Wise, you're right!

[Oracle]

I guess you & Lemonpen are right! When you put it like this...

Oracle, true it was a cowardly way of handling this on thing and I agree but again is it really any different that walking into practice and found out you been traded. Remember how Joe played Chauncey when he traded him to Denver or how Knight initially felt being traded to Milwaukee. Yeah teams are making business decision, but often players are making personal choices that abruptly get alter when their traded and a team decides to make that business decision.

You're right, it's no different!

I could say two Wongs don't make a Right, but it's a bad joke!

I don't like either, but if management gets to do crap like that to players, go ahead and let them crap all over each other

[deusXango]

I think Detroit should bring in Austin Daye. I think Daye can help the Pistons with his shooting ability.

The substance of this statement suggests drugs are involved.

[WTF]

I imagine a lot can happen in Eight Days.  A lot may be discovered / uncovered in Eight Days.  I wonder how many free agents-gone-by may have suffered buyers remorse so to speak.  How many allowed themselves to be blinded by all those zeeeeee-roooooos.

Could the "Moratorium " be thought of in the same context as "Pending Inspection".   If you have purchased a home you know the term.  Many times when an agreement is reached on the details of a home purchase it is contingent upon the results of a professional inspection.  A little something to safeguard us against the unknown.

I think the 8 days is appropriate, and poses absolutely no problem, but this is about doing business not play!

The Jordan case is problematic for very specific reasons!

1. It doesn't matter what you perceive others would do, if your word and commitment mean nothing, it reflects on your character, not someone else's.
   
2. Teams do make multi million business decisions based what goes on in negotiations, even with the 8 days. You could argue that they shouldn't, and I would agree, but it's a trust thing.
   

However bad those two are, they pale in comparison to what actually happened in this case!

We all agree that changing your mind in the 8 days is possible and should be allowed, but doing that and NOT letting one of the parties know this is a new level of low behavior!

Jordan refused to take Dallas management calls on the last day, leaving them in the dark! They have to find this out at the last possible minute through taunting tweets, like Blake Griffin tweeting a chair up against the door of Jordan's house?

That article was right, that's cowardice! Make your decisions like a man, Jordan let the Clippers speak for him, he didn't have the decency to let the Mavs know in person or on the phone!

I don't see a defense for this level of behavior, and I, like Wise, thought Jordan was making a HUGE mistake going to Dallas with his no FT shooting butt!

BTW, today is the day that our deal went through to get Morris & change from the Suns for a crummy 2nd rounder in 2020! What would it do to us if Phoenix said that since they didn't get Aldridge, the deal was off and the Pistons had to Go Fish! How many deals like that are there out there? All of SVG's plans would be out of the window since he had to wait to consummate the deal... this is silly stuff and no way to do business!

Oracle, true it was a cowardly way of handling this on thing and I agree but again is it really any different that walking into practice and found out you been traded. Remember how Joe played Chauncey when he traded him to Denver or how Knight initially felt being traded to Milwaukee. Yeah teams are making business decision, but often players are making personal choices that abruptly get alter when their traded and a team decides to make that business decision.

The separation and deceit should just be allowed just at the terms of owners. One could argue that Jordan needed to think and focus on what the Clippers were discussing it simply could have been poor timing on the part of the Clippers whom I thought was prepared to let Jordan walk because they felt they could replace him. Now it was childish with the tweets but these are the type of players fans are willing to accept, this is the behavior of both players and owners we come to accept as the new norm.

Yeah the state of Dallas will hate his stinking rotten guts and other teams may be reluctant to deal with him going forward but we never thought the state of Cleveland would welcome Lebron back either. I was laughing at you and DX wishing Moose well in previous postings and I was quietly thinking break a leg sorry piss of ****. He could have at least provided a sign and trade gesture/opportunity much in the way Hill did but you no me no love lost or hurt feeling in seeing his ass go.

