Update

[Sparma]

SI's now reporting that Howard back to being undecided, 50-50 between the Lakers and the Rockets.

More importantly for us, Calderon's evidently committed to signing with the Mavs.

Forget the Jeremy Lin possibility I raised!

Best wishes to Jose and his family.

The chances of this team seriously upgrading within a year appear to be diminishing by the day, even though making a big move forward this year was the point of giving up the first rounder in the Gordon for Maggette exchange.

I'm getting the sense Joe's ship has weathered one too many storm and that we'll watch it sink within a year. I'm enough of a Joe loyalist that I still hope for his sake a big move can be made by the trading deadline. For the team (by contrast?) I think it'd be best to go all in with rebuilding, just accepting the Gordon fiasco as a sunk cost and trying to make the best moves for the long term from here on in. I'm skeptical that Joe can focus entirely what's best for the team in the long term (rebuilding) with his own position under fire. Interesting stuff.

[Sparma]

Was it Alex Kennedy who posted three tweets connecting Calderon with Howard? The idea's been raised that Calderon might want to play with Howard. Turns out that's Houston. The idea's been raised of signing Calderon and trading him for Jeremy Lin, which makes sense for Houston, I think. Lin's perceived as having taken a step back, but his assists to TO ratio actually improved a bit, to just over a 2:1 ratio as I recall.

I think Calderon's the better player, but he's also older. Lin wouldn't be a savior for the Pistons by any means, but he might contribute to a genuine rebuilding effort now that the bigger dreams are crumbling. Any thoughts on that possibility?

[cool breeze]

I am wondering if anybody has checked out Rondo's health. Has he recovered from a serious injury yet or will it take two seasons before he can play again? Nobody seems to be talking about this assuming he will be the same type of player he was before the injury.

cool breeze, you are so right, man. No one is talking about his health status, his recovery regiment, nor his projected time to return. Then, there is the time that he will need to get back (if possible) to competitive form. No one is making any statements to this topic.

Derrick Rose has yet to return and when he finally does return to play, it would have been some 18 months that he last played NBA-level basketball. Iman Shumpert took about 10 months to return, but he is still young and has yet to establish a level of "true" expectations.

Now, I did read on one blog. I think it was the Celtics Blog, where Danny Ainge was quoted to say that Rondo will not be back by Training Camp, but should return at the start of the season.  Which is GM-speak for he probably will be back by January or near the All-Star break.  

Now, why would WE want to trade for Rondo, if he can only be under contract for two years and probably only available for a season and a half, at most. Then when he is able to play it will disturb any rhythm that the team will hopefully have.

I say stay away form signing Rondo. Let Stuckey and B. Knight hold down the PG position for the upcoming season.

Sebastian I suffered a severed ACL injury which ended my competitive basketball career. For football and basketball players this is one of the most scary injuries of all. Today, the surgery technique has really improved but a player will always remember the intense pain of the initial blow out and whenever that players tries to make natural instinctive moves to the basket against a defender, it is very difficult to not worry about the knee going out of joint.

And not only do we have teams wanting Rondo but how about the big guy, and the top priority of the big time teams that big Laker center Dwight Howard who is still recovering from back surgery and has a shoulder issue. Will he ever be the same player again? GMs are lining up as if he is a GOD.

[cool breeze]

I won't try to write that book, but it looks to me like the chances are good that we're in the last chapter or so.  That makes me sad, even though Joe's screwed up plenty.  If he's down to his last few moves, I wouldn't mind him bringing in Josh Smith.  Last I heard, Howard wants Houston to add a star, which could well be Smith.  It'd be nice to have a formidable frontline (although shooting would be a worry).

I realize this will sound unconvincing to many, but I feel Dumars needed one more year to rebuild, which he could have gotten if Gordon had been amnestied or if that contract had been sweated out one more year.  I may be way off concerning the latter possibility, but can't help thinking that Gores' sense of urgency combined with Joe's sense of time running out led to an ill-conceived move.  With a commitment to rebuilding, adding one high pick in a real strong draft to a nice young nucleus would have made me much more confident in the team's future.

As is, the best I hope for is a super trade based on the available cap space.  Maybe Joe knows something yet which will lead to a happier ending to his story in Detroit than I foresee now.

Sparma that bogus trade with the Pistons giving up our first round pick will bite the Pistons behind for years to come if that pick goes to Charlotte next summer and I think it will. There hasn't been one damn positive thing relating to the Detroit Pistons since they drafted Drummond.

[cool breeze]

Does anyone remember the fan who used to question who we could bring in to replace Joe, if he were gone? Who always reminded us that Joe built the 2004 championship team (that went to numerous ECF's)? Where are they now? I need some comedy relief!

