooth. And he will only get better.

And how about A hand for KCP.... This young man is growing up right in front of all our eyes. Amazing young SG. It's been fun to see KCP develop and work himself into one of the best young, up and coming 2guards in the entire NBA. When the Pistons have A great regular season record Jackson, kcp and Drummonds will be making all star weekend plans. NICE YOUNG CORE moving forward....

A number 1 pick would be the icing on the Pistons cake.

[merc]

Oracle, corrupt minds think alike... good post.
I'm thinking that RJ's 3s are going to continue to improve with consistent minutes.
Anyone notice that DRe is starting to force his way closer in before releasing the baby hook?
Hoping he works hard on his left hand this summer for a counter move... then Monroe will just be a distant memory.

[Oracle]

WTF did Prince take before this game??? Ponce De Leon had nothing on this dude   Great game by Prince, the under the radar big time player in this one!

But Reggie, oh Reggie! A legit(as Sparma said), and sweet triple double! The silver lining to not tanking is the beautiful chemistry and comfort the key players are getting!

But Reggie...
1. Shoots the 3 well - Not yet
2. Great Handles - Check
3. Finishes at the rim - Check
4. Great court Vision - Check
5. Fearless in the lane - Check
6. Breaks down defenses - Check
7. Works well with Drummond - Check

I'm SOLD!!! And after hearing Jennings saying he doesn't care who comes off the bench as long as we're winning, I want to see them both tearing the league a new one!

The big loser in all of this is the draft pick(possibly) and the Moose!

As the saying goes, "I picked the wrong week to stop drinking", Moose picked the wrong time to get injured!

The results are in, if SVG can get this level of play out of scrubs, just imagine what he can do when we get better players!

[Sparma]

Jackson with a legit triple double this time, playing like an All Star.

Prince with a huge game.

Of course we (fans) want the highest pick we can get. I do think there's a silver lining to our failure to tank successfully. Since Monroe's been out, we've gotten our best look at what the team could look like moving forward. They've been really good! I'd think that would make some difference to prospective FAs. Not sure our stretch 4 is among them.

At this point, I'm about ready to sign Prince up as (back up) stretch 4, making a position switch at the end of his career. He played big without Monroe there, getting plenty of rebounds. I'd love to see him back for the Vet's minimum, but that ain't going to happen. His halftime interview was the most engaged I've heard him be since his return.

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