[Oracle]

I imagine a lot can happen in Eight Days.  A lot may be discovered / uncovered in Eight Days.  I wonder how many free agents-gone-by may have suffered buyers remorse so to speak.  How many allowed themselves to be blinded by all those zeeeeee-roooooos.

Could the "Moratorium " be thought of in the same context as "Pending Inspection".   If you have purchased a home you know the term.  Many times when an agreement is reached on the details of a home purchase it is contingent upon the results of a professional inspection.  A little something to safeguard us against the unknown.

I think the 8 days is appropriate, and poses absolutely no problem, but this is about doing business not play!

The Jordan case is problematic for very specific reasons!

1. It doesn't matter what you perceive others would do, if your word and commitment mean nothing, it reflects on your character, not someone else's.
   
2. Teams do make multi million business decisions based what goes on in negotiations, even with the 8 days. You could argue that they shouldn't, and I would agree, but it's a trust thing.
   

However bad those two are, they pale in comparison to what actually happened in this case!

We all agree that changing your mind in the 8 days is possible and should be allowed, but doing that and NOT letting one of the parties know this is a new level of low behavior!

Jordan refused to take Dallas management calls on the last day, leaving them in the dark! They have to find this out at the last possible minute through taunting tweets, like Blake Griffin tweeting a chair up against the door of Jordan's house?

That article was right, that's cowardice! Make your decisions like a man, Jordan let the Clippers speak for him, he didn't have the decency to let the Mavs know in person or on the phone!

I don't see a defense for this level of behavior, and I, like Wise, thought Jordan was making a HUGE mistake going to Dallas with his no FT shooting butt!

BTW, today is the day that our deal went through to get Morris & change from the Suns for a crummy 2nd rounder in 2020! What would it do to us if Phoenix said that since they didn't get Aldridge, the deal was off and the Pistons had to Go Fish! How many deals like that are there out there? All of SVG's plans would be out of the window since he had to wait to consummate the deal... this is silly stuff and no way to do business!

[lemonpen]

I think Detroit should bring in Austin Daye. I think Daye can help the Pistons with his shooting ability.

Ol' Boy has been cut by four awfully good teams (Memphis, Toronto, Atl & S.A), and each time they were riding high. Wouldn't you rather get someone they found valuable enough to hold on to.

[lemonpen]

I imagine a lot can happen in Eight Days. A lot may be discovered / uncovered in Eight Days. I wonder how many free agents-gone-by may have suffered buyers remorse so to speak. How many allowed themselves to be blinded by all those zeeeeee-roooooos.

Could the "Moratorium " be thought of in the same context as "Pending Inspection". If you have purchased a home you know the term. Many times when an agreement is reached on the details of a home purchase it is contingent upon the results of a professional inspection. A little something to safeguard us against the unknown.

[Phil-Good]

I think Detroit should bring in Austin Daye. I think Daye can help the Pistons with his shooting ability.

[WTF]

IMHO the greatest player to put on a Pistons uniform was Isiah Lord Thomas, and he always said that he wasn't just a PG or SG, but a basketball player! He always wanted to be the best basketball player he could, and there were moments when he was the best on the planet, regardless of who was on the floor with or against him. Stanley Johnson is a basketball player.

Before the name calling of positions became more relevant than what was going on, on the court, some of us saw some of the best basketball players in the world, playing outside of their supposed positions. Dennis Rodman was our SF and one of the fiercest rebounders the game has ever saw; he played both forward positions and successfully guarded centers with equal effectiveness, as well as guards! He was a basketball player. So was Big Ben Wallace. Here's a 6' 9" center who not only was a great rebounder/defender, but consistently kicked the HOF "Big Fellas" ass, Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq was a mountain of a man with mad skills, for his size, but he was bested by a smaller/shorter basketball player.

