Excuse Me but....

[WTF]

Casey say's the team can win now so why are you all thinking it's to great of an expectation when I say 55 wins should be the standard here and nothing less than that.   

Those of you that supporting Casey needs to follow suit I think, at least this the first thing I agree with Casey on.  WIN NOW!!!!!

[WTF]

Wise...as US taxpayers, why are we morally responsible for feeding, housing, educating and providing healthcare to every Guatemalan family that hikes into Texas illegally?

I'm talking about human decency and how this should be handle period.   Love and compassion over all else even taxpayer dollars and like I said the Moral Compass is all jacked up.   BTW our taxpaying dollars are also paying for this mess as well but still there has to be a more compassionate way of handling this matter.   

Murph at the end of the day without Love and Compassion we're nothing and setting the world up for failure.   Also our US dollars get spent on a bunch of dumb **** and people don't blink about it.  But when it comes to doing the right thing we're up in arms about it that doesn't make any sense no matter how it gets dressed up.   If we just seriously stop to think about this and what is right and wrong how could anyone think this **** is okay.

In a broader sense we're all responsible for each other and we need to start think that way and when it comes always back to $$$$$ this only proves how evil and divisive it makes us.   It certainly make us rule out Love and Compassion in our thinking,  I know in all my heart that things don't have to be the way they are, not with just this **** but a bunch of **** that ails this world period.  

If a country truly want to be the world leader, and a super power then it needs to do it with love and compassion and don't mean hugs and kisses because the wrong thing can be done for the right reasons.  Playing politics isn't the right thing at all.

[Oracle]

The term BUST was usually applied to guys drafted somewhere around 1-3 that utterly failed to live up to expectations. Draft order is based on perception, especially when you get past 5, it's a crap shoot.

The reason I thought about this is that you both called Knight a bust, and if he's a bust, then I'm not sure what definition you guys are using.

Could either or both of you give me some of the reasons someone, especially Knight would be considered a bust?

[BallinD]

Since we're in the middle of a Pistons reset right now, why not get a "Legends" type consultant in here to the FO?  The Warriors got Steve Nash, the Clippers got Jerry West.  They are consultants, another mind in the room, not necessarily an employee.  Get a great basketball mind to join the braintrust.  Laimbeer?  Billups? KG? Caron Butler? Kenny Smith? Sheed? C-Webb? Just a few ideas of players who have good basketball minds and a former affiliation with the Stones.

[Sparma]

according to detnews. That ranking surprises me a little, although I do agree he was a bust. No need to remind folks of #1. Fennis Dembo comes in at #8.

[Oracle]

There's very little I agree with Trump about, but this situation is one of them, this illegal immigration needs to stop!

However, I draw the line at separating mothers from their children, that's not American, hell, it's not even human.

I also don't believe in walls, well, at least I don't if I have to pay for them.

If Mexico pays for the wall, then I'll feel fine, but if they're not going to pay for it... Donald, shut the f**k up.

[Murph]

Wise...as US taxpayers, why are we morally responsible for feeding, housing, educating and providing healthcare to every Guatemalan family that hikes into Texas illegally?

[WTF]

Build a wall...problem solved.

This is sad and I was trying not to say anything on here but I need to vent about this non basketball issue.  There has to be a better solution at the border than what's going on now.  Seriously kids in cages    seriously separating kids from parents.  If you believe in hell there's a place waiting for those that accepts and support this action.   


I'm all for protecting borders, but only in a humane compassionate fashion and those that claim this ass as their president should be a shame of this because it's evil.  These are people human beings and if you don't believe in hell than please know that Karma is a bitch and it's very real.  You see while you're sitting here supporting this crap and thinking this clown president is funny just know that in a blink of an eye some unannounced circumstance could rear it's ugly head deliver tragedy in that exact moment you decide to cheer this dumb **** on.   

Maybe you find yourself asking God why me,  why us in that same moment the answer is Karma!!!! Reaping what you sow!!!!   This compass got to get fixed fast,  the hatred, the lies, the greed, need to end or we are doomed sooner than most think

Get new president 

[Murph]

Build a wall...problem solved.

