Has Knight Hit A Wall?

[WTF]

Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?

I swear he looks like the same knuckle-head his freshmen season. He really need to take a step back and evaluate his game and ask himself is he a PG or SG, and what do he want to be.

He's been shooting like shit as of late and I don't think he had a double digit assist total this season.

[Grizz2]

Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?

I swear he looks like the same knuckle-head his freshmen season. He really need to take a step back and evaluate his game and ask himself is he a PG or SG, and what do he want to be.

He's been shooting like shit as of late and I don't think he had a double digit assist total this season.

... needs a good head coach and offensive system to learn PG .. the toughest position to learn .. and the most dependent on (1) and (2) .. BK7 came in as a rookie with little experience and he has not improved that much if at all as a PG .. I mean .. wouldnt you think the head coach would be on improving PG play as one of the top . if not the top priority of the team? Doesnt seem like it has been .. ISOs and playing better D have been Frank's top priority .. Hurray for the better D .. but the ISOs have kept the team from progressing .. I see Frank as having STUPIDLY instructed Knight to go for ISOs as a normal top goal for him as a PG .. You would think Frank would want a team that moved the ball .. and until recently .. he has not been (Maybe Avery Johnson's getting the axe for doing too many ISOs had an effect on his thinking thank god)


As long as LFrank is here .. I would be happy to see Knight switch to SG .. cuz he isnt likely to learn from Frank .. I see plenty of effort and with this young player .. impressive also as a guard who often gets a key rebound or loose ball and has been able to hit some pressure shots ..

Let Stuckey or Bynum be the starting PG and see what the hell happens .. What have we been witnessing with Stuckey UNTIL very recently from the bench as a PG? Worse than Knight is now to be sure .. Bynum has been dynamite now but .. what happened in the past? A PG who ball hogs and was disrupting the offense big time ..

So .. if the Pistons are going to give these two 3 to 5 years as they have .. just keep in mind Wise how they have been playing over the last 3 seasons as PG ... They have been downright bad ... Why are they better now? IMO .. Stuckey does not like the limelight pressure .. and so plays better off the bench .. For Bynum .. I think spreading the floor with good shooters (at least nowadays) CV and Daye along with having DRUMMOND as the center .. I would love to see Knight play with DRUMMOND instead of stick in the mud JMAX .. who did well today BUT has been FAR FAR FAR .. (Did I say "FAR?") worse over the last 2 weeks at PF than Knight has been at PG ..

SO I SAY ..put Stuckey or Bynum at starting PG and play without Drummond BUT WITH JMAX .. You will see a far different not as good a PG player ..

Or Frank can do what he should have 2 months ago .. Start Drummond .. That Bucks game today was way closer than it needed to have been .. And would not have been if Drummond had been in there with Monroe controlling the boards and the helping the team play great defense.

[Phil-Good]

"WISEFAN wrote:Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?"

I can't stand A DOUBLE Talking, BULL-Shitter. And that's exactly what your are SOUR CYNIC! A BULL SHITTER!

Where was Billips 70 something games into his career 3 teams? 4 teams?


You live and die by one of the most late blooming Point Guards of all time in C.Billips. But your ready to give up on B.K.7

You surprise me with YOUR CONSTANT BULLSHIT and DOUBLE STANDARD, Bull SHIT Talk and Ideas!

I see right through your double-standard Bullshit views. JERK!

[Sebastian]

I share your concern about Monroe's foot speed!

He's beginning to make Duncan look like the road runner!

Oracle and Don, I wish that the sports pundits would stop insinuating that Moose is the second coming of Tim Duncan. Moose has a hell of a ways to go before he can be confused with having any Tim Duncan-like qualities to his game.

In fact, Joe should trade Moose straight-up for Cousins, today!

[Stones!!]

The only reason I was interested in the 7 ft Toronto player is that having a European-type player that has no defense and all offense is valuable against certain teams. That is what Daye and CV are doing at times. Kind of like Rashard Lewis as a PF. If we can get Toronto's player as an upgrade to CV then we can be more versatile.