When you get caught up in height and place expectations and limitations on a basketball player, you can miss something that's other worldly and once in a lifetime; 2 examples. I spoke about Ben Wallace and what he meant to defence at 6' 9", but the greatest and most exciting offensive "little man" I saw was a 6' 9" PG named "Magic" Johnson! He was a basketball player. Going to any college in America, other than Michigan State, playing for any other coach than the late, great Jud Heathcote, he would have been a center or PF simply because of his height, but because of Jud, we got to see the "Magic Man" with the rocket pass, and the world marveled at "Showtime" because of a gifted basketball player. Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest centers to step on a court, was 6' 10" and played like a combination of PG, SG, SF, PF, everything but a center! That was a basketball player! All these basketball players have one thing in common; they were champions, and size didn't have a damn thing to do with it. Stanley Johnson is a basketball player and I for one am going to stop looking for flaws and start pulling for him, if for no other reason, he's a Detroit Piston and a damn good basketball player.

This is dedicated to my good brother Don.

Wow these are some exceptional cats that you bring up DX And I still say that you all need to be extremely mindful of the praise and expectation being placed on this kid. Remember that there were 7 teams that thought otherwise. Look don't get me wrong I'm pulling for him as well and the kid has looked great so far albeit SL so I'm thus far been impressed and please.

Flawed isn't the word anyone has used, no one said the kid is flawed what I said and perhaps others it that he's 6'6 and not really a NBA size small forward. Those guys you mentioned did consider themselves players but these were unique players with the exception of Big Ben these guys were mega-star before they even put on NBA uniforms but no matter how much Zeke considered himself just a player it would have made him a SF, PF or C though he easily could transition from PG to SG in a blink of an eye and I have no doubt he wouldn't have tried to play the other 3 positions if required.

True Story: Richard Hamilton a 6'7 SG use to give Lebron James the flux but that didn't make him a SF and it wasn't a position you weren't ready to consistently toss him in either.

All players have limitation even the exceptional one, While Big Ben could defend 5 positions, offensively he could only played one, same for Rodman, hell Rip was a 5 times all star but you didn't want his as playing the point. Johnson isn't flawed so lets not use that word but he certainly has a height disadvantage if he plays the SF position every night. Sometimes he will be victimized by it and sometimes he won't be.

[WTF]

No, Joe is not back in charge of the Pistons, I'm talking about what Jordan did to the Mavs!!!

"Poof. In a span of a few bizarre hours, Texas A&M product Jordan went from hero to probable career-long villain in North Texas.  From savior to traitor. From Cuban labeling him the Mavericks' best player going forward to likely Public Enemy No. 1 for all future visits to American Airlines Center.

There are no rules against a free agent changing his mind, but it’s long been considered a breech of unwritten protocol to do so. From all reports, Clippers management, players and Jordan had communicated since the weekend, resulting in Wednesday’s Statue-of-Liberty-play-like maneuver that circumvented Jordan’s agents at Relativity Sports, breaking another unwritten covenant.

When franchises reach agreements in principle with free agents - or fail to get a sought-after player - they quickly make decisions worth tens of millions of dollars on whether to sign, or not sign, other players. These choices dramatically affect salary cap management, with a domino effect that can last years." - DeAndre Jordan deals Mavericks a gut-punch, shows his word was worth zilch

More here - DeAndre Jordan Proves His Cowardice by Re-Signing With Los Angeles Clippers

And if that isn't enough, the guy that cursed Durant, Harden, LeBron and others may put the whammy on Jordan - Lil B is watching DeAndre Jordan closely; could he be the next victim of the Based God’s curse?

Before labeling DeAndre Jordan or the Clippers organization, or hollering about the damage to teams and its domino effect, wouldn’t you love having a statement from the most injured party, the owners, regarding their logic or lack of, behind the 8 day moratorium.  
Was it intended to allow a change of mind(s) in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

That's what I was thinking as well.  Owners can't have it all their way and they allowed Jordan this out by given him time to change his mind on this would the media be questioning an owners commitment to the player if the owner was trading Jordan after a season?  I do get where Oracle is coming from with this but there is no honor among thieves because it's no longer really a sport anymore it's the business and flawed entertainment because there's no longer a commitment to doing the right and honorable thing.  