This is sad and I was trying not to say anything on here but I need to vent about this non basketball issue.  There has to be a better solution at the border than what's going on now.  Seriously kids in cages    seriously separating kids from parents.  If you believe in hell there's a place waiting for those that accepts and support this action.   


I'm all for protecting borders, but only in a humane compassionate fashion and those that claim this ass as their president should be a shame of this because it's evil.  These are people human beings and if you don't believe in hell than please know that Karma is a bitch and it's very real.  You see while you're sitting here supporting this crap and thinking this clown president is funny just know that in a blink of an eye some unannounced circumstance could rear it's ugly head deliver tragedy in that exact moment you decide to cheer this dumb **** on.   

Maybe you find yourself asking God why me,  why us in that same moment the answer is Karma!!!! Reaping what you sow!!!!   This compass got to get fixed fast,  the hatred, the lies, the greed, need to end or we are doomed sooner than most think

[WTF]

This is sad and I was trying not to say anything on here but I need to vent about this non basketball issue.  There has to be a better solution at the border than what's going on now.  Seriously kids in cages    seriously separating kids from parents.  If you believe in hell there's a place waiting for those that accepts and support this action.   


I'm all for protecting borders, but only in a humane compassionate fashion and those that claim this ass as their president should be a shame of this because it's evil.  These are people human beings and if you don't believe in hell than please know that Karma is a bitch and it's very real.  You see while you're sitting here supporting this crap and thinking this clown president is funny just know that in a blink of an eye some unannounced circumstance could rear it's ugly head deliver tragedy in that exact moment you decide to cheer this dumb **** on.   

Maybe you find yourself asking God why me,  why us in that same moment the answer is Karma!!!! Reaping what you sow!!!!   This compass got to get fixed fast,  the hatred, the lies, the greed, need to end or we are doomed sooner than most think

[Sparma]

Great work, Murph!  Your system does seem to give an inherent preference to 2nd rounders (more to gain, less to lose).   Maybe I've undervalued holding serve on high, eg, 7-9, picks as opposed to Knight and White (let alone Darko).  I initially used Monroe and Drummond as examples, but actually your chart brings out how significantly their value rose compared to their class. Maybe you could assign bonus points for leapfrogging elite competition towards the top of the draft, but that's nitpicking.

Extraordinary job!  The Freep should run your piece.

Somewhere Lee 357's still pleading the case of Sammy Mejia (who's lighting it up in Turkey).

On the eve of another NBA draft, I thought I'd do a little research into just how good or bad Joe Dumars and SVG were at drafting.  

I've put together a chart of all of our draft picks since 2000, where they were picked, and how they were ranked in their draft based on career win shares.  Then I ranked them from best to worst for both Joe and Stan, based on where they were picked, versus were they were ranked in their class.  

Joe's Picks:

Amir Johnson     56, 7,   +49
Kris Middleton    39, 7,   +32
Brian Cardinal    44, 15, +29
Mehmet Okur     38, 10  +28
Jonas Jerebko    39, 18, +21
Tayshaun Prince 23, 5,  +18
Aaron Afflalo      27, 10, +17
Chase Buddnger 44, 28, +16
Will Blaylock       60, 48, +12
Vern Macklin      52, 42, +10
Payton Silva       56, 49, +7
Andre Drummond 9, 3,  +6
Alex Acker          60, 54, +6
Greg Monroe        7, 2,  +5
Carlos Delfino    25, 20, +5
Kyle Singler       33, 28, +5
Rodney Stuckey 15, 12, +3
Jason Maxiell     26, 23, +3
Kim English       44, 44,  0

KCP                   8, 11,  -3
Tony Mitchell    37, 40   -3
DJ White          29, 35   -6
D. Summers     35, 47, -12
A.Glyniadakis    46, 58, -12
Brandon Knight  8, 24,  -16
Austin Daye      15, 35, -20
Rodney White     9, 32, -23
Darko Milicic      2, 32, -30
Mateen Cleaves 14, 49 -35
D.Washinton     59, never played
Sammy Mejia    57, never played
Ricky Paulding  54, never played
Terrico White    36, never played