I'm all about using these decent guys that have potential, but no future in Detroit, combined to get a better player to add to our young core. If Prince is one of them, that is fine with me. We have JJ and Singler (and Maggette????) to fill the void. (Still wondering what JJ did to get out of Frank's good graces...anyone know? Do you think he is not 100% back from his injury? It took Brand a while get 100% back. Just a thought.)

[deusXango]

"WISEFAN wrote:Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?"

I can't stand A DOUBLE Talking, BULL-****. And that's exactly what your are SOUR CYNIC! A BULL ****!

Where was Billips 70 something games into his career 3 teams? 4 teams?

Phillip Boy, hold on big hoss, there's enough doubt going around regarding the anointed "core of the future" players lately...such is the powers of confusion of the great Lil' Larry. I gotta get this off my chest first; you're actually calling for Stuckey's head??!! Unbelieveable!! Back to regular programming.

Not only is Knight's readiness to be a PG in the NBA questioned but, Monroe's overall abilities to contribute to a winner is questioned as well. Singler, who's playing out of position during his rookie year, has come under criticism for various reasons, and the better Stuckey plays, coming off the bench, the more fans call for him to be traded (either he starts or he's gotta go?). That's the real BULL SH!T. Fans have been spoon fed double talk regarding the use of Drummond...it's always about his time and developement, never about why Maxiell plays so much with Monroe but, Drummond can't get on the floor with him for more than a few minutes at most. We the fans have been struggleing to digest this ****, all in the name of supporting the team. From ownership to the cheap seats in the nose bleed section, we're all experiencing growing pains.

I'm not attempting to handle Wise's business, he's more than capable of handling his own, however there has been so much confusion, double talk, and bull sh!t going on this year, we've not been able to see just how good or bad this team is...I've always believed that it was better than what was being shown but, because of foolish and inept coaching practices, we couldn't see it. This is a team of hard working, gifted, skilled, and for the most part, intelligent players who need a coach with a teaching hand for both sides of the ball...a coach who doesn't "know it all" but, is willing to delagate. Our coach is having growing pains as well but, this is not the time or place for "Coach Developement 101."

[deusXango]

Monroe is not a superstar...he's a damn good complimentary player. A championship caliber complimentary player; he just happened to be the first of the "new core" of players to be drafted, who's going to return us to contention. He was the first big man on a team devoid of true big man play (that's why he's been playing out of position).

Look at what's being done inspite of, not because of, Lil' Larry. The coach is still experimenting and tampering with rotations but, the team has said, "to hell with this, let's go out and play for the few fans we've got left, and with each other." They seem to be playing outside of the restrictions placed on them, and not within them...it's working to the point that we've got a streak going on.

Let's show the same patience to Monroe and Knight that we showed to Stuckey; they are lottery picks and he was not! All it took for Stuckey to "find his self" was to let him be the player he's comfortable in being...let's allow Monroe and Knight to be comfortable playing their game. Side bar: I'm so glad that we had to "settle" for Drummond at #9, and didn't get our coveted John Henson. I'd also like to go to Houston and put Royce White out of his misery.

[Oracle]

I don't think anybody here has said that he is a Tim Duncan!

What has been said is that he's on a path to be a Tim Duncan type player, and he is! That's the model for Monroe, and at least when I mentioned it, I specified the attributes of Duncan that I saw in Monroe.

Of course having some of those attributes doesn't equal him being a Tim Duncan, but that's missing the point.

Monroe looks to be the not flashy, slow and steady double double type player that Tim Duncan is, plain and simple.

Anything beyond that wasn't said, and shouldn't be assumed.

Nobody expects Monroe, or is even predicting that Monroe will have the impact that Tim Duncan had, and is having on the game.

You can only see that in hindsight since it is based on accomplishments!

[Oracle]

Phillip Boy, hold on big hoss, there's enough doubt going around regarding the anointed "core of the future" players lately...such is the powers of confusion of the great Lil' Larry. I gotta get this off my chest first; you're actually calling for Stuckey's head??!! Unbelieveable!! Back to regular programming.

LOL, it's so funny, since Phillip used to be so far up Stuckey's Jock, you almost could confuse him with Stucks Johnson, LOL!