There was a time long ago seem like eternity that a player and owners hand-shake was good as gold. Besides isn't that the whole process that one team makes an offer and then another team ups the ante or sweeten the pot.   Personally I think Jordan would have made a big mistake going to Dallas and that this Diva move was all to get the some needed attention.  Jordan knows he's not a premier player at least not one that can carry a team or lead one so it was always his in his best interest to play Bat Girl to Paul and Blake's Bat Man and Robin.    

What Jordan did isn't that far removed from what Monroe pulled last season in signing the QO

[deusXango]

IMHO the greatest player to put on a Pistons uniform was Isiah Lord Thomas, and he always said that he wasn't just a PG or SG, but a basketball player! He always wanted to be the best basketball player he could, and there were moments when he was the best on the planet, regardless of who was on the floor with or against him. Stanley Johnson is a basketball player.

Before the name calling of positions became more relevant than what was going on, on the court, some of us saw some of the best basketball players in the world, playing outside of their supposed positions. Dennis Rodman was our SF and one of the fiercest rebounders the game has ever saw; he played both forward positions and successfully guarded centers with equal effectiveness, as well as guards! He was a basketball player. So was Big Ben Wallace. Here's a 6' 9" center who not only was a great rebounder/defender, but consistently kicked the HOF "Big Fellas" ass, Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq was a mountain of a man with mad skills, for his size, but he was bested by a smaller/shorter basketball player.

When you get caught up in height and place expectations and limitations on a basketball player, you can miss something that's other worldly and once in a lifetime; 2 examples. I spoke about Ben Wallace and what he meant to defence at 6' 9", but the greatest and most exciting offensive "little man" I saw was a 6' 9" PG named "Magic" Johnson! He was a basketball player. Going to any college in America, other than Michigan State, playing for any other coach than the late, great Jud Heathcote, he would have been a center or PF simply because of his height, but because of Jud, we got to see the "Magic Man" with the rocket pass, and the world marveled at "Showtime" because of a gifted basketball player. Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest centers to step on a court, was 6' 10" and played like a combination of PG, SG, SF, PF, everything but a center! That was a basketball player! All these basketball players have one thing in common; they were champions, and size didn't have a damn thing to do with it. Stanley Johnson is a basketball player and I for one am going to stop looking for flaws and start pulling for him, if for no other reason, he's a Detroit Piston and a damn good basketball player.

This is dedicated to my good brother Don.

[lemonpen]

No, Joe is not back in charge of the Pistons, I'm talking about what Jordan did to the Mavs!!!

"Poof. In a span of a few bizarre hours, Texas A&M product Jordan went from hero to probable career-long villain in North Texas.  From savior to traitor. From Cuban labeling him the Mavericks' best player going forward to likely Public Enemy No. 1 for all future visits to American Airlines Center.

There are no rules against a free agent changing his mind, but it’s long been considered a breech of unwritten protocol to do so. From all reports, Clippers management, players and Jordan had communicated since the weekend, resulting in Wednesday’s Statue-of-Liberty-play-like maneuver that circumvented Jordan’s agents at Relativity Sports, breaking another unwritten covenant.

When franchises reach agreements in principle with free agents - or fail to get a sought-after player - they quickly make decisions worth tens of millions of dollars on whether to sign, or not sign, other players. These choices dramatically affect salary cap management, with a domino effect that can last years." - DeAndre Jordan deals Mavericks a gut-punch, shows his word was worth zilch

More here - DeAndre Jordan Proves His Cowardice by Re-Signing With Los Angeles Clippers

And if that isn't enough, the guy that cursed Durant, Harden, LeBron and others may put the whammy on Jordan - Lil B is watching DeAndre Jordan closely; could he be the next victim of the Based God’s curse?