Stan's picks:

S. Dinwiddie   38, 15,  +23
M. Gbinijie      49, 46   +3
Luke Kennard 12, 11,   +1

Darrun Hilliard 38, 40, -2
S. Johnson      8, 27,  -19
H. Ellenson    18, 42   -24

Please note, this is certainly an inexact study.  There seem to be several outliers that don't make any sense, such as Blalock, Machlin, Silva, Acker, English and Gbinijie.  This mostly occurs with late second round picks that were terrible, but not as terrible as many of the players picked ahead of them.

From this study, I have several observations.  1) Joe was much, much better at drafting and developing players than Stan (no surprise there).  2)  Joes biggest busts were Cleaves, Darko, White, Daye and Knight.  3)  However these busts were off-set by many brilliant picks by Joe, which were mostly from the 2nd round, such as Johnson, Middleton, Cardinal, Okur, Jerebko and Buddinger. 4) Stan's only great pick was Dinwiddie, who he dumped for nothing.  5)  Although it's early in their careers, Ellenson and SJ are shaping up to be busts.  6)  All of our top 10 ranked players in their draft classes were taken by Joe, and they are Monroe, Drummond, Prince, Middleton, Johnson, Afflalo and Okur.  It's possible KCP and Kennard could become top 10 ranked in their draft classes also.

[Murph]

On the eve of another NBA draft, I thought I'd do a little research into just how good or bad Joe Dumars and SVG were at drafting.  

I've put together a chart of all of our draft picks since 2000, where they were picked, and how they were ranked in their draft based on career win shares.  Then I ranked them from best to worst for both Joe and Stan, based on where they were picked, versus were they were ranked in their class.  

Joe's Picks:

Amir Johnson     56, 7,   +49
Kris Middleton    39, 7,   +32
Brian Cardinal    44, 15, +29
Mehmet Okur     38, 10  +28
Jonas Jerebko    39, 18, +21
Tayshaun Prince 23, 5,  +18
Aaron Afflalo      27, 10, +17
Chase Buddnger 44, 28, +16
Will Blaylock       60, 48, +12
A.Glyniadakis      58, 46, +12
Vern Macklin      52, 42, +10
Payton Silva       56, 49, +7
Andre Drummond 9, 3,  +6
Alex Acker          60, 54, +6
Greg Monroe        7, 2,  +5
Carlos Delfino    25, 20, +5
Kyle Singler       33, 28, +5
Rodney Stuckey 15, 12, +3
Jason Maxiell     26, 23, +3
Kim English       44, 44,  0

KCP                   8, 11,  -3
Tony Mitchell    37, 40   -3
DJ White          29, 35   -6
D. Summers     35, 47, -12
Brandon Knight  8, 24,  -16
Austin Daye      15, 35, -20
Rodney White     9, 32, -23
Darko Milicic      2, 32, -30
Mateen Cleaves 14, 49 -35
D.Washinton     59, never played
Sammy Mejia    57, never played
Ricky Paulding  54, never played
Terrico White    36, never played

Stan's picks:

S. Dinwiddie   38, 15,  +23
M. Gbinijie      49, 46   +3
Luke Kennard 12, 11,   +1

Darrun Hilliard 38, 40, -2
S. Johnson      8, 27,  -19
H. Ellenson    18, 42   -24

Please note, this is certainly an inexact study.  There seem to be several outliers that don't make any sense, such as Blalock, Glyniadakis, Machlin, Silva, Acker, English and Gbinijie.  This mostly occurs with late second round picks that were terrible, but not as terrible as many of the players picked ahead of them.