But I do agree with him that Knight, while looking like a total dufus, will be alright.

When Stuckey came along, he was put in a hermetically sealed box by CB, and forced to do a limited number of things, which constrained his bad behavior.

Knight has no such restrictions, and Frank, not providing any framework to work within, has the kid running wild!

That's why I like Bynums idea of having Stuckey start at PG, and let Knight only worry about scoring, while slowly giving him more PG duties.

Seriously, PG is a tough job to learn if you wern't born with the gene, but it can be learned! It's very difficult when it looks like our best coach is Bynum! Bynum makes sense, and Frank just mutters!

Give Knight a chance... give him a coach!

[Oracle]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Oracle]

Detroit Pistons year in review: 2013

By Dan Feldman • 11:43 am • December 31, 2012



Plenty of websites do a Year in Review at this time, and PistonPowered didn’t want to be left out. But we pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve, so we’re not looking back on 2012. We’re looking back on 2013, and what a year it was.

Jan. 1: The Pistons ring in the new year with a victory over the Kings. By winning three straight this season, Detroit joins an exclusive club that already includes 26 other teams.

Jan. 17: Playing the Washington Generals to the Knicks’ Harlem Globetrotters, the Pistons lose in London. Austin Daye decides he doesn’t like British food and loses eight pounds during the trip.

Jan. 31: The NBA All-Star teams are announced, and no Pistons make it. Unlike last year when Greg Monroe was a near-equal to Roy Hibbert, nobody really complains. Except one guy who whines that the league is only about stars and hates Detroit. There’s always that guy.

Feb. 1: Jason Maxiell suffers a leg injury against the Cavaliers that will cause him to miss two games.

Feb. 3: Andre Drummond makes his first start.

Feb. 6: Maxiell returns and scores 10 points off the bench. After the game, Lawrence Frank says Drummond will remain in the starting lineup as long as he merits the spot.

Feb. 8: Before the game, Frank answers the last question he’ll ever face about Drummond starting. With a 12-point, nine-rebound, two-block game against the Spurs that night, Drummond fully entrenches himself as a starter to the point nobody brings up the topic again.

Feb. 21: The trade deadline passes without the Pistons making a deal. A report will later surface that the Pistons were really, really, really, really close to a trade this time, they promise. According to the report, the Pistons offered Rodney Stuckey for DeMarcus Cousins and Francisco Garcia, and the Kings countered with John Salmons for Corey Maggette.

April 7: The Pistons lose to the Bulls and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

April 10: Pistons beat the Cavaliers.

April 12: Pistons beat the Bobcats.

April 15: Pistons beat the 76ers.

April 17: Pistons beat the Nets, finishing the season on a four-game win streak and with a 32-50 record.

April 18: Joe Dumars says Lawrence Frank will return for a third season. I write a post explaining that Dumars has repeatedly said coaches will keep their job and then firing them days later.

April 19: Dumars meets with the media and reiterates Frank will keep his job. Dumars also says how unacceptable this season was.

May 2: Andre Drummond finishes third in Rookie of the Year voting behind winner Damian Lillard and runner-up Anthony Davis. The placement seems about fair – though Drummond could make a case over Davis and has better per-minute numbers than Lillard.

May 6: Drummond receives a two All-Defensive second-team votes.

May 21: Continuing a tradition, last year’s lottery pick represents the Pistons at this year’s lottery. Andre Drummond brings a lucky penguin toy, but Mumble doesn’t bring the Pistons good fortune. Seeded sixth, they stay at the sixth pick.

June 27: The Pistons draft Shabazz Muhammad, who inexplicably slips when the Cavaliers reach for Tony Mitchell to prove they’re smarter than everyone else and the Kings draft Otto Porter to attempt to add character to their locker room. I write a post arguing Muhammad has some tendencies that could cause major trouble down the road, mainly his need to be a high-volume shooter, but because he’s so talented and potentially such a good fit, the Pistons are very fortunate to draft him. Some commenters bash me for being a hater. Others bash me for not concluding Muhammad’s advanced stats during one season playing for Ben Howland, who’s notorious for making future NBA players look subpar, ensure Mohamed will be a bust. Everyone agrees I’m an idiot.