Before labeling DeAndre Jordan or the Clippers organization, or hollering about the damage to teams and its domino effect, wouldn’t you love having a statement from the most injured party, the owners, regarding their logic or lack of, behind the 8 day moratorium.
Was it intended to allow a change of mind(s) in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

[Oracle]

No, Joe is not back in charge of the Pistons, I'm talking about what Jordan did to the Mavs!!!

"Poof. In a span of a few bizarre hours, Texas A&M product Jordan went from hero to probable career-long villain in North Texas.  From savior to traitor. From Cuban labeling him the Mavericks' best player going forward to likely Public Enemy No. 1 for all future visits to American Airlines Center.

There are no rules against a free agent changing his mind, but it’s long been considered a breech of unwritten protocol to do so. From all reports, Clippers management, players and Jordan had communicated since the weekend, resulting in Wednesday’s Statue-of-Liberty-play-like maneuver that circumvented Jordan’s agents at Relativity Sports, breaking another unwritten covenant.

When franchises reach agreements in principle with free agents - or fail to get a sought-after player - they quickly make decisions worth tens of millions of dollars on whether to sign, or not sign, other players. These choices dramatically affect salary cap management, with a domino effect that can last years." - DeAndre Jordan deals Mavericks a gut-punch, shows his word was worth zilch

More here - DeAndre Jordan Proves His Cowardice by Re-Signing With Los Angeles Clippers

And if that isn't enough, the guy that cursed Durant, Harden, LeBron and others may put the whammy on Jordan - Lil B is watching DeAndre Jordan closely; could he be the next victim of the Based God’s curse?

[cool breeze]

@Don, I was leaning towards hopes of drafting Kaminsky,  I didn't follow Johnson and I'm also not big fans of any player coming into the pros at 19 year of age.  Again I stress he was selected #8 and not #1 overall in the draft so it's a wait and see for me.  

Whatever Johnson was doing and acomplishing it was done at a college level and not the pro's,  you can't even measure how well he may or may not do based on his SL play though it looks promising because he has still yet to face a true NBA experience.  

Like I did with Burke I argued every turn that his size would not be a factor and it might just be,  but I thought it wouldn't matter because this guy was ahead of everyone else at the college level at that position.  Oracle was right to a point that size would be an issue though I stll think in time Burke can be good.  Johnson can be good as well and I don't anyone has said he wouldn't be.  He doesn't look that wide to me and again he's not a Barkley type and at no time would anyone mistake Barkley for a SG but you damn sure can make that assumpyion looking at Johnson.  

I'm not telling you that your wrong but you can't convince me that you're right. I'll have to see it to believe it.  

I liked Kaminsky as well Wise. However, there is no question in my mind that Johnson will help the Pistons this season. Actually the announcers of this last Summer League game stated that Stanley was only 18 years old. In the last game, Johnson went head to head with the Solomon Hill who was the starter for most of the season last year with the Pacers. Johnson looked bigger and stronger than Hill. I know Hill because he was another one of my favorite college players from Arizona. I liked him because he was one of the best team orientated players I have known. He sacrificed his own chances of going pro to please the coach who asked him to play power forward for most of his career. This ended up helping him in the NBA as he became used to banging against much bigger players. Stanley Johnson showed that he could easily dribble penetrate right around Hill in this last game. He also blocked hill"s shot as hill tried to drive inside.To me Stanley Johnson is a better defender than any small forward who wore the Piston uniform last year. That includes my beloved Kyle Singler. By the way, Van Gundy's 2nd pick is a player as well. He looks solid on both ends and I hope he locks up a spot on the active roster.

[merc]

What's funnier that people pay to see what he prints... his flame went out when his "Insider" Joe Dumars exited stage left.

[Oracle]

How would you guys feel about a straight-u trade of Ersan for Markieff Morris? It just so happens that Illysova can be traded any day of the week.

I'd do that and never look back for 2 simple reasons!

1. Markieff is younger, and
2. He's healthy and not injury prone

Ok, GM Seb, get to work on the rotund one SVG!