Don't get it twisted, it's not the city that no one wants to come play in, it's the GM that nobody wants to play for!! Detroit ain't that bad, Joe sucks! Remember when Monroe was the best thing we had going for us, but he needed help in the paint? Does anyone remember this 6' 10" rookie rebounding machine, who never hurt the team with the few scrap minutes he was given over the course of the season? I'm not saying he was the answer to all our problems, but I remember that not only was he not played, he wasn't sent down to the D-League in a timely manner. I remember that Monroe was given a 6' 7" PF to have his back, thus highlighting all his flaws, as a player. For two seasons Monroe was hamstrung with this midget in the middle, when there was better available to go to war with, and this all happened under Joe's watch. Some fans are constantly suggesting trading Monroe for this or that player, but has the thought occurred to you Monroe haters that he may not want to be here, because of Joe?

I have nothing against Caldwell-Pope, but he's not the talent Trey Burke is, and we didn't need his services as much as we did Burke's. That sad ass decision had to have had a negative effect on the teams big men of the future. It was known that there was an established relationship between Joe and Burke, before the draft, and that Burke had hopes of coming to the Pistons; WTF happened?! Oh, Joe made a choice and is talking sh!t about popularity. Little used Andre Drummond showed more class than that, and he's a player who's been ignored by Joe, by proxy. It's one thing to sit Jonas Jerebko for as long as Lil' Larry sat him (not excusing the fiasco in London, that was bush), but to sit a player like Cory Maggette, without token minutes sometime, who is in excellent shape, on a team performing as Detroit was, paints a piss-poor picture of this franchise. For all the people who don't want to give a max contract to Josh Smith, like that money is coming out of your pocket, may want to re-think your position!! Iggy is not a 2nd tier or 3rd tier player, but a 4th tier player who just signed for $12 million a year! So much for the reunion of Cheeks and Iguodala in Detroit. Joe's running the show here.

We didn't pursue Harden, lost out on Vasquez, had Iggy signed from right under our noses; we passed on Burke, guaranteed the contract of Stuckey, and have talked to damn near every FA on the market, without results, what's next? Is Al-Farouq Aminu looking any better at SF? Will we be giving Middleton a fair shake at starting? Will Tony Mitchell get the opportunity that Josh would get, if he is here? Will we keep Payton Siva? If summer league shows marked improvement in Middleton's game, will we renegotiate his contract? We've got some image improvement to do, and do it quickly. 

dX don't forget that Dumars is weighing his options on Will Bynum and Calderon. Vincent Goodwill might keep us informed of the progress. That is the only news that Joe has shared with Vincent. Funny isn't it that nobody wants Stuckey yet some fans still have him penciled in as the Pistons starter next season. That indicates how bad this team has become. Joe is puzzled with the Stuckey rejection by other teams but don't forget we Pistons fans can get happy that Stuckey and Charley V have expiring contracts. We will do much better next summer you can count on it.

Billups, Affalo, Budinger, are given away by Joe because they didn't meet his standards of excellence. As you pointed out Burke was a valuable player to draft in many ways. Yet many Piston fans fell for that line of nonsense from Joe right away after he passed on Burke in favor of Pope. God blessed the Timberwolves with another gift from Joe. We Piston fans got dumped on again by our management. This summer was supposed to be the big opportunity for Detroit having all that CAP space and a high draft choice. I am more than bitter about what has happened to the Detroit Pistons.

It seems clear that Joe Dumars will make a statement at the end of next season that he is retiring. People will still remember him as a good Piston player. And kids who study the Detroit Pistons will go back through the facts and wonder why Joe was hired as the Pistons GM after he drafted Rodney White rather than Joe Johnson or several other players in that draft. And then they will come upon the 2003 draft and wonder how Joe kept his job after drafting Darko with so many real star players available with that 2nd overall pick. But it will get even more puzzling with they read about the Billups Team and why Joe broke that team up when he traded him for Iverson, fired Flip to hire his friend and destroyed the team by signing Charlie V and Gordon the following summer. And he rid the team of all players who were at least average defenders in favor of horrible defenders on a team based in the Motor City area. I suppose that the reader will then have to get a shot glass out and fill it with some Jack Daniels as more current events unfold. Joe makes a big splash by signing Will Bynum for a circus act to fool the fans into coming to watch Will dribble before making a mad rush to the basket which is something he learned from Stuckey. And they will watch old film and feel sorry for Monroe who as you said was forced to play with one of Joe's other first round picks, Jason The Midget Big Man Maxiell. Something stronger than Jack Daniels will have to come out after finding out that Joe gave away Affalo to protect Stuckey and Budinger to protect his ace guard and first round pick Austin Daye. Has any GM ever picked so many soft players who hate to play defense and while actually giving away so many two way players in high demand today other than Joe Dumars???? But this draft takes the cake. Joe is so sure that his amazing new first round selection is so good that he passed on Burke when he could have had two most likely better first round players if he decided he didn't like Burke after he drafted him. How did the Timberwolves know that Utah would give up two picks for Burke when Joe didn't know that? It is even worse if Joe did know that fact and still picked Pope. My bet is that he flat out didn't explore that idea at all. It will be an amazing thing if the owners don't decide enough is enough. But Joe is a good pool player and Gores likes that. We have to keep repeating this history because so many fans have short memories and the owners don't bother to check actual history. Maybe they don't even watch the games either. The big question is how will the owners sell more tickets?

dX there were some other players you had mentioned that the Pistons should make an attempt to sign other than Smith. Now as the pickings get slim, Dumars might do something foolish and over pay a guy like Calderon or Bynum. Or he might offer Smith some crazy deal. I want Smith don't get me wrong but we need an established ball handling athletic young guard as well. I would be fine with turning English into a point guard instead of signing Bynum. If Bynum is signed than we know that Piston management is not serious about getting better. And don't forget that Maxiell has not been signed has he? I wouldn't be surprised if Dumars didn't sign both Maxiell and Bynum. I was so excited once the season was over and I told myself, no more Bynum, Maxiell, Stuckey or Charlie V. But that might not be the case. Joe has insisted those players will get our Pistons in the playoffs for several seasons so why would we believe that he has changed his mind on those players?

[deusXango]

Joe needs to get his azz back to work, quickly!

That pimp, Daryl Morey, has done it, again; and now he is working on acquiring Josh Smith, offering up Asik in a sign-and-trade agreement with the Hawks.

Joe should had offered J-Smoove a deal that he could not refuse, when he supposedly met with Smith at 12:01 AM Monday morning.

Dam(n) you Joe!

Every other team in the League is wheeling and dealing and WE may get stuck with having to sign OUR own trash: Calderon, Will B., Maxie, and/or Maggette.

Sebastian, I feel your pain, but damn bro' let's not slit our wrists over this sh!t.........Maxiell? Maggette? Oh, hell no!!! Jose and Willie B is as far as I'm willing to go. I ain't giving up on Smith until he's signed by someone other than the Pistons.

[Sebastian]

Joe needs to get his azz back to work, quickly!

That pimp, Daryl Morey, has done it, again; and now he is working on acquiring Josh Smith, offering up Asik in a sign-and-trade agreement with the Hawks.

Joe should had offered J-Smoove a deal that he could not refuse, when he supposedly met with Smith at 12:01 AM Monday morning.

Dam(n) you Joe!

Every other team in the League is wheeling and dealing and WE may get stuck with having to sign OUR own trash: Calderon, Will B., Maxie, and/or Maggette.

[Phil-Good]

Go get this guy Joe. This guy can make it happen. Not A max contract guy at all. The only catch is would he be willing to be A SUPER SUB? He can finish games when Drummonds or The Moose is in foul trouble.


This would be A really good signing.

[deusXango]

Does anyone remember the fan who used to question who we could bring in to replace Joe, if he were gone? Who always reminded us that Joe built the 2004 championship team (that went to numerous ECF's)? Where are they now? I need some comedy relief!

Don't get it twisted, it's not the city that no one wants to come play in, it's the GM that nobody wants to play for!! Detroit ain't that bad, Joe sucks! Remember when Monroe was the best thing we had going for us, but he needed help in the paint? Does anyone remember this 6' 10" rookie rebounding machine, who never hurt the team with the few scrap minutes he was given over the course of the season? I'm not saying he was the answer to all our problems, but I remember that not only was he not played, he wasn't sent down to the D-League in a timely manner. I remember that Monroe was given a 6' 7" PF to have his back, thus highlighting all his flaws, as a player. For two seasons Monroe was hamstrung with this midget in the middle, when there was better available to go to war with, and this all happened under Joe's watch. Some fans are constantly suggesting trading Monroe for this or that player, but has the thought occurred to you Monroe haters that he may not want to be here, because of Joe?

I have nothing against Caldwell-Pope, but he's not the talent Trey Burke is, and we didn't need his services as much as we did Burke's. That sad ass decision had to have had a negative effect on the teams big men of the future. It was known that there was an established relationship between Joe and Burke, before the draft, and that Burke had hopes of coming to the Pistons; WTF happened?! Oh, Joe made a choice and is talking sh!t about popularity. Little used Andre Drummond showed more class than that, and he's a player who's been ignored by Joe, by proxy. It's one thing to sit Jonas Jerebko for as long as Lil' Larry sat him (not excusing the fiasco in London, that was bush), but to sit a player like Cory Maggette, without token minutes sometime, who is in excellent shape, on a team performing as Detroit was, paints a piss-poor picture of this franchise. For all the people who don't want to give a max contract to Josh Smith, like that money is coming out of your pocket, may want to re-think your position!! Iggy is not a 2nd tier or 3rd tier player, but a 4th tier player who just signed for $12 million a year! So much for the reunion of Cheeks and Iguodala in Detroit. Joe's running the show here.

We didn't pursue Harden, lost out on Vasquez, had Iggy signed from right under our noses; we passed on Burke, guaranteed the contract of Stuckey, and have talked to damn near every FA on the market, without results, what's next? Is Al-Farouq Aminu looking any better at SF? Will we be giving Middleton a fair shake at starting? Will Tony Mitchell get the opportunity that Josh would get, if he is here? Will we keep Payton Siva? If summer league shows marked improvement in Middleton's game, will we renegotiate his contract? We've got some image improvement to do, and do it quickly. 

[deusXango]

TREY BURKE#1

"This is probably the best fit between player and team. The Utah Jazz needed a point guard. Trey Burke needed a place where he could have the ball in his hands an awful lot. It's a perfect match.

The Jazz appear to be ready to roll with their young frontcourt duo of Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, and that plays heavily into Burke's favor. If either of those players have big years, the young point guard will get an awful lot of credit for setting them up.

But more than that, the Jazz don't have a No. 1 scorer on their roster, or anything close to one. That means Burke can step into that role from day one, assuming alpha status as the lead guard on a team that will welcome his ability to step back and hit the three or score in the paint with little floaters.

Burke is the best pick-and-roll prospect, he'll likely get the most playing time and he'll have the ball in his hands more than anyone else. When you combine talent with fit and opportunity, good things usually tend to happen. He's the strong favorite to bring home the hardware."-Too many opinions
Joe, Joe, Joe. You stupid motherfuka! If Trey Burke goes on to win ROY, you will be the least popular resident in the state (unless you carry your country ass on back home, and you may catch some flack there). IMHO Kanter and Favors don't measure up to Drummond and Monroe, so WTF was really the problem? This is why no one wants to play for you, you brain dead asshole!

I had to get that off my chest and this seems to be the right moment in time.

Something else to think about; this is another top PG Joe has passed on since he brought Stuckey on board to be the Pistons PG. The company line is Cheeks will be mentoring Knight, but there are fans like Sebastian who firmly believe that Stuckey is the best PG on the team; it seems that Joe feels the same way, and is up to his same old tricks by trying to push the man down our collective throats. Sebastian, I'm not picking on you, because I know you're not alone in your support.

[Sebastian]

I am wondering if anybody has checked out Rondo's health. Has he recovered from a serious injury yet or will it take two seasons before he can play again? Nobody seems to be talking about this assuming he will be the same type of player he was before the injury.

cool breeze, you are so right, man. No one is talking about his health status, his recovery regiment, nor his projected time to return. Then, there is the time that he will need to get back (if possible) to competitive form. No one is making any statements to this topic.

Derrick Rose has yet to return and when he finally does return to play, it would have been some 18 months that he last played NBA-level basketball. Iman Shumpert took about 10 months to return, but he is still young and has yet to establish a level of "true" expectations.

Now, I did read on one blog. I think it was the Celtics Blog, where Danny Ainge was quoted to say that Rondo will not be back by Training Camp, but should return at the start of the season.  Which is GM-speak for he probably will be back by January or near the All-Star break.  

Now, why would WE want to trade for Rondo, if he can only be under contract for two years and probably only available for a season and a half, at most. Then when he is able to play it will disturb any rhythm that the team will hopefully have.

I say stay away form signing Rondo. Let Stuckey and B. Knight hold down the PG position for the upcoming season.

[deusXango]

Sebastian, Stuckey's on the shelf only because Joe can't get rid of him, anymore than he can Charlie V. Why amnesty CV in the last year of his expiring contract, when we can't spend the money we've already squirreled away? Sit his ass on the bench ALL year (like Maggette) and when his contract expires, so will his NBA career!

If the Rockets sign Howard and want to sign JSmoove also, they've got to part with some players we can use, and are better than the ones we have! Smith wants a max contract and if Houston gives it to him, that'll be two years in a row that they would've done something that Pistons fans turned their collective noses up at (signing James Harden when we were talking about he wouldn't be nothing without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook), and Houston would be an elite team in two years, while Detroit continues to linger at the bottom (of the east of all places) of the standings.

I'm not a fan of resigning Calderon or Bynum, but the money's got to be spent somewhere, so it would appear we may have to sign them both (they're both better than your boy Stuckey!). What disturbs me is if Stuckey stays around and is given another outrageous contract, he'll have been a Piston longer than most superior guards who've worn the Detroit uniform......I forget, he doesn't play for the name on the front of the jersey, he plays for the name on the back!! Joe thinking on his feet? That max deal a lot of fans don't want Smith to have can get worse; what if it's not a Detroit max, but an Atlanta max, by way of sign and trade? Five years over four at max money, to get a non-All-Star player; I love it when that argument is used, "he's never made an All-Star team." LOL. That's what Joe may have to do.

[Sebastian]

"Stand Pat Joe" Dumars, has lollygagged, made excuses, and held onto the mediocre players, who were responsible for dragging the team down, and now, just when it matters to him to make some statement moves, it seems he can't. He refused to make significant trades last year, because he was going to raise hell at the trade deadline, until it was upon us, then he announced, he was standing pat. Every time he gets his tit caught in the ringer, it's about the money; money that he misspends, going back to the Chauncey for Iverson fiasco, and ending with the Gordon and Villanueva signings. Deja Vu?

Wouldn't it be ironic if the best we ended up with was the resigning of Calderon and Bynum, in an already overcrowded backcourt? Fact: Calderon may be the best natural PG we can get our hands on (no defense). Fact: Bynum has shown he was the best finisher at the rim, and pick & roll PG we had on the team (no defense). The stage has been set to say "good bye" to English, with the drafting of KC-P. If Burke was too small at 6' 1", Siva doesn't stand a chance at 6' 0". Joe guaranteed Stuckey's $8.5 million contract, but had he bought him out for $4 million, I wonder how long the line would have been to sign him for $4.5 million? The Pistons should have drafted Burke, and put Stuckey, CV, Jerebko, and Singler up for trade on draft night! Now we're stuck with Stuckey, who Sebastian calls the best PG on the team, so it would make sense to resign old ass, no "D" Calderon, and overpay him while we're at it.
We also don't have a shot at getting into the 2014 first round; Detroit may not tank, but there'll be plenty of tanking going on around us.

The so-called experts don't think Smith is a good fit for Detroit, but the same ones are in favor of Iguodala, a player who has more limitations than Smith! The talk is about how Iggy would fit with Monroe and Drummond, but even those fans who are against signing Smith, agree he'd look much better lined up with Monroe and Drummond on the defensive side of  the ball. I don't know why the case is always made about how many 3's Smith takes a game when Iggy makes twice as many attempts, and is less successful; "the ball don't lie." The offensive numbers of Smith weren't accomplished with "smoke and mirrors," but that should be unimportant to Detroit fans, who still believe in defense; I want a big alpha dog defender for Anthony, James, Durant, and the like. I want a defender who stands a chance in slowing them down and giving us a chance to win, and I don't want to drop all that responsibility on the shoulders of Drummond; I want him partnered up with someone with like skills, and sadly Monroe ain't the one. For the record, HELL NO, DON'T TRADE MONROE!! Mo Cheeks is hamstrung enough with Stuckey and CV on his roster and Joe in his ear; you take Monroe away from him and he doesn't stand a chance at success, in this man made basketball hell.

As far as I'm concerned they can bring back Calderon and Bynum, just don't resign Maxiell!!! Please go all out to get Josh Smith signed as a FA, and it would be a great off season.
C- Drummond/Monroe
PF-Monroe/Smith/Mitchell
SF-Smith/Middleton
SG-Caldwell-Pope/Knight/Bynum
PG-Calderon/Knight/Stuckey
This is a starting lineup that I can get excited about, and it has been refaced enough for the world to see we're trying to get back on top.

Yo, DX, why you want to put Stuckey on the shelf in your most recent roster proposal and where is Charlie V? Are you suggesting that WE amnesty the Dominican enigma?

I am really curious to what rabbit(s) Joe will be able to pull out of his hat (azz), if Dwight doesn't sign with the Rockets and the Rockets hastily signs J-Smoove. Joe will have think quick on his feet, if this does happen.

And, you can put me down for hoping that WE do not resign Calderon or Bynum. Don't do it, Joe!!!
 

[deusXango]

"Stand Pat Joe" Dumars, has lollygagged, made excuses, and held onto the mediocre players, who were responsible for dragging the team down, and now, just when it matters to him to make some statement moves, it seems he can't. He refused to make significant trades last year, because he was going to raise hell at the trade deadline, until it was upon us, then he announced, he was standing pat. Every time he gets his tit caught in the ringer, it's about the money; money that he misspends, going back to the Chauncey for Iverson fiasco, and ending with the Gordon and Villanueva signings. Deja Vu?

Wouldn't it be ironic if the best we ended up with was the resigning of Calderon and Bynum, in an already overcrowded backcourt? Fact: Calderon may be the best natural PG we can get our hands on (no defense). Fact: Bynum has shown he was the best finisher at the rim, and pick & roll PG we had on the team (no defense). The stage has been set to say "good bye" to English, with the drafting of KC-P. If Burke was too small at 6' 1", Siva doesn't stand a chance at 6' 0". Joe guaranteed Stuckey's $8.5 million contract, but had he bought him out for $4 million, I wonder how long the line would have been to sign him for $4.5 million? The Pistons should have drafted Burke, and put Stuckey, CV, Jerebko, and Singler up for trade on draft night! Now we're stuck with Stuckey, who Sebastian calls the best PG on the team, so it would make sense to resign old ass, no "D" Calderon, and overpay him while we're at it.
We also don't have a shot at getting into the 2014 first round; Detroit may not tank, but there'll be plenty of tanking going on around us.

The so-called experts don't think Smith is a good fit for Detroit, but the same ones are in favor of Iguodala, a player who has more limitations than Smith! The talk is about how Iggy would fit with Monroe and Drummond, but even those fans who are against signing Smith, agree he'd look much better lined up with Monroe and Drummond on the defensive side of  the ball. I don't know why the case is always made about how many 3's Smith takes a game when Iggy makes twice as many attempts, and is less successful; "the ball don't lie." The offensive numbers of Smith weren't accomplished with "smoke and mirrors," but that should be unimportant to Detroit fans, who still believe in defense; I want a big alpha dog defender for Anthony, James, Durant, and the like. I want a defender who stands a chance in slowing them down and giving us a chance to win, and I don't want to drop all that responsibility on the shoulders of Drummond; I want him partnered up with someone with like skills, and sadly Monroe ain't the one. For the record, HELL NO, DON'T TRADE MONROE!! Mo Cheeks is hamstrung enough with Stuckey and CV on his roster and Joe in his ear; you take Monroe away from him and he doesn't stand a chance at success, in this man made basketball hell.

As far as I'm concerned they can bring back Calderon and Bynum, just don't resign Maxiell!!! Please go all out to get Josh Smith signed as a FA, and it would be a great off season.
C- Drummond/Monroe
PF-Monroe/Smith/Mitchell
SF-Smith/Middleton
SG-Caldwell-Pope/Knight/Bynum
PG-Calderon/Knight/Stuckey
This is a starting lineup that I can get excited about, and it has been refaced enough for the world to see we're trying to get back on top.

[merc]

Phil, I'm buying what you said... still think they will make a nice cap trade this summer.

[Phil-Good]

This summer is looking really bad for the Detroit Pistons so far.

The reality is nobody wants to play in Detroit without A over the top offer of money. This is why Josh Smith, Ty Evens Or Andre Iggy will not be playing in Detroit Next season.

In my opinion Gores attitude of make the playoffs now is foolish. The only thing that can help Detroit is time and the trade dead-line, along with the luxury tax penalty for other teams.

Detroit has to squirm around and hope A really rich team has to dump 1 of it's 3 best players.

Joe will get the blame and some he should get. But if Joe is or is not here in Detroit the same problem will remain. Detroit will never be A destination that really hot NBA free agents want to come to. IF you want to win A championship in Detroit your GM will have to build 98% of that championship team via trades and NBA draft.

This summer should be A wake up call to Gores of how things go around here.

[Sparma]

I won't try to write that book, but it looks to me like the chances are good that we're in the last chapter or so. That makes me sad, even though Joe's screwed up plenty. If he's down to his last few moves, I wouldn't mind him bringing in Josh Smith. Last I heard, Howard wants Houston to add a star, which could well be Smith. It'd be nice to have a formidable frontline (although shooting would be a worry).

I realize this will sound unconvincing to many, but I feel Dumars needed one more year to rebuild, which he could have gotten if Gordon had been amnestied or if that contract had been sweated out one more year. I may be way off concerning the latter possibility, but can't help thinking that Gores' sense of urgency combined with Joe's sense of time running out led to an ill-conceived move. With a commitment to rebuilding, adding one high pick in a real strong draft to a nice young nucleus would have made me much more confident in the team's future.

As is, the best I hope for is a super trade based on the available cap space. Maybe Joe knows something yet which will lead to a happier ending to his story in Detroit than I foresee now.

[cool breeze]

I am wondering if anybody has checked out Rondo's health. Has he recovered from a serious injury yet or will it take two seasons before he can play again? Nobody seems to be talking about this assuming he will be the same type of player he was before the injury.

[cool breeze]

First off Chase Budinger is signing a nice three year contract with the Timberwolves while I have not heard much about any signing involving Joe's pet, Austin Daye. And it appears that Affalo is in high demand especially with the Clippers. Still nothing about Austin Daye Joe. If you recall, Budinger was selected in the same draft as Daye the guy who couldn't play a lick of defense on his college team and the guy Budinger killed during their college matchups. But Joe doesn't like competition on this Piston team. And he thought he had so many assets that it would be cool to just give away both Affalo and Budinger. Does Mr. Gores ever bother to ask Dumars about this? Or do they just shoot pool and talk about the old days of Dumar's playing career. Detroit doesn't have enough good players. Free agents have played against those Piston players and don't want to play with them it appears. Nobody wants to lose. Dumars has kept bad guards while protecting them from competition by giving away better players just to prove that he is a smart man. Now he gave up Burke to get one shooting guard who has no mid range game and played on a bad team. He could have had two shooting guards by drafting and trading Burke. Is Joe smarter than the Timbewolves GM? The experts think not. And Detroit will not miss out on a special draft in 2014 because Charlotte will most likely get our pick. Let's see, if Joe's circus act, Bynum is not available maybe he can sign Daye on a 3 year deal. As I watch NBA TV, I never hear much about Detroit at all. It is as if nobody even thinks about the Pistons anymore outside the local area.

[cool breeze]

I was heartened by something Gores said in Pt. II of the Vince Ellis interview:  "It’s a complicated business. It’s not that simple. I think we have to be patient and I think I still like the idea of pushing things, but maybe you have to be a little more patient."

Now if only we could undo that foolish Gordon trade that put so many chips on the gaining one year freedom once Maggette's contract is up.  Still can't believe Gordon's contract wasn't amnestied if it was thought to be so bad.  Any chance CV'd be amnestied?

We have an excellent young nucleus.  I suppose it's better for Gores to become patient now rather than not at all.  We're rebuilding, so rebuild.

We've gotten ourselves in a really tough spot.

It appears that Stuckey may have to be OUR starting PG and B. Knight may need to be the first guard coming off the bench. When you think about this may be the best solution for OUR PG position. Stuckey is currently the best PG on the roster. He can guard the position. He get the team into their sets. He can put pressure on opposing guards, as he has a relentless dribble-drive game, when he is engaged. He shoots free throws very well. And, he's a pretty tough dude. WE have to remember that Stuckey is a 27 year-old man, who is seeking another, better than decent 3-4 year contract, as his next contract.

Then WE come off with B. Knight, who is quick: shoots very well from the perimeter: can get in the lane and finishes, very well; can also guard the position; and is a tough dude, himself.

I think that Pistons fans should be hoping and praying that Dwight decides to sign with the Rockets. It may then be a possibility to acquire Josh Smith, if WE don't try to low ball the dude.

If Dwight signs with team other than the Rockets, then Houston will present J-Smoove with a lucrative offer that he will not refuse.

Then what will WE do. WE will be up Sh!t Creek w/o a paddle or a boat for that matter.

What will WE do?!?!?!?!?!

Sebastian why is it that some great Piston fans seem to think that you figure out who will play and especially start for a team without actually going through the actual competition giving every player a equal chance to compete for a job? The real truth is that the only time things are unfair in the pro game is when a guy comes in trying to make a team where too many slugs have guaranteed contracts. That player wanting a job might be better but management is not willing to admit a mistake or spend more money on the team. Otherwise, actual competition when that training camp begins determines who plays and who sits. So far Knight has beat out Stuckey for the starting point guard job two years in a row. When Detroit tried the experiment with Calderon, then Knight beat out Stuckey for the shooting guard spot. Stuckey has never shown anybody who follows the Pistons that he has any leadership qualities. You need some leadership skills and an edge to play the most difficult position on the floor. So you would like to just plug Stuckey in as a starting point guard because you say he is the best point guard on the team. Nobody who is has been hired to coach agrees with you. Oh, I forgot all the past coaching staffs have had it in for Stuckey in a bad way. He never got a fair chance to win a job. Stuckey has always been a player who only is interested in picking up a paycheck and you want to reward him with a starting position because no team in the league wants him on their team. Remember that Toronto laughed at Joe when he suggested trading Stuckey and Charlie V for Gay. Maybe we should plug in Charlie as a starter too. This story line is tiring relating to Stuckey.

[Sebastian]

I was heartened by something Gores said in Pt. II of the Vince Ellis interview:  "It’s a complicated business. It’s not that simple. I think we have to be patient and I think I still like the idea of pushing things, but maybe you have to be a little more patient."

Now if only we could undo that foolish Gordon trade that put so many chips on the gaining one year freedom once Maggette's contract is up.  Still can't believe Gordon's contract wasn't amnestied if it was thought to be so bad.  Any chance CV'd be amnestied?

We have an excellent young nucleus.  I suppose it's better for Gores to become patient now rather than not at all.  We're rebuilding, so rebuild.

We've gotten ourselves in a really tough spot.

It appears that Stuckey may have to be OUR starting PG and B. Knight may need to be the first guard coming off the bench. When you think about this may be the best solution for OUR PG position. Stuckey is currently the best PG on the roster. He can guard the position. He get the team into their sets. He can put pressure on opposing guards, as he has a relentless dribble-drive game, when he is engaged. He shoots free throws very well. And, he's a pretty tough dude. WE have to remember that Stuckey is a 27 year-old man, who is seeking another, better than decent 3-4 year contract, as his next contract.

Then WE come off with B. Knight, who is quick: shoots very well from the perimeter: can get in the lane and finishes, very well; can also guard the position; and is a tough dude, himself.

I think that Pistons fans should be hoping and praying that Dwight decides to sign with the Rockets. It may then be a possibility to acquire Josh Smith, if WE don't try to low ball the dude.

If Dwight signs with team other than the Rockets, then Houston will present J-Smoove with a lucrative offer that he will not refuse.

Then what will WE do. WE will be up Sh!t Creek w/o a paddle or a boat for that matter.

What will WE do?!?!?!?!?!

[deusXango]

The negative speculation (trade scenarios that won't work, for players that don't fit) draped over this franchise is embarrassing, and the acceptance is shameful. What happened to this once proud urban basketball fan base? When these idiotic media types print their nonsense about our Pistons, instead of rehashing it ad-gag'um, we should be flooding their mail boxes with comparable insults! Wild-eyed speculation is not news, it's misleading, that's all.

We've heard all the benefits of a big, pure PG, and rebuilding, we need a young one; I pointed out the fact that New Orleans didn't want Vasquez (who fits the bill as being young, big, with evolving pure PG skills), but all the rage has been Iggy, and Gay, two highly over-priced SF's, that we have no chance of getting, now Vasquez is on the move for more than we could have had him for three days ago! We want to gut the team for Rondo, who may never be the same here, as he was in Boston; the one skill he will probably maintain is his ability to alienate those around him. It seems that for better or worse, Knight is the starting PG, and it would be a travesty to cut Siva from the team, to resign Bynum.

It should have been a sobering eye-opener when Toronto immediately turned down the trade proposal of Rudy Gay for Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva; some fans have long felt that those players of ours had no trade value, and in spite of those few who support one or both of them, it's apparent that the promise of money relief won't move them. We may have to bite the bullet and keep them until they expire on our roster (it's senseless to amnesty CV now), and think about parting company with Jerebko and Singler, if we're to make a successful trade. That CV and Stuckey money will go towards resigning Monroe to the contract he deserves (playing for the Pistons).

As much as I know a great majority of you hate it, the most logical FA signee seems to be Josh Smith, once he wakes up to the fact that Detroit is the best place for his career to take off. All the negatives that have been rehashed, over and over again, are fixable, and he won't be playing out of position! In this league, once a player is forced out of position, the fan base tends to think that's what he's best suited for, never realizing that it may have been a decision made out of necessity; in Atlanta, Horford (who is a PF) was played out of position at center, and Smith (who is a SF) was played out of position at PF. These two are exceptional athletes and basketball players, so they could compete out of position, but that doesn't mean they were correctly being used. It really doesn't matter that we'd have the worst shooting SF and PF in the league, we'd have arguably the most fearsome frontline trio in the NBA. You include Mitchell in the rotation and it's suddenly a frontline, that is light years away from where we were a few years ago, and with proper coaching, one that is solid for years to come.

[Sparma]

I was heartened by something Gores said in Pt. II of the Vince Ellis interview: "It’s a complicated business. It’s not that simple. I think we have to be patient and I think I still like the idea of pushing things, but maybe you have to be a little more patient."

Now if only we could undo that foolish Gordon trade that put so many chips on the gaining one year freedom once Maggette's contract is up. Still can't believe Gordon's contract wasn't amnestied if it was thought to be so bad. Any chance CV'd be amnestied?

We have an excellent young nucleus. I suppose it's better for Gores to become patient now rather than not at all. We're rebuilding, so rebuild.

We've gotten ourselves in a really tough spot.

[Sebastian]

Simple, just sweeten the dam(n) deal. Add: Singler and/or future 1st round. Joe has Ujiri's ear, now just make him a better offer.

Work it, Joe!

Sebastian, if memory serves me correctly, this is one of the latest bones fans have to pick with Joe; giving up a first round pick to rid ourselves of Gordon. How can you suggest something like this and still say you want Stuckey to be a part of this team? Toronto don't want Rudy Gay, but they damn sure don't want anything to do with Stuckey or Charlie V. Could it be because they're negative influences?

DX, I was considering maybe a 2016 or 2017 Pick, the season when WE are hoisting the Larry O'Brian Trophy.  

[deusXango]

For what we need (a PG and SF of starting caliber) doesn't it make sense to sign Al-Farouq Aminu now that it's becoming apparent we're going to miss out on choice FA picks? Although Josh Smith is the 3rd best FA to hit the market, this year, and haven't turned us down, as yet, fans don't want him. Those same fans will nitpick on every little thing Smith does once he arrived in Detroit, and generally make his life miserable until Joe trades him. Iggy's not coming here unless he's way over-paid, and we just got turned down by Toronto for Gay. Only the most deluded want the gimpy legged Granger; Al-Farouq seems to be the answer for starting SF.

I'd personally like to see Cheeks work with Vasquez more than Knight; BK7 should be allowed to relax and play his game, which is straight out scoring! Mo Cheeks has the credentials for Knight to respect his judgment and in his infinite wisdom, Knight would be more productive coming off the bench than he would as a starter. Vasquez can direct an offense, he just hasn't had the quality roster around him to make the noise that would have raised his name to national recognition; I think we have that type roster. Because Aminu and Vasquez played for the lowly Pelicans doesn't mean they're lowly talents.
PG-Vasquez/Knight
SG-KC-P/Knight/English
SF-Aminu/Middleton/Singler
PF-Monroe/Mitchell
C- Drummond/Monroe/Kravtsov
We got to dump Stuckey, Villanueva, and Jerebko, somehow, for draft picks next year!

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