Re: FORUM

[cool breeze]

This guy has 1st round talent, he's athletic, can put the ball on the floor and finish in traffic, and shoots the 3 at a high rate & in the clutch! I like this guy, and he has Dinwiddie's size and can play either the 1 or 2, but is likely more of a 2!

This is another good Stan Van Gundy pick Oracle. Thanks for the video.

[cool breeze]

Drew was so sure something was wrong with Stan Van Gundy's draft pick selection that he thought it was necessary to call him out. It seems for years that no Detroit Newspaper sports writer for either major Detroit newspaper had any opinion other than Joe Dumars' opinion. Wow this is shocking now where sports writers think it is fair game to take pot shots at Stan Van Gundy. What happened to their courage before Stan? In the old days, the Detroit News was the bought and paid for newspaper for the owner of the Red Wings. Whatever the owner did to screw the players, the reporters were supportive or fearful to give out any adverse information that might help the players secure benefits after suffering crippling injuries and left to rod in a snow bank. So what is up now with not only Sharp but other sports writers who now are suddenly experts in the field of running a NBA franchise. How many times did Drew watch Stanley Johnson play this past season. How many times did he watch the shooting guard he was so high on? Did Sharp know any of the downside of the Kentucky shooting guard's transformation potential to the NBA? He wrote like he seemed to know. Did he have an opinion directly after the Darko pick was made or Rodney White? If Johnson is a bust then Drew Sharp can say I told you so. Just be consistent please. It seems that Stan Van Gundy is not getting the same kind of respect as Joe Dumars. This is bothersome to me because Stan Van Gundy is a work dog. Maybe Stan can't find time to go out for a laid back lunch with the Detroit reporters. Joe had a lot of time to do that.

[Oracle]

This guy has 1st round talent, he's athletic, can put the ball on the floor and finish in traffic, and shoots the 3 at a high rate & in the clutch! I like this guy, and he has Dinwiddie's size and can play either the 1 or 2, but is likely more of a 2!

[Oracle]

What is going on this summer with Andre's free throw shooting practice? Is Drummond doing any mental work to prepare himself to make better decisions and MORE EFFORT on the defensive end? Can Drummond eliminate stupid mistakes and stay out of foul trouble next year? So much depends on this guy but he has one thing going in his favor. Drummond will have better defensive support at the power forward and small forward positions. Still, he must show that he has a better grasp of how to rotate and his concentration much improve or his stock will crash by next summer.

You must have missed the article on the new shooting coach, whose first stop is in California to work with Drummond on his shooting!

However, your point about being surrounded with better defenders is a good one, if not fully understated! It won't happen right out of the gate, but I'm more excited about this than anything else in the future!

The vision of Jackson, KCP and Johnson defending the perimeter is going to be an awesome sight!

Once they gel, it should be one hell of an effort to get past those 3, and when they do, we should have two bigs there to contest!

Defense wins championships, and yes, that was the same Cavs team that beat the crap out of teams in the east, but Golden State defended their asses into the ground and wore out LeBron!

This group that we have are a bunch of hard workers with really good talent, this team can win playing Piston Basketball!!!

While we do need a few more pieces, it's going to take some time to figure out who the keepers are!

Can we include Martin in a trade, can we do better than Toliver, is QM a keeper... many questions, but the answers are coming!

And here's the biggie... I guarantee you we won't be seeing a 5-23 start with this group

[Murph]

My 13 year old just had Dave Hopla come to his basketball camp yesterday to instruct the kids on shooting.   My son said Hopla is almost 60 years old, but still hit 295 out of 300 threes (from 18 feet) at the camp to demonstrate

And today the Pistons just hired him as their shooting coach.  You can't make this stuff up.  

[cool breeze]

What is going on this summer with Andre's free throw shooting practice? Is Drummond doing any mental work to prepare himself to make better decisions and MORE EFFORT on the defensive end? Can Drummond eliminate stupid mistakes and stay out of foul trouble next year? So much depends on this guy but he has one thing going in his favor. Drummond will have better defensive support at the power forward and small forward positions. Still, he must show that he has a better grasp of how to rotate and his concentration much improve or his stock will crash by next summer.

[cool breeze]

Sean Miller played the documentary many times over the past season and Stanley loves to watch it and can't wait to suit up at the Palace.

Cool, is your chest puffed out like a new father ??  

I could never go that far Lemonpen. There is nothing like that feeling. But after checking with some of my buddies here, I found out that Stanley Johnson was the guy Stan Van Gundy wanted for a long time way before the end of the college season. Piston scouts spent time at the Richard Jefferson practice facility and attended games. Also, Stan Van Gundy has a close relationship with Sean Miller, Arizona's head coach. Knowing that those two guys talked a lot about Johnson tells me that Stan Van Gundy does go the extra mile. He does actually check in with college coaches to get their perspective of players the Pistons are considering on draft day.

The bigger question is what world was Joe Dumars living in when he was in charge of the team??? Joe had no contacts. His staff slacked off for many years with zero supervision. I have previously described a moment in time when while attending a college game when I talked to a Piston scout who was with another NBA scout from the Bulls. Both individuals were not paying much attention to the game between Stanford and Arizona. They were good time Charlies. It was a big game to decide first place. On the floor were actually 6 players who went on to have good NBA careers. Both scouts left at halftime of a hard fought close game. Both scouts decided that there were no good pro prospects playing in that game. They were interested in things other than basketball. My buddy was talking to the scouts and that is what the Piston scout told him. I was watching their demeanor. They didn't act like professional people who were there to work. My buddy and I knew something was really wrong with those two as we had done workups scouting many high school and college games before and we both talked about never recalling having the desire to leave a high intensity game at either level even though we had no vested interest. I love basketball as most serious coaches and fans do. But some are troubled souls who can only concentrate on their own needs and wants. So in that situation, I can only guess that our Piston scout for Joe Dumars went on to Florida to scout Rodney White. Opps, it seems that Joe and his scouting team forgot one important thing before listening to Michael Jordan decide that bogus pick for Joe. They forgot to ask the coach or Rodney's teammates what they thought of White. Joe liked him in the combine and maybe he performed well in the personal workout. Nobody in their right mind who had actually put in one ounce of work would have drafted Rodney White over Joe Johnson. Michael Jordan made a complete fool out of Joe for further revenge from the Bad Boys kicking his ass for so long. But that mistake was not enough for Joe. He went on to visit the chain smoking Darko in Europe to make sure Darko was worthy of the 2nd overall pick. Dumars should have been fired for several reasons but the owner was old and not mentally with it. Dumars goes on to bank on keeping his job by keeping the salaries down thus eliminating possibly two more championships with the Billups Gang. The Piston organization should be proud of Joe Dumars as a player and as a GM working with John Hammond for a very brief period.

Now we Piston fans can relax because we have a really good basketball guy running the show for the Pistons. Regardless of how Stanley Johnson works out for the Pistons, everyone should know that Stan Van Gundy doesn't leave a stone unturned. He works hard because he loves the sport of basketball. The owner can trust his judgement. It is tough to sell free agents to come to play for the Pistons but times are changing. Soon the team will have more talent and more flexibility to make good trades. There will be no future trades like the Brandon Jennings for Knight and Middleton insanity. Should we go through that brain fart again? The Bucks stated publicly that they didn't want Jennings back. Players on the Bucks team said they were happy he was not returning. He could have been signed with no problem as a restricted free agent having that information and as well as knowing that no other NBA team was really interested in Jennings. He wanted too much money and he was known as a selfish offensive player who could not play defense. Yet somehow Hammond was able to convince Dumars to give up two good players when he didn't have to give up anyone. Not just anyone would fall for that would they? We had a lot to be angry about as Piston fans but not now. The team is on the right track and Van Gundy is not done yet. He has more in store for us before the fall camp. Go Stanley Johnson! Keep watching that Bad Boy documentary and fight for a spot in the Piston rotation.

[lemonpen]

I'd give SVG an "A" for this draft.  He did a good job for the second year in a row.  

I'd like to give it a month until we see them compete in our uni's. But, Stan did do alright with Spencer.

[lemonpen]

Sean Miller played the documentary many times over the past season and Stanley loves to watch it and can't wait to suit up at the Palace.

Cool, is your chest puffed out like a new father ??  

[lemonpen]

Murph, I agree, SVG gets an "A-" from me! The minus will go away once I see the other additions he adds to offset not going big with the 2nd round pick, but I have a lot of confidence that he has a good plan! SVG is refreshingly methodical and business like in his moves, and I like that!

Stanley Johnson, has all star potential written all over him! IMO, he will mesh well with KCP who I think will surprise a lot of people next season. The "Artest with a brain" comparison is a good one, he's physically powerful, sporting only 7% body fat on a sturdy frame distributed evenly, makes him an imposing figure.

Like they said, when he leads the break, there's very few NBA players that can stop him, or even want to get in his way! Amazingly, he's only about 1/2 inch shorter that Draymond Green(Green: Draft Express), so he'll play big in a small ball unit with that size!

I won't comment too much on the 2nd round pick because I know so little, and since those contracts aren't guaranteed, who knows if he'll stick. but IMO, we have a few serious all star candidates.

1. Reggie Jackson is certainly a possibility
   
2. Andre Drummond is always a threat
   
3. KCP will be if his jumper gets better,
   
4. Jennings is a threat if healthy, and
   
5. Johnson has a shot in the future, rookie of the year will be hard with Russell in LA, and KAT in Minny
   

But none of those honors are going to be possible if these Pistons can't win games! Winnings brings attention and allows the media talking whores to justify making players stars!

One final note on the Johnson pick! As a Piston fan I've seen our past teams shut down and disrupt well oiled offensive machines, so I never discount the power of great defense! IMO, the deciding factor for Johnson is the thought and dream of having both him & KCP defending together! That's some great backcourt defense, and if Drummond can become a better rim protector, it's going to be very difficult to score on us a full 48 minutes!

In other draft night musings:

I was glad to see the big 10 place a player 2nd overall in Russell! It looks to me like the Lakers are pretty sure that they're going to get a very good big man in free agency, or they don't make this move.

But Russell, IMO, has everything you need to be a super star in this league! The guy can shoot lights out and has one of the best handles I've seen. He passes like a magician, and runs the P&R like a pro, and has the size to guard both the 1 & 2, and smaller 3's! Like a lot of superior offensive players his defense is a little suspect, but even Jordan had to learn how to defend... I like this pick for the Lakers!

Pissed off that Atlanta got Tim Hardaway Jr & two freaking picks from the Knicks! Ok, they had to trade him because of the hate thing going on between him and Carmelo, but couldn't we have made some move there? I still don't know what the beef between them is, but it must be bad! Ok, I found out what it was, evidently Hardaway screamed at Carmelo to get the effing rebound, and it escalated from there - Report: Carmelo Anthony told Tim Hardaway Jr. he'd beat him up

But overall, I'm pleased with what we got, and now I'm ready for July 1, when the FA season begins!!!

Sounds like Hardaway has some GUMPTION, BACKBONE and LEADERSHIP in him. I guess Phil couldn't have that.

[lemonpen]

GM SVG has drafted this kid with the #8 Pick. Head Coach Stan must play this kid!

Don't know that Stan will have much choice. Ain't much else in the cupboard at SF assuming we pickup a free agent starter.

[lemonpen]

I would like to have seen things go a little differently but now that it's done the newbies have my support. Can't wait to watch them kick some arse in the Orlando Summer League. Anyone know if Quincy will be on that roster.

[cool breeze]

Sean Miller played the documentary many times over the past season and Stanley loves to watch it and can't wait to suit up at the Palace.

[Sebastian]

GM SVG has drafted this kid with the #8 Pick. Head Coach Stan must play this kid!

[Murph]

So Hilliard is a 22 year old, 4 year senior coming out of an outstanding Villanova program. Hilliard led the team in scoring his junior and senior seasons, when 'Nova finished 13th and 9th in the nation. And Hilliard shot 39% and 41% from the 3 pt line the last two years.

At 6'6 1/2 in shoes and 220 lbs, he's big, and he's reported to be a very good perimeter defender.

Hilliard looks as if he could step into the rotation as a reserve SG or SF, and contribute off the bench almost immediately.

Good, conservative pick.

[Oracle]

Murph, I agree, SVG gets an "A-" from me! The minus will go away once I see the other additions he adds to offset not going big with the 2nd round pick, but I have a lot of confidence that he has a good plan! SVG is refreshingly methodical and business like in his moves, and I like that!

Stanley Johnson, has all star potential written all over him! IMO, he will mesh well with KCP who I think will surprise a lot of people next season. The "Artest with a brain" comparison is a good one, he's physically powerful, sporting only 7% body fat on a sturdy frame distributed evenly, makes him an imposing figure.

Like they said, when he leads the break, there's very few NBA players that can stop him, or even want to get in his way! Amazingly, he's only about 1/2 inch shorter that Draymond Green(Green: Draft Express), so he'll play big in a small ball unit with that size!

I won't comment too much on the 2nd round pick because I know so little, and since those contracts aren't guaranteed, who knows if he'll stick. but IMO, we have a few serious all star candidates.

1. Reggie Jackson is certainly a possibility
   
2. Andre Drummond is always a threat
   
3. KCP will be if his jumper gets better,
   
4. Jennings is a threat if healthy, and
   
5. Johnson has a shot in the future, rookie of the year will be hard with Russell in LA, and KAT in Minny
   

But none of those honors are going to be possible if these Pistons can't win games! Winnings brings attention and allows the media talking whores to justify making players stars!

One final note on the Johnson pick! As a Piston fan I've seen our past teams shut down and disrupt well oiled offensive machines, so I never discount the power of great defense! IMO, the deciding factor for Johnson is the thought and dream of having both him & KCP defending together! That's some great backcourt defense, and if Drummond can become a better rim protector, it's going to be very difficult to score on us a full 48 minutes!

In other draft night musings:

I was glad to see the big 10 place a player 2nd overall in Russell! It looks to me like the Lakers are pretty sure that they're going to get a very good big man in free agency, or they don't make this move.

But Russell, IMO, has everything you need to be a super star in this league! The guy can shoot lights out and has one of the best handles I've seen. He passes like a magician, and runs the P&R like a pro, and has the size to guard both the 1 & 2, and smaller 3's! Like a lot of superior offensive players his defense is a little suspect, but even Jordan had to learn how to defend... I like this pick for the Lakers!

Pissed off that Atlanta got Tim Hardaway Jr & two freaking picks from the Knicks! Ok, they had to trade him because of the hate thing going on between him and Carmelo, but couldn't we have made some move there? I still don't know what the beef between them is, but it must be bad! Ok, I found out what it was, evidently Hardaway screamed at Carmelo to get the effing rebound, and it escalated from there - Report: Carmelo Anthony told Tim Hardaway Jr. he'd beat him up

But overall, I'm pleased with what we got, and now I'm ready for July 1, when the FA season begins!!!

[Murph]

I'd give SVG an "A" for this draft. He did a good job for the second year in a row.

[Oracle]

That we didn't go big in the 2nd round, but SVG did pick up a shooter!

One thing about SVG is that he makes moves designed to fit his other plans!

A lot of this should become a lot clearer once we know his moves in the FA market!

[Oracle]

Not if the reaction we're seeing is considered...

SVG: Teams are offering the guy they took this year + future picks + players for Stanley.. We've had a ton of interest all night.

[merc]

As for Winslow... Stan said a couple times that he didn't want to say anything bad about another player but the choice was not between Johnson or Winslow (re he had someone else on the board rated higher).

[Oracle]

No pick is going to change our fortunes in the next 2 years, although IMO, either of Johnson, Winslow or Kaminsky are capable of being rotation players in their first year, and for us, one of those SF's could start at some point!

Having said that, SVG keeps saying that where we're going to turn around this season is through Free Agency & Trades!!!

We got a big part of that in the PF department, but we still need a starting SF because Johnson isn't capable on day one!

I still want a veteran that can double as a backup center/PF, but even more...

I want a knock down shooter somewhere in the lineup!

Let's not over think the draft, especially for the present, Johnson will be a beast in the future, but next season will be decided by veterans!

[merc]

http://www.nba.com/pistons/multimedia/draft-press-conference

[Phil-Good]

OK. I don't argue with professionals like VanGundy and his staff. If they like S.Johnson more then Winslow then cool.

But here is A small note. Coach K believes Winslow is the next D.Wade...

[WTF]

He doesn't look like a SF he looks like a SG to me! Wait we have two of those already. Think we should have went with Kaminsky just saying since replacing Moose and Josh is really required. Hope SVG is thinking BIG when it comes to trade and free agency.

I'm not complaining about the pick but we have Meeks and KCP already so I'm hoping one of them is gone come the start of the season. Otherwise he'll linger on the bench because politics will keep both Meeks and KCP ahead of him.

[Oracle]

Well Don got his boy... they must have seen something in SJ that Winslow was missing... will be interested in SVGs take.

I've looked at the pre-draft workout of Winslow & Johnson, and after that I was totally convinced that Johnson was the better pick!

Johnson shot better, finished at the rim better, and is a bit better defensively over the season!

I like Winslow, but I just like Johnson a lot better for us!

His size was also a factor in my mind, coupled with his superior ability to dribble the ball in traffic, makes him an excellent prospect!

Like KCP, we can even think about starting him at some point in the season because he can defend the position!

I like the move!

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