[Sebastian]

How would you guys feel about a straight-u trade of Ersan for Markieff Morris? It just so happens that Illysova can be traded any day of the week.

[WTF]

@Don, I was leaning towards hopes of drafting Kaminsky, I didn't follow Johnson and I'm also not big fans of any player coming into the pros at 19 year of age. Again I stress he was selected #8 and not #1 overall in the draft so it's a wait and see for me.

Whatever Johnson was doing and acomplishing it was done at a college level and not the pro's, you can't even measure how well he may or may not do based on his SL play though it looks promising because he has still yet to face a true NBA experience.

Like I did with Burke I argued every turn that his size would not be a factor and it might just be, but I thought it wouldn't matter because this guy was ahead of everyone else at the college level at that position. Oracle was right to a point that size would be an issue though I stll think in time Burke can be good. Johnson can be good as well and I don't anyone has said he wouldn't be. He doesn't look that wide to me and again he's not a Barkley type and at no time would anyone mistake Barkley for a SG but you damn sure can make that assumpyion looking at Johnson.

I'm not telling you that your wrong but you can't convince me that you're right. I'll have to see it to believe it.

[Oracle]

Just another day in the office for Stanley Johnson!

Yes it's summer league and yes it was a winless Pacer team, but those are still SWEET numbers!!!

[Oracle]

Russell Wilson has said that he won't have sex with Ciara until they get married... WHAT???


He divorced his wife with rumors of her sleeping around with Golden Tate of the Lions, likely one reason we got him!


But this is all very strange, even on religious grounds, and there may be a logical explanation... Wilson is GAY!!!

Chicago radio host implies Russell Wilson might be gay: 'You don't have to live a lie'

[Oracle]

Don, you have an advantage over us having seen full games of Stanley playing against many different players. IMO, the questions about his height are natural questions that need to be answered at the next level(NBA), as all rookies have things to prove.

That's why I do caution that we need to let this play out and see where the chips fall! One thing for sure... we know he's a player!!!

I Keep laughing at this discussion relating to how Stanley Johnson will be able to compete if he plays small forward for the Pistons. I visualize Johnson matching up with Prince when Prince was in his prime. Prince was a really good player and he was really tall. I can't see how Prince could drive from the corner or baseline against Johnson's wide body. Last season I witnessed Johnson pushing out 6 foot 10 inch players. So it seems that guys like Durant will be able to shoot over Johnson for sure. But how many players are there like Durant? How was it that D. Green was able to guard guys 6 inches taller than he was. And remember Labron playing against centers in past finals? I agree that Stanley Johnson can play shooting guard in the NBA. But also imagine a player with the strength of Johnson bullying his way to the basket against a thin tall small forward. We are all speculating a lot about this man, Stanley Johnson. He is only 19 years old and will be confronting vet NBA star players who are 10 or more years older than him and will get every call possible from the NBA refs. I think we might not really see the impact of Stanley Johnson for two more years. But there is no question that he is going to be a really good NBA player.

I am more concerned with the impact of Andre Drummond. Everyone seems to be giving him a pass and he is now in line to get a mega contract. I always question the theory that a center with flaws can ever lead a team to a championship. Anthony Davis is capable of doing that. Is Dwight Howard capable of doing that? You need an exceptionally driven talented two way big man to be able to pull that off. Andre Drummond cannot play effective defense over an entire game. He makes basic mental mistakes. He gets himself in foul trouble. Andre is the worst free throw shooter in the NBA. He is not a proven offensive threat. Drummond is a dunker so far. He was only slightly better this past season from the previous season. Yet if Drummond give the head nod, Stan Van Gundy will have to hand over a contract that will severely limit Detroit's chances of building a successful team. We will have to bank on the draft next year and develop the young players we already have on the roster. I am not down on Andre Drummond. He has a great attitude and is working hard to maximize his abilities. If he signs a contract extension Stan Van Gundy will be betting the farm on the slim chance that Drummond can improve 60% in every area. Right now Drummond cannot do any one thing concerning playing basketball even close to the way Anthony Davis plays the game. Davis has the mental thing down. He is a shot blocker, rebounder in crunch time, shot maker in crunch time and an overall extremely consistent player in every area. I would only ask Drummond to improve and become the best at one thing. DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING is the key. It is not developing the offensive game that will determine his success or the Piston's success. Yet I believe that is Andre's focus. And that scares me a lot. Drummond is not a natural scorer. He is only a superior big athlete who could become a monster on defense.