From this study, I have several observations.  1) Joe was much, much better at drafting and developing players than Stan (no surprise there).  2)  Joes biggest busts were Cleaves, Darko, White, Daye and Knight.  3)  However these busts were off-set by many brilliant picks by Joe, which were mostly from the 2nd round, such as Johnson, Middleton, Cardinal, Okur, Jerebko and Buddinger. 4) Stan's only great pick was Dinwiddie, who he dumped for nothing.  5)  Although it's early in their careers, Ellenson and SJ are shaping up to be busts.  6)  All of our top 10 ranked players in their draft classes were taken by Joe, and they are Monroe, Drummond, Prince, Middleton, Johnson, Afflalo and Okur.  It's possible KCP and Kennard could become top 10 ranked in their draft classes also.

[Murph]

Phil...take the red pill.

Did anybody read this Bull S.H.I.T article from the free press today?

Check out this quote. "Van Gundy's four years represent the most stable period for the franchise since Chuck Daly and Jack."

What the F.U.C.K man! AM I in the F.U.C.K.I.N.G MATRIX? Is this REALITY? What the F.U.C.K. Does anybody do they research anymore before A article is posted.

So Joe Dumars taking this franchise to 6 straight Eastern conference finals, two NBA finals, several division championships, Leading the NBA in attendance for like 11 years in A row, winning A NBA championship, winning Executive of the year, having 4 All stars, Ben Wallace winning defensive player of the year 4 times, Corless Williamson winning 6th man of the year, Billups winning NBA finals MVP. Ben Wallace, RIP Hamilton and C.Billups having their numbers retired is not "Stability?"


WOW!!! So Van Gundy's 4 years represent "Stability." WOW!    

Wow Tom Gores. You really are A SACK OF S.H.I.T The Free Press is also.

I know Gores only like Blacks bouncing the basketball or coaching but don't try to ERASH what the F.U.C.K Joe did.
I call that S.H.I.T stability to the 1000 POWER!


F.YOU GORES and the Free Press.

[Phil-Good]

Did anybody read this Bull S.H.I.T article from the free press today?

Check out this quote. "Van Gundy's four years represent the most stable period for the franchise since Chuck Daly and Jack."

What the F.U.C.K man! AM I in the F.U.C.K.I.N.G MATRIX? Is this REALITY? What the F.U.C.K. Does anybody do they research anymore before A article is posted.

So Joe Dumars taking this franchise to 6 straight Eastern conference finals, two NBA finals, several division championships, Leading the NBA in attendance for like 11 years in A row, winning A NBA championship, winning Executive of the year, having 4 All stars, Ben Wallace winning defensive player of the year 4 times, Corless Williamson winning 6th man of the year, Billups winning NBA finals MVP. Ben Wallace, RIP Hamilton and C.Billups having their numbers retired is not "Stability?"


WOW!!! So Van Gundy's 4 years represent "Stability." WOW!    

Wow Tom Gores. You really are A SACK OF S.H.I.T The Free Press is also.

I know Gores only like Blacks bouncing the basketball or coaching but don't try to ERASH what the F.U.C.K Joe did.
I call that S.H.I.T stability to the 1000 POWER!


F.YOU GORES and the Free Press.

[Oracle]

[BallinD]

@Sparma: Absolutely unbelievable the incompetence here. We clearly need additional advisers here before we solidify the Stefanski way, which it is hoped will be significantly better than the SVG way. Get Chauncey, what about Dave Bing. Sheesh, of course Zeek, and Ben!.

Interesting and insightful post on Gores, Oracle.

Having read his lengthy interview with Ellis, I'm going to pick out a few things.  I'm afraid that Murph's comment about us becoming old and grumpy applies to me and my reaction.  A number of apparently innocuous comments didn't sit well with me.

Gores: "As much as he brings in experience, we really wanted to make sure that he really liked this team."  Makes sense.  That's something you'd look for in most interviews.  Still, I'm worried that they so prioritize hiring someone who won't rock the boat.  No wonder Drummond feels reassured he's staying.  (Maybe we'll all get surprised.)

Gores: "and I think she [Brenda Casey] was surprised. ‘Geez, what is so good about this? Are you sure?’"  Sounds like there's at least one realist in the family.  Yet Gores says: "I didn’t have to sell her really."