June 30: Pistons let the deadline pass to extend Austin Daye a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

July 1: The Pistons agree to terms with O.J. Mayo on a four-year, $48 million contract with a player option for the fourth year – just in case Mayo decides he doesn’t want to make $12.75 million in 2016-17.

July 3: Chris Paul re-signs with the Clippers, and a annoyingly vocal segment of fans complain the Pistons didn’t sign him instead of Mayo.

July 4: Josh Smith re-signs with the Hawks, and the Pistons begin to leak how much they like Charlie Villanueva and brag about all the trade offers they got for him three years ago.

July 15: The deadline passes without the Pistons amnestying Villanueva.

Oct. 1: Pistons open training camp with 16 players, including training-camp invite Terrence Williams.

Oct. 21: Pistons cut Terrence Williams

Dec. 6: Austin Daye scores 21 points to lead the Hornets over Detroit.

Dec. 13: Pistons fire Lawrence Frank after a 6-18 start. Brian Hill is named interim coach.

[WTF]

"WISEFAN wrote:Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?"

I can't stand A DOUBLE Talking, BULL-****. And that's exactly what your are SOUR CYNIC! A BULL ****!

Where was Billips 70 something games into his career 3 teams? 4 teams?


You live and die by one of the most late blooming Point Guards of all time in C.Billips. But your ready to give up on B.K.7

You surprise me with YOUR CONSTANT BULLSHIT and DOUBLE STANDARD, Bull **** Talk and Ideas!

I see right through your double-standard Bullshit views. JERK!

Enough already with the Billups crap has nothing to do with double talking you "Moron" Why are you consistantly bringing up Billups to prove a point that's not even relevant. I support Knight only because we drafted him and was never under any illusion about him becoming anything than what he's shown.

I didn't like him at Kentucky and didn't see all the hype, in fact I watched his poor play as a PG take Kentucky out of an opportunity to won it all.

This dumb ass idea of yours about double standards is silly, we didn't draft Billups he came to us via free agency a seasoned vet. Whatever Chauncey was prior to joining the Pistons means nothing accept to dummies like you that seem to think Knight will walk the same path. Grow Up Sour Pee Boy

[WTF]

I thought he choked in that game going 6-23 and I thought how selfish of a player he was then just like I do now. Walker suckered Knight into ball hogging and taking everyone else out that game. I excused him then as just being a dumb freshman but he still plays like a dumb freshman.

No wonder why I love watching Burke play and hope we can draft him if he declares. Burke will beyond Knight when Knight is in his third season............I dare you to say Burke is better than Knight

[frankied]

Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?

I swear he looks like the same knuckle-head his freshmen season. He really need to take a step back and evaluate his game and ask himself is he a PG or SG, and what do he want to be.

He's been shooting like **** as of late and I don't think he had a double digit assist total this season.

wise,
funny, but i've been thinking exactly the same thing myself.
he just plays dumb.
i like him as a player - i think he could be a great jason terry-type guard - but he just plays like a dumb young player who hasn't learned anything about playing point guard in the nba.
i watched the miami heat feed online and the announcers raved about what a great scoring guard he'd been in high school in florida and all of a sudden his play in the nba made sense.
he's basically just playing the way he always has played, even back to his high school days as a great scoring guard, but the pistons are trying to convince themselves that he can be a point guard.
i've thought, in the past, that he could learn the PG position, but the more i see, the less convinced i am that he can learn how to play it.
too bad, cause i think he's talented, but for whatever reason, is not capable of putting that scoring mentality on the shelf.

[WTF]

Have you watched or gotten a chance to see Trey Burke play? If so what do you think about this kid?

[WTF]

Or is he simply not ready to be a PG in this league?

I swear he looks like the same knuckle-head his freshmen season. He really need to take a step back and evaluate his game and ask himself is he a PG or SG, and what do he want to be.

He's been shooting like **** as of late and I don't think he had a double digit assist total this season.

wise,
funny, but i've been thinking exactly the same thing myself.
he just plays dumb.
i like him as a player - i think he could be a great jason terry-type guard - but he just plays like a dumb young player who hasn't learned anything about playing point guard in the nba.
i watched the miami heat feed online and the announcers raved about what a great scoring guard he'd been in high school in florida and all of a sudden his play in the nba made sense.
he's basically just playing the way he always has played, even back to his high school days as a great scoring guard, but the pistons are trying to convince themselves that he can be a point guard.
i've thought, in the past, that he could learn the PG position, but the more i see, the less convinced i am that he can learn how to play it.
too bad, cause i think he's talented, but for whatever reason, is not capable of putting that scoring mentality on the shelf.

I like Knight as well, he has talent but I just don't think he's a PG in this league at least not yet. I'm just not sure anymore that he can handle it. Sure a better coach could help, but only help if they can give him the LB treatment of tough love. As long as excuses of youth is being giving and this wait and see approach he'll never learn the game or as LB would put it "Play The Right Way"

[frankied]

Have you watched or gotten a chance to see Trey Burke play? If so what do you think about this kid?

i like him a lot.
i think he can be a very good nba guard. the only thing that causes some concern is his size and the fact that he doesn't play great defense.
but, offensively, i'd love for detroit to have a guy like him at point. i think he'd be a big improvement over knight, as a point guard.
burke actually seems to understand how to play the position.
he seems like a smart player.
like i said, the worst thing about knight is that he seems to play like a dumb knucklehead most times.
i end up shaking my head and saying "what the f--k" every game when he always does something stupid.
too bad, cause i do think he is a good player, but he does not think like a good point guard. burke does think like a good point guard.

[Oracle]

It's too early IMO, to make a decision on Knight, but I feel your pain!

I don't see a contradiction between being a great scorer and being a great point guard.

In fact, I think it absolutely helps to be a great scorer to be effective as a great point guard.

Knight's problem is that he's really not either, because he's trying too hard to be everything!

Frank needs to slow it down for him, and you do that by recognizing his strengths, and letting him bring them to NBA levels(scoring), while slowly showing him how a PG works.

Knight needs to be put in a box from within he has defined goals, not this "do whatever you want" offense that Frank employs.

Frank is doing that on defense, and in fairness, he's made that his calling card, but like the Lions, he needs an offensive coach, because that end of the court is helter skelter!

BTW, welcome back Frankie!

[frankied]

is the guy i'd draft if i was detroit with a pick in the 5-10 range in the lottery. he has the size you want, and you could probably even start him with knight as the SG and let carter-williams guard the SG, while knight guarded the PG.
carter-williams is not a great shooter, but he's a very good ball handler and seems to see the court well. i think he'd be an excellent PG in the pros. he reminds me of michael ray richardson, from the 80's knicks.
at this point, i think he'd be the perfect pick for detroit and the perfect backcourt mate for brandon knight, SG.

[frankied]

It's too early IMO, to make a decision on Knight, but I feel your pain!

I don't see a contradiction between being a great scorer and being a great point guard.

In fact, I think it absolutely helps to be a great scorer to be effective as a great point guard.

Knight's problem is that he's really not either, because he's trying too hard to be everything!

Frank needs to slow it down for him, and you do that by recognizing his strengths, and letting him bring them to NBA levels(scoring), while slowly showing him how a PG works.

Knight needs to be put in a box from within he has defined goals, not this "do whatever you want" offense that Frank employs.

Frank is doing that on defense, and in fairness, he's made that his calling card, but like the Lions, he needs an offensive coach, because that end of the court is helter skelter!

BTW, welcome back Frankie!

thanks oracle!
imho, the pistons don't have a guard who can run frank's half court offense.
so the best thing would be to have stuckey and knight play like they did last year where they shared duties.
any of the pistons guards would function better with the second unit, cause there is at least a real scheme to what they do: spread the floor, let stuckey or bynum penetrate, and the 3 point shooters fire up, while drummond hits the boards and gets alley oops.
simple, but effective.
the first unit is all over the map, doing crazy and complicated stuff that takes forever to set up, and is tough for a guy like knight to execute.

[Grizz2]

It's too early IMO, to make a decision on Knight, but I feel your pain!

I don't see a contradiction between being a great scorer and being a great point guard.

In fact, I think it absolutely helps to be a great scorer to be effective as a great point guard.

Knight's problem is that he's really not either, because he's trying too hard to be everything!

Frank needs to slow it down for him, and you do that by recognizing his strengths, and letting him bring them to NBA levels(scoring), while slowly showing him how a PG works.

Knight needs to be put in a box from within he has defined goals, not this "do whatever you want" offense that Frank employs.

Frank is doing that on defense, and in fairness, he's made that his calling card, but like the Lions, he needs an offensive coach, because that end of the court is helter skelter!

BTW, welcome back Frankie!

thanks oracle!
imho, the pistons don't have a guard who can run frank's half court offense.
so the best thing would be to have stuckey and knight play like they did last year where they shared duties.
any of the pistons guards would function better with the second unit, cause there is at least a real scheme to what they do: spread the floor, let stuckey or bynum penetrate, and the 3 point shooters fire up, while drummond hits the boards and gets alley oops.
simple, but effective.
the first unit is all over the map, doing crazy and complicated stuff that takes forever to set up, and is tough for a guy like knight to execute.

Hi Frankie .. yeah welcome back ..

I dont get what you are saying .. "run Frank's offense?" What do you mean by that? For most of the past 2 seasons .. Frank's offense is ISOs or a feed into the post ..Oh and they do this ridiculous flashing move up at the top of the key where players take turns receiving passes but are in no way a threat to shoot .. Heck they only get the pass and then look to dump it to someone else as if they are playing hot potato ..

So my point is .. Frank's offense is not something profound that only great PGs could handle .. In fact it has been overly simplistic AND rigid .. no motion ..

BUT .. recently, within the last few games .. he had the players moving in ways where they could get a pass on a cut to the basket .. setting a few pick and rolls .. So it has improved

But I dont think anyone can get away with saying that we dont have guards that can handle Frank's offense ..

The truth is Frank has been having the team run ISOs too much .. and FAILED to develop an offense with some motion .. and FAILED to teach Knight how to run this .. He wanted Knight to be like Bynum or D. Rose who could just take on the entire defense and score at will .. Bunch of HS / BS .. BUT . he has had a recent change of heart .. (TOOK HIM LONG ENOUGH!) ... Wondering if A. Johnson's firing had something to do with it ..

Anyway glad to have you back!

[Grizz2]

Have you watched or gotten a chance to see Trey Burke play? If so what do you think about this kid?

i like him a lot.
i think he can be a very good nba guard. the only thing that causes some concern is his size and the fact that he doesn't play great defense.
but, offensively, i'd love for detroit to have a guy like him at point. i think he'd be a big improvement over knight, as a point guard.
burke actually seems to understand how to play the position.
he seems like a smart player.
like i said, the worst thing about knight is that he seems to play like a dumb knucklehead most times.
i end up shaking my head and saying "what the f--k" every game when he always does something stupid.
too bad, cause i do think he is a good player, but he does not think like a good point guard. burke does think like a good point guard.

Frankie .. watch the games and see how many times he gets double-teamed ..None of our other players are moving (but like I said this has improved recently) .. Not saying Knight does not make unforced errors at times but the whole system has been bad from the beginning .. If a college player with good training comes in already a good PG .. he can succeed .. but Knight came in as a novice .. Frank should have been able to teach him but decided NOT to (if he even knows how) .. Spoiled by coaching Jason Kidd? .. Probably!!! .. Knight has the speed and competitiveness you need to be a good PG .. So......Dont let Frank off the hook so easily .. One of the fundamental responsibilities of the head coach is to get the point guard on page 1 performing the offense ASAP.. DID THAT HAPPEN? Heck no! All we have been seeing for the past season and a half was Knight taking on the entire defense .. pretty stupid and it goes back to Frank .. Either because that is exactly what Frank told him to do .. OR .. because he couldnt get Knight to do it .. if that 2nd possibility were the case .. I am sure Knight would have been benched by now .. So it really has been a case of Frank's poor conception of what a good offense should loook like . He needs to evolve as an offensive head coach just as much or more than Knight needs to evolve as a PG .. There are some positive signs though from Frank's offense so ..some hope ..

Jason Maxielle is a bigger problem that has an easy fix .. Start Drummond .. To prove this .. make Stuckey or Bynum the staring PG and Keep Max as the PF and see what happens ..

[Grizz2]

Detroit Pistons year in review: 2013

By Dan Feldman • 11:43 am • December 31, 2012



Plenty of websites do a Year in Review at this time, and PistonPowered didn’t want to be left out. But we pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve, so we’re not looking back on 2012. We’re looking back on 2013, and what a year it was.

Jan. 1: The Pistons ring in the new year with a victory over the Kings. By winning three straight this season, Detroit joins an exclusive club that already includes 26 other teams.

Jan. 17: Playing the Washington Generals to the Knicks’ Harlem Globetrotters, the Pistons lose in London. Austin Daye decides he doesn’t like British food and loses eight pounds during the trip.

Jan. 31: The NBA All-Star teams are announced, and no Pistons make it. Unlike last year when Greg Monroe was a near-equal to Roy Hibbert, nobody really complains. Except one guy who whines that the league is only about stars and hates Detroit. There’s always that guy.

Feb. 1: Jason Maxiell suffers a leg injury against the Cavaliers that will cause him to miss two games.

Feb. 3: Andre Drummond makes his first start.

Feb. 6: Maxiell returns and scores 10 points off the bench. After the game, Lawrence Frank says Drummond will remain in the starting lineup as long as he merits the spot.

Feb. 8: Before the game, Frank answers the last question he’ll ever face about Drummond starting. With a 12-point, nine-rebound, two-block game against the Spurs that night, Drummond fully entrenches himself as a starter to the point nobody brings up the topic again.

Feb. 21: The trade deadline passes without the Pistons making a deal. A report will later surface that the Pistons were really, really, really, really close to a trade this time, they promise. According to the report, the Pistons offered Rodney Stuckey for DeMarcus Cousins and Francisco Garcia, and the Kings countered with John Salmons for Corey Maggette.

April 7: The Pistons lose to the Bulls and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

April 10: Pistons beat the Cavaliers.

April 12: Pistons beat the Bobcats.

April 15: Pistons beat the 76ers.

April 17: Pistons beat the Nets, finishing the season on a four-game win streak and with a 32-50 record.

April 18: Joe Dumars says Lawrence Frank will return for a third season. I write a post explaining that Dumars has repeatedly said coaches will keep their job and then firing them days later.

April 19: Dumars meets with the media and reiterates Frank will keep his job. Dumars also says how unacceptable this season was.

May 2: Andre Drummond finishes third in Rookie of the Year voting behind winner Damian Lillard and runner-up Anthony Davis. The placement seems about fair – though Drummond could make a case over Davis and has better per-minute numbers than Lillard.

May 6: Drummond receives a two All-Defensive second-team votes.

May 21: Continuing a tradition, last year’s lottery pick represents the Pistons at this year’s lottery. Andre Drummond brings a lucky penguin toy, but Mumble doesn’t bring the Pistons good fortune. Seeded sixth, they stay at the sixth pick.

June 27: The Pistons draft Shabazz Muhammad, who inexplicably slips when the Cavaliers reach for Tony Mitchell to prove they’re smarter than everyone else and the Kings draft Otto Porter to attempt to add character to their locker room. I write a post arguing Muhammad has some tendencies that could cause major trouble down the road, mainly his need to be a high-volume shooter, but because he’s so talented and potentially such a good fit, the Pistons are very fortunate to draft him. Some commenters bash me for being a hater. Others bash me for not concluding Muhammad’s advanced stats during one season playing for Ben Howland, who’s notorious for making future NBA players look subpar, ensure Mohamed will be a bust. Everyone agrees I’m an idiot.

June 30: Pistons let the deadline pass to extend Austin Daye a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

July 1: The Pistons agree to terms with O.J. Mayo on a four-year, $48 million contract with a player option for the fourth year – just in case Mayo decides he doesn’t want to make $12.75 million in 2016-17.

July 3: Chris Paul re-signs with the Clippers, and a annoyingly vocal segment of fans complain the Pistons didn’t sign him instead of Mayo.

July 4: Josh Smith re-signs with the Hawks, and the Pistons begin to leak how much they like Charlie Villanueva and brag about all the trade offers they got for him three years ago.

July 15: The deadline passes without the Pistons amnestying Villanueva.

Oct. 1: Pistons open training camp with 16 players, including training-camp invite Terrence Williams.

Oct. 21: Pistons cut Terrence Williams

Dec. 6: Austin Daye scores 21 points to lead the Hornets over Detroit.

Dec. 13: Pistons fire Lawrence Frank after a 6-18 start. Brian Hill is named interim coach.

HAHA . I like this .. seems damn likely too .. Thanks Oracle .. Dan Feldman is a good writer for the Pistons .. recently ..

[Grizz2]

Phillip Boy, hold on big hoss, there's enough doubt going around regarding the anointed "core of the future" players lately...such is the powers of confusion of the great Lil' Larry. I gotta get this off my chest first; you're actually calling for Stuckey's head??!! Unbelieveable!! Back to regular programming.

LOL, it's so funny, since Phillip used to be so far up Stuckey's Jock, you almost could confuse him with Stucks Johnson, LOL!

But I do agree with him that Knight, while looking like a total dufus, will be alright.

When Stuckey came along, he was put in a hermetically sealed box by CB, and forced to do a limited number of things, which constrained his bad behavior.

Knight has no such restrictions, and Frank, not providing any framework to work within, has the kid running wild!

That's why I like Bynums idea of having Stuckey start at PG, and let Knight only worry about scoring, while slowly giving him more PG duties.

Seriously, PG is a tough job to learn if you wern't born with the gene, but it can be learned! It's very difficult when it looks like our best coach is Bynum! Bynum makes sense, and Frank just mutters!

Give Knight a chance... give him a coach!

Right Oracle .. give peace .. I mean Knight a chance or a better head coach . I would welcome Stuckey or Bynum taking over more of the PG duties till we either get a better head coach or until Knight figures it out on his own or until Frank becomes a better coach on offense or until Drummond starts ..

Do love Knight's competitiveness! .. the man is working pretty hard .. and does show some great talent at times .. despite the clumsiness of Frank's offensive system ..

[Grizz2]

Monroe is not a superstar...he's a damn good complimentary player. A championship caliber complimentary player; he just happened to be the first of the "new core" of players to be drafted, who's going to return us to contention. He was the first big man on a team devoid of true big man play (that's why he's been playing out of position).

Look at what's being done inspite of, not because of, Lil' Larry. The coach is still experimenting and tampering with rotations but, the team has said, "to hell with this, let's go out and play for the few fans we've got left, and with each other." They seem to be playing outside of the restrictions placed on them, and not within them...it's working to the point that we've got a streak going on.

Let's show the same patience to Monroe and Knight that we showed to Stuckey; they are lottery picks and he was not! All it took for Stuckey to "find his self" was to let him be the player he's comfortable in being...let's allow Monroe and Knight to be comfortable playing their game. Side bar: I'm so glad that we had to "settle" for Drummond at #9, and didn't get our coveted John Henson. I'd also like to go to Houston and put Royce White out of his misery.

DX .. strongly agree and like everything you said .. AMEN! Exactly .. the 2nd unit is playing OUTSIDE the offensive system Frank had set up for the 1st team .. and it works a hell of a lot better .. Having Drummond on the court sure is a better place to be, isnt it?!

I guess a free and open system is better than a bad restrictive one .. We need a good half court play calling system too for the starters .. but Frank is still in tinker-toy land with that .. But he has shown some recent improvements .. Starting Drummond instead of Jmax will go a long way in fixing that..

Like Monroe very much .. The man works his butt off and comes through more often than not ..

One thing I do like about Frank is him feeding Monroe the ball .. Curry and Kuester would never have done that ..

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