[cool breeze]

I Keep laughing at this discussion relating to how Stanley Johnson will be able to compete if he plays small forward for the Pistons. I visualize Johnson matching up with Prince when Prince was in his prime. Prince was a really good player and he was really tall. I can't see how Prince could drive from the corner or baseline against Johnson's wide body. Last season I witnessed Johnson pushing out 6 foot 10 inch players. So it seems that guys like Durant will be able to shoot over Johnson for sure. But how many players are there like Durant? How was it that D. Green was able to guard guys 6 inches taller than he was. And remember Labron playing against centers in past finals? I agree that Stanley Johnson can play shooting guard in the NBA. But also imagine a player with the strength of Johnson bullying his way to the basket against a thin tall small forward. We are all speculating a lot about this man, Stanley Johnson. He is only 19 years old and will be confronting vet NBA star players who are 10 or more years older than him and will get every call possible from the NBA refs. I think we might not really see the impact of Stanley Johnson for two more years. But there is no question that he is going to be a really good NBA player.

I am more concerned with the impact of Andre Drummond. Everyone seems to be giving him a pass and he is now in line to get a mega contract. I always question the theory that a center with flaws can ever lead a team to a championship. Anthony Davis is capable of doing that. Is Dwight Howard capable of doing that? You need an exceptionally driven talented two way big man to be able to pull that off. Andre Drummond cannot play effective defense over an entire game. He makes basic mental mistakes. He gets himself in foul trouble. Andre is the worst free throw shooter in the NBA. He is not a proven offensive threat. Drummond is a dunker so far. He was only slightly better this past season from the previous season. Yet if Drummond give the head nod, Stan Van Gundy will have to hand over a contract that will severely limit Detroit's chances of building a successful team. We will have to bank on the draft next year and develop the young players we already have on the roster. I am not down on Andre Drummond. He has a great attitude and is working hard to maximize his abilities. If he signs a contract extension Stan Van Gundy will be betting the farm on the slim chance that Drummond can improve 60% in every area. Right now Drummond cannot do any one thing concerning playing basketball even close to the way Anthony Davis plays the game. Davis has the mental thing down. He is a shot blocker, rebounder in crunch time, shot maker in crunch time and an overall extremely consistent player in every area. I would only ask Drummond to improve and become the best at one thing. DEFENSE AND REBOUNDING is the key. It is not developing the offensive game that will determine his success or the Piston's success. Yet I believe that is Andre's focus. And that scares me a lot. Drummond is not a natural scorer. He is only a superior big athlete who could become a monster on defense.

[cool breeze]

Chad Ford isn't just your average, run-of-the-mill idiot.  Chad Ford is a monumental idiot...whether it's Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andre Drummond, Kris Middleton...or the infamous Darko Milicic.

If not for Chad Ford, Joe would have drafted Melo as the obvious #2 pick, and everyone would now be talking about the Detroit Pistons dynasty of the last 10 years, instead of the Spurs.  Chad Ford's monumental idiocy (and Joe's) changed the course of NBA history.  And still the moron keeps giving his opinions on the draft.

The fact the Chad Ford likes Winslow over Johnson is a huge endorsement for Stanley Johnson.  There's simply no other way to look at it, and I'm not even kidding a little.