Gores: "It was in a lot bigger disarray than we even knew at the time."  Self-excusing, or is he providing some genuine insight here?

On SVG's combined authority: "But the day-to-day job is hard on one person.”   Wait, what?  I thought SVG had clarified multiple times that he left the day to day front office details to others, joining in with the big decisions.  Someone's weaving a narrative here, and I suspect it's Gores, rather than SVG.

On Stefanski: "When I started Platinum (Equity), I combined the young, hungry research-oriented people with experienced people. That’s really a model I do like. …"  Might make some sense.  At this point I've become worried that Stefanski's authority creep might make a genuinely talented young executive reluctant to join.  I'd like to know more about why Shane Battier, a local guy and eminently qualified, bailed.

Gores on SVG: "Even when you look at hiring Stan. We brought a great man to Detroit. I don’t call that a mistake, I call that a bridge — a bridge to another place. We needed that bridge to get to greatness.”  Ellis mentions having done some editing.  I hope this is a case in point, because otherwise Gores sounds delusional about the Pistons.  He's been referring to failures at Platinum and how success ensued.  Greatness there?  Maybe (although I'm inclined to be skeptical about private equity companies).  But SVG as the Pistons' bridge to greatness???

Etc.

Ellis begins by summing Gores's mood up as hopeful.  I want to join him in being hopeful.  Indeed, I think there's some reason to be hopeful in a bounded way.  In all, I don't come away from reading that interview (twice) glad that Gores is the owner of the basketball team.  Maybe  the best thing he'll do is to contribute to the revitalization of the community.  That's more important than basketball.  Still, as a fan, whatever hope I have for the basketball team is mixed with significant apprehension.  To some extent, Casey's allayed that apprehension (eg I love that he said to major players that he understands that he doesn't have their trust yet, and that he needs to earn that trust).  Gores hasn't.

@Oracle: "The one thing that was consistent with this management team was the inability to cut deals with players to get something back instead of letting them walk." To me this is a combination of arrogance and pennywise and pound foolish: saving money now off the cap, but having lost an asset and having to pay in some way to replace it.

I went on and on about this, but the reality of this behavior is hat it exposes how they can't plan well enough to solve problems that are solved routinely in the NBA every year without this happening! This is much more a people oriented business than what Gores does. You'd think he would be able to adapt. Sounds like he should listen more to Tellem. Get a Piston in here.

The bottom line is that this management team stinks from the head(Gores), as all bad management teams do!

[Sparma]

Interesting and insightful post on Gores, Oracle.

Having read his lengthy interview with Ellis, I'm going to pick out a few things. I'm afraid that Murph's comment about us becoming old and grumpy applies to me and my reaction. A number of apparently innocuous comments didn't sit well with me.

Gores: "As much as he brings in experience, we really wanted to make sure that he really liked this team." Makes sense. That's something you'd look for in most interviews. Still, I'm worried that they so prioritize hiring someone who won't rock the boat. No wonder Drummond feels reassured he's staying. (Maybe we'll all get surprised.)

Gores: "and I think she [Brenda Casey] was surprised. ‘Geez, what is so good about this? Are you sure?’" Sounds like there's at least one realist in the family. Yet Gores says: "I didn’t have to sell her really."

Gores: "It was in a lot bigger disarray than we even knew at the time." Self-excusing, or is he providing some genuine insight here?

On SVG's combined authority: "But the day-to-day job is hard on one person.” Wait, what? I thought SVG had clarified multiple times that he left the day to day front office details to others, joining in with the big decisions. Someone's weaving a narrative here, and I suspect it's Gores, rather than SVG.

On Stefanski: "When I started Platinum (Equity), I combined the young, hungry research-oriented people with experienced people. That’s really a model I do like. …" Might make some sense. At this point I've become worried that Stefanski's authority creep might make a genuinely talented young executive reluctant to join. I'd like to know more about why Shane Battier, a local guy and eminently qualified, bailed.

