Good Read on Drummond .. who statistically may be having a better season than D. Howard his rookie year ..

[Grizz2]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

For Sure Drummond has a higher ceiling ... better rebounder .. better shot blocker .. more agile and quicker and handles the basketball better than Superman ..

[WTF]

Can someone quickly explain to Bynum that once Stuckey is fully recovered his ass will be lucky to get 10 minutes of PT. Enough with the interviews already and the begging

[FlyDog]

She may be cute, but that's a flat stretch of highway up top!

BTW, that pic is from this article - [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Also, don't miss this one - [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Yeah Grizz.......I'm thinkin if I rolled up to her in my Caravan with a missing hubcap and asked her to hop in, she'd say "Eeeeew" and spray me in the face with pepper spray. Bitch has no clue what she's missin......

... she would do just fine .. And you know she loves The Pistons...

[Murph]

I will give (CV) some props. He playing better. His defense is still A joke but he trying to play the right way. It's funny how guys get they **** together when they see the end of they contract coming soon.

The Pistons can't keep all these guys. It can't happen!

Will and Jones Jerebko are the keepers in my opinion. Will is the brains and J.J. will come in handy when Charlie V and Daye have moved on to other NBA teams.


I would look for A trade for all the other guys and keep my money clear for B.K.7, Moose, and big Andre Drummonds.

Along with Singler, and English as my 3 ball shooters.

Add A high impact scoring 2, 3 or both and we back in business.

Phillip brings up an interesting question. Which of these guys, if any, should we bring back? If it were up to me, I'd let JMax, Maggette and Bynum walk, and I'd bring back Austin Daye by making him a qualifying offer of $4.1 million. IMO, Daye has shown enough potention over the last couple of weeks to warant a 1 year extention. Also, because of his age (he's still only 24), the Pistons should not give up on him just yet.

I'd replace Will Bynum with a pure, veteran PG, such as Calderon, who is an unrestricted FA this year. IMO, Calderon would be an upgrade over Bynum, and he's the best FA PG available in the off season, that the Pistons could realistically sign. I'm guessing Calderon could be had for 3 years at $25 million.

And I'd replace JMax and Maggette with our 1st and 2nd round draft choices. If we don't have a 1st rounder this year, then I'd go into next season with only 14 players, and maybe pick one up if need be, as the season progresses.

My depth chart might look something like this:

Knight, Calderon, Stuckey
Stuckey, 1st rounder, English
Prince, Singler, JJ, Middleton
Monroe, CV, Daye, JJ
Drummond, Kravtsov, Monroe

And our 2nd rounder, whatever position he might play.

[Grizz2]

She may be cute, but that's a flat stretch of highway up top!

BTW, that pic is from this article - [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

Also, don't miss this one - [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

Yeah Grizz.......I'm thinkin if I rolled up to her in my Caravan with a missing hubcap and asked her to hop in, she'd say "Eeeeew" and spray me in the face with pepper spray. Bitch has no clue what she's missin......

... she would do just fine .. And you know she loves The Pistons...

Fly ..lets dream shall we? Imagine: She gets in at gun point and / or simply because of our charm and good looks and / or $200? Lets hope its the 2nd case and we are on our own and alone at home for that weekend ..

[FlyDog]

Either way, I guess.

[WTF]

I will give (CV) some props. He playing better. His defense is still A joke but he trying to play the right way. It's funny how guys get they **** together when they see the end of they contract coming soon.

The Pistons can't keep all these guys. It can't happen!

Will and Jones Jerebko are the keepers in my opinion. Will is the brains and J.J. will come in handy when Charlie V and Daye have moved on to other NBA teams.


I would look for A trade for all the other guys and keep my money clear for B.K.7, Moose, and big Andre Drummonds.

Along with Singler, and English as my 3 ball shooters.

Add A high impact scoring 2, 3 or both and we back in business.

Phillip brings up an interesting question. Which of these guys, if any, should we bring back? If it were up to me, I'd let JMax, Maggette and Bynum walk, and I'd bring back Austin Daye by making him a qualifying offer of $4.1 million. IMO, Daye has shown enough potention over the last couple of weeks to warant a 1 year extention. Also, because of his age (he's still only 24), the Pistons should not give up on him just yet.

I'd replace Will Bynum with a pure, veteran PG, such as Calderon, who is an unrestricted FA this year. IMO, Calderon would be an upgrade over Bynum, and he's the best FA PG available in the off season, that the Pistons could realistically sign. I'm guessing Calderon could be had for 3 years at $25 million.

And I'd replace JMax and Maggette with our 1st and 2nd round draft choices. If we don't have a 1st rounder this year, then I'd go into next season with only 14 players, and maybe pick one up if need be, as the season progresses.

My depth chart might look something like this:

Knight, Calderon, Stuckey
Stuckey, 1st rounder, English
Prince, Singler, JJ, Middleton
Monroe, CV, Daye, JJ
Drummond, Kravtsov, Monroe

And our 2nd rounder, whatever position he might play.

WOW! Murph you would really keep that no rebounding no defense loser CV? Stop playing who stole Murph login?

[Murph]

WOW! Murph you would really keep that no rebounding no defense loser CV? Stop playing who stole Murph login?

Very funny Wise.

The thing is we have CV signed through the 13-14 season. And even though he's playing better, I seriously doubt anyone else is going to take him off our hands. So it's pretty certain we'll start next season with CV. (Maybe we could dump his contract ahead of the 2014 trade deadline.) In the meantime, let's hope he continues to contribute.

The same is true for JJ.

[WTF]

It would be idea that Daye continues to improve his play and become more consistant especially since he's getting a lot of time at the SF, my hopes is that Tay becomes part of a trade. In this case Daye stays and Tay goes.

Of course CV stays provided Frank understand how to keep using CV. He is easily 15 pts off the bench.

JJ has been a big disappointment since a promising rookie season. he missed a year so you kind of can excuse his last season performance. But this season he has sucked to High Heaven's and played himself out of PT. I was one that was high on his rookie play as he looked like the next Worm.

Yes we need a veteran PG and Calderon would be a perfect fit. My problem is that I'm still not sold on Knight as a starting PG that I'm indifferent about rather he stay or go. We probably would have to keep him because I don't see anyone else wanting him so he'll likely remain our hopeful thinking and not anyone elses.

Monroe a keeper unless he can be replaced with Cousins or Aldrige. barring that

PG - Knight, Calderon, Stuckey
SG - Stuckey, Knight, Calderon
SF - Daye, Singler, ??
PF - Monroe, Charlie, ??
C - Drummond, ??, Monroe

I would like to see English and perhaps Middleton get a chance this season but beyond that, they may be headed the route of many of second round picks (Nowhere)

[lemonpen]

It would be idea that Daye continues to improve his play and become more consistant especially since he's getting a lot of time at the SF, my hopes is that Tay becomes part of a trade. In this case Daye stays and Tay goes.

Of course CV stays provided Frank understand how to keep using CV. He is easily 15 pts off the bench.

JJ has been a big disappointment since a promising rookie season. he missed a year so you kind of can excuse his last season performance. But this season he has sucked to High Heaven's and played himself out of PT. I was one that was high on his rookie play as he looked like the next Worm.

Yes we need a veteran PG and Calderon would be a perfect fit. My problem is that I'm still not sold on Knight as a starting PG that I'm indifferent about rather he stay or go. We probably would have to keep him because I don't see anyone else wanting him so he'll likely remain our hopeful thinking and not anyone elses.

Monroe a keeper unless he can be replaced with Cousins or Aldrige. barring that

PG - Knight, Calderon, Stuckey
SG - Stuckey, Knight, Calderon
SF - Daye, Singler, ??
PF - Monroe, Charlie, ??
C - Drummond, ??, Monroe

I would like to see English and perhaps Middleton get a chance this season but beyond that, they may be headed the route of many of second round picks (Nowhere)

I haven't reviewed the potential FA crop yet but I would not be surprised if Calderon has no interest in being a backup. His power to decide will depend on whether he is a first or second tier FA.

[Oracle]

"The Pistons' starters have suffered from poor floor spacing and balky perimeter shooting, supported by one of the league's most potent emerging bench groups.

Yet, asked if it's fair to assume the Pistons are looking for a top-shelf wing shooter, either through trade or free agency, Dumars said no.

"I can't sit here and really tell you I'm looking for any one particular thing," he said. "What's happening is that as we continue to play right now, we're actually learning more and more about our team and what works best for us. Even the emergence of the second group and how they're playing. We're figuring out more and more what works, what combinations work. So let's see how it plays out for a while."" - Mayo Interview

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

A review of that article and opinion at Bad Boys: [Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Oracle]

Wise, I agree with the conclusion(in the article below) about starting Stuckey over Knight, even though I was calling for Stuckey to start.

It is short sighted(and so was I), it's more important to let Knight get this crap out of his system than to win a few extra games now.

Even more importantly, we need the evaluation of Knight to make any future decisions.

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[Oracle]

I haven't reviewed the potential FA crop yet but I would not be surprised if Calderon has no interest in being a backup. His power to decide will depend on whether he is a first or second tier FA.

Avatar, Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite actors!

BTW, you may be right about Calderon, but there's no doubt that having a pure PG on the roster would be a good thing for this team.

[merc]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

This pisses me off... he actually said he has no intention of sacrificing any financial flexibility for next summer... he can't be seriously thinking that he'll outbid 1/2 of the teams (that also have max $s to offer) for a poor FA crop?!... Ugh
And you gave away a 1st round for this privilege...

[Oracle]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

This pisses me off... he actually said he has no intention of sacrificing any financial flexibility for next summer... he can't be seriously thinking that he'll outbid 1/2 of the teams (that also have max $s to offer) for a poor FA crop?!... Ugh
And you gave away a 1st round for this privilege...

Well, let's examine the evidence!

It appears to me that Joe is following a two prong stratagy!

First is to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible. On that score, Joe is doing quite well! We will be in position to pick up, hopefully, the cream of the FA crop, such as it is! This is important and critical to us moving forward, but it's not enough!

Secondly, he's allowing the rebuilding to proceed naturally, i.e. he won't make any moves to help us get good enough to make the playoffs! Joe will be positioning us to be back in the lottery, which neutralizes losing the pick, and keeps it in our pocket!

If you combine financial flexibility with a lottery pick, and knowledge of what you REALLY need after a season of probing and testing lineups, you've got a prescription for making some really good and calculated moves along with the cash and assets to make them happen!

This is a potent coctail of assets that could lead you in a lot of directions. So while Joe says he's only interested in FA's, don't believe it totally! Deals will be flying for what Joe has, and you never know what will happen then.

However, Joe has a plan that's workable in the near and far term!

So is Joe crazy? Crazy like a fox

[Oracle]

[Only admins are allowed to see this image]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

[deusXango]

he'll realize that there "is a time and a place for everything;" the time to bring a top tier player to this place is now! Bring in our "lynch pin" player and take the remainder of the season selling him on re-signing with Detroit....I don't care for the "hand sitting" arguements like, "if we sign so-and-so to a max deal, it'll be impossible to re-sign Monroe." What??!! We got to cut out that negative projection, because that's the type thinking that's led us to this state of mediocrity.

"The Pistons need to get back to their defensive roots.

Luckily for them, they have an anchor in this endeavor in Andre Drummond. Drummond could develop into the next Ben Wallace or perhaps even something better.

He is a beast of a man that loves to grab boards, block shots and pump up the crowd.

But he can't do it alone. This team needs to get more athletic and fully recommit to defense. Not only would that lead to more wins, but it would bring back the fans."
-excerp from a Bleacher Report article

Trade for Josh Smith now! No matter what it takes (other than Monroe and Drummond), trade for him because there is no way in hell we'll sign him off the FA market. This foot dragging born of paranoia has gotten us nowhere, other than in dreamland; "what if" and "maybe this is the year" rhetoric has run it's course. It's time to be proactive.

Our "scraps" are saving our ass...they are beginning to jell and form an offensive 2nd unit that is very formitable, and making half the team (of veterans) tradeable. Suddenly Prince, Stuckey, Maggette, Jerebko, Maxiell, and or Villanueva/Daye can go; high profile Pistons with value. If we're left with the unplayed (English, Middleton, and Kravtsov) it wouldn't be the end of the world. Drummond starts and Kravtsov replaces him on the 2nd unit. English starts at SG and Singler joins the 2nd unit (it's going to need a brain) as Smith's backup. Middleton gets minutes as English's backup at SG. We make our stand with Bynum at backup PG, until the end of the season, and then see what Calderon wants. In any event, we're winners in trading away the vets.

I've always said, and still believe, that a frontcourt of Drummond, Monroe, and Smith would be the baddest (when it comes to rebounding, shot-blocking, and generating crowd excitement) in the league. They would surely cover up whatever defensive mistakes made by our guards; Knight is an evolving defender and English is a better defender of SG's that Singler, remember? This crap Dumars is selling about maintaining fiscal flexability for the off-season being a priority is just that, CRAP!! He don't know what to do with a dollar, and the off-season will be too late for us. Oh yeah, the CAP didn't take a significant hit last year, with a 66 game season, what makes anyone think that with full 82 game seasons, the CAP will remain the same, or go down? Sign players today, and let tomorrow take care of itself!

[deusXango]

It's that time again y'all. ESPN2.

[cool breeze]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

This pisses me off... he actually said he has no intention of sacrificing any financial flexibility for next summer... he can't be seriously thinking that he'll outbid 1/2 of the teams (that also have max $s to offer) for a poor FA crop?!... Ugh
And you gave away a 1st round for this privilege...

Good post Merc. But what can we expect after the last 2 free agents Joe got???This is not going to be a good thing next summer for Piston fans. Has Mr. Gores done his homework and reviewed Joe Dumars current history? I sure hope so.

[Oracle]

Don, you have history on your side, but only recent history. Remember Sheed was a good thing!

I just believe that Joe isn't one for making that big of a mistake again. To believe as you do ignores the logic of what he's doing now, and the logic, to me, is very solid!

However, you can have the best logic and preparation, and if the execution sucks, it's all useless.

DX, you're not going to get me to argue against a Monroe/Drummond/Josh Smith frontcourt, it has "Dominance for Years" written all over it, but it also needs a driver, and right now only Stuckey & Bynum are capable.

I could only get behing making the playoffs if Joe replaces that pick he gave up!

BTW, Michigan Rolling!

[WTF]

[Only admins are allowed to see this link]

This pisses me off... he actually said he has no intention of sacrificing any financial flexibility for next summer... he can't be seriously thinking that he'll outbid 1/2 of the teams (that also have max $s to offer) for a poor FA crop?!... Ugh
And you gave away a 1st round for this privilege...

Well, let's examine the evidence!

It appears to me that Joe is following a two prong stratagy!

First is to preserve as much financial flexibility as possible. On that score, Joe is doing quite well! We will be in position to pick up, hopefully, the cream of the FA crop, such as it is! This is important and critical to us moving forward, but it's not enough!

Secondly, he's allowing the rebuilding to proceed naturally, i.e. he won't make any moves to help us get good enough to make the playoffs! Joe will be positioning us to be back in the lottery, which neutralizes losing the pick, and keeps it in our pocket!

If you combine financial flexibility with a lottery pick, and knowledge of what you REALLY need after a season of probing and testing lineups, you've got a prescription for making some really good and calculated moves along with the cash and assets to make them happen!

This is a potent coctail of assets that could lead you in a lot of directions. So while Joe says he's only interested in FA's, don't believe it totally! Deals will be flying for what Joe has, and you never know what will happen then.

However, Joe has a plan that's workable in the near and far term!

So is Joe crazy? Crazy like a fox

Come On Oracle! Joe always sounds good in theory but we've watched him countless times screw up an opportunity. It doesn't take a genius to assess what we have already if your second point is correct we would be in full blown development stage right now. We be testing the waters with all our rookies, Drummond would be starting already. Which I suspect he will be since he gave LF the ok to play Drummond as he see's fit.

It would be nice to see Joe think along these lines but he has screw up written all over his face.

[WTF]

It's that time again y'all. ESPN2.

Yep it is! Oracle get your peepers on this kid. The Espn announcers can't stop yapping about him

[Oracle]

Yeah Joe has failed us having faith in him recently, but I truly believe this time is different if for no other reason than if he blows this, unlike all the other times, his arse is GONE! That's a powerful motivator!

Yes, I'm watching Burke, and the kid is impressive!

[Oracle]

Wow, his PG skills are impressive!

The announcers said they have so many weapons, but that's only half of the story! It's Burke that's finding them and making them more potent.

I still have concerns about his size as it relates to defense, but his skills as a PG is something I wish Knight had half of!

[Sparma]

Watching some of the Michigan game. Earlier, the radio announcers from Chicago opined that Burke had worked himself into a top five pick. That likely would put him out of our reach! I'd be happy to have the Pistons draft him. Knight would need to move to 6th man, with Stuckey playing next to Burke. Sounds good!

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