Murph I forgot about Chad Ford's endorsement of Darko back in the day. What sports writer would ever put in their two cents after making that blunder. Now we must go back and check on Chad's opinion relating to Dumars other brain fart when he picked Rodney White over Joe Johnson. The Johnson vs Winslow is different. Both had proven themselves as capable basketball players before the draft. Chad Ford decided to create fiction needing to write something negative about Stan Van Gundy with his latest piece of skullduggery. Why didn't he come right out and say it? Joe Dumars wouldn't have made the mistake of drafting Stanley Johnson. Write that name down Stanley Johnson - Chad Ford doesn't like you.

[Murph]

Chad Ford isn't just your average, run-of-the-mill idiot.  Chad Ford is a monumental idiot...whether it's Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Andre Drummond, Kris Middleton...or the infamous Darko Milicic.

If not for Chad Ford, Joe would have drafted Melo as the obvious #2 pick, and everyone would now be talking about the Detroit Pistons dynasty of the last 10 years, instead of the Spurs.  Chad Ford's monumental idiocy (and Joe's) changed the course of NBA history.  And still the moron keeps giving his opinions on the draft.

The fact the Chad Ford likes Winslow over Johnson is a huge endorsement for Stanley Johnson.  There's simply no other way to look at it, and I'm not even kidding a little.

[deusXango]

Wise, I know your mind is open and you have this "cynic" at the core of your observations, which serves you well more often than not, so I listen to you very carefully...at 19 years of age and 6' 6.5", it's madness to be forced into playing SF in today's NBA.

Sebastian, you've come up with the most logical observation to appreciate SJ as an outstanding draft pick...play him at SG and let F@ckin' Jodie Meeks go! $6 million is too damn much for a FT shooter coming off the bench. KCP and SJ are the logical SG/SF's for this teams hope of success, if played properly.

Oracle, you're the reason I've jumped ship on the SF idea with the Jimmy Butler observation...Jimmy Butler is indeed a beast at SG for the Bulls, but having said that, I believe Stanley Johnson's skill set is more diverse than Butler's and he may well be a harder worker than Butler. I'd rather see him dominate at SG than see him struggle to reach a level of decency from night to night at SF.

Is it SVG or the media and fans who're stuck in the past with this 1 in 4 out 3 point shooting circus as a means of being competitive? Who ever it is, I think it sucks! Long range is good, if you have enough personnel to pull it off, but highly effective mid-range is better...mix them together and we've got a great shooting offense! I mention this because I believe T. J. Warren can be had, in a trade, and he's a mid-range beast at SF by all measures. We don't need Meeks, Jennings, or Martin and making trades seems to be President/GM Van Gundy's strong suit. Dinwiddie and Hilliard are bigger and cheaper than Meeks and Jennings, play better defense and should be developed along with the other core group players. IMHO we still need a more reliable SF added to our roster.

[WTF]

Trust me fella's this is not a bashing of our draft pick by any stretch I'm simply no sold to the point of many of you seem to be. Yes I'm not please with his size as a SF and that's not going to chang unless he transform into the next Barkley he won't be able to contend with the height of most of the other SF in the league. Even if I remove those names (Melo, James, Durant) from the conversation he'll still have issues at that size. Sorry it is what it is.

He does have an NBA ready body but it as a SG and not SF and I do think in time at that position he should excel and likely will. But if he's tossed to the wolves as many of you think he should be at SF then it could adversely have effects that could potentially ruin his development as we often seen in pass with other players that moved on to excel elsewhere.

I guess he was a great pick at #8 but we're going on as if he was selected #1. I understand Oracle point that there are things we see at times that you can't explain quietly I still think given the right situation Burke can be every bit as good as I said he could be because he had special written all over him as well. Truth is we said similar things about Stuckey when he was selected #15 and saw him play for the first time, we were so confident we traded away CB.

At some point something have to give between Meeks, KCP, Johnson and potenially Dinwiddie because I can see him on the floor with either Jackson or Jennings becuass he's likely a better shooter then all three.

If Johnson comes out of the gate ala Grant Hill then I'll perhaps join in but not before.

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