Gores on SVG: "Even when you look at hiring Stan. We brought a great man to Detroit. I don’t call that a mistake, I call that a bridge — a bridge to another place. We needed that bridge to get to greatness.” Ellis mentions having done some editing. I hope this is a case in point, because otherwise Gores sounds delusional about the Pistons. He's been referring to failures at Platinum and how success ensued. Greatness there? Maybe (although I'm inclined to be skeptical about private equity companies). But SVG as the Pistons' bridge to greatness???

Etc.

Ellis begins by summing Gores's mood up as hopeful. I want to join him in being hopeful. Indeed, I think there's some reason to be hopeful in a bounded way. In all, I don't come away from reading that interview (twice) glad that Gores is the owner of the basketball team. Maybe the best thing he'll do is to contribute to the revitalization of the community. That's more important than basketball. Still, as a fan, whatever hope I have for the basketball team is mixed with significant apprehension. To some extent, Casey's allayed that apprehension (eg I love that he said to major players that he understands that he doesn't have their trust yet, and that he needs to earn that trust). Gores hasn't.

[Sparma]

Interesting article, BallinD. Can't see us buying a 1st rounder, but doesn't Philly have 4 second rounders? Unless they can pull off a major trade there's got to be an opening there.

Vince Ellis's hit the jackpot now with a 30 minute interview with Gores. Both good (exclusive!) and bad (he's the go to guy for the team (other than the discredited Langlois)).

Gores does address Stefanski there (not that he dissipates the mystery).

Time Ia Now For Pistons Article

@Sparma: Vince Ellis has stepped his game up with a nice feature on Casey and the hiring process.  It definitely answers a few questions about the organization.  Tellem, Stefanski, Casey are clarified a bit, but to me Gores remains the mystery man.

Why he chose oldster Stefanski, is a mystery.  Why he is soooo slow, is a mystery.  What he wants to see in a basketball product is a mystery.  And why he has not expressed interest in Piston Legends is a mystery.

From the article, it appears he may begin to view Casey as a partner, and from what I have heard already, he has a better and more flexible basketball mind than SVG.  Time will tell.

Casey keeps talking about health, and for SJ, RJ and Blake, that is crucial.  Maybe Casey can convince Gores to spend some money there for a trainer in the (Arnie Kander) department of training and injury prevention (recuperation) why cant we become world class in that area like the Dubs.  

Maybe SJ just needs health and a coach who believes in him and can coach to his strengths.

Also, why can't Pistons explore buying a first round pick like the Dubs did last year and got Jordan Bell, one of the best college defnenders, who as a rookie, started in the finals due to injury to Iguadala.  Come on Pistons...try to win, will ya!

Ellis: "Ed Stefanski could have senior adviser title removed and is named GM/POBO." (with Malik Rose and Brent Berry still as strong candidates for Assistant GM.

Well, well.  The process's been a bit dubious, but as with Casey I'm strongly inclined to judge performance by results.

Pinning things down more/ revising a bit from an earlier post (beginning next year and into the foreseeable future):

39 or fewer wins: Trouble, except that a disastrous injury situation buys you time.

40-45 wins, maybe a 1st round win or at least close: Maybe a light pat on the back: you helped the team improve beyond last year's record [but not beyond SVG with a healthy Reggie J]  so you deserve some credit.  But you haven't guided the team beyond where I expected it to be next year anyway.  I'm skeptical that this could count as genuine success for the new regime, certainly not beyond this year.

46-55 wins & playoff success beyond the 1st round: Good job, especially as we move  into the 50s.  You took the team beyond my present expectations.

Beyond 55 wins & getting to the conference championship, maybe even to the Finals in a flukish run: Excellent.  You've exceeded where I thought the team could go.

Regularly in or near the NBA Finals or a Championship: Incredible job, you're magicians.  

I understand that you could set the standards differently, but that's where I'm at.  In Stefanski's case, I know so little about him that judging (at once) by results seems like the only way to go.

[Oracle]

While Gores is a mystery, more importantly, he's a big part of the problem!

1. He tells the world that he'll go over the CAP to sign KCP... Wow, I like KCP, and I wouldn't go over the CAP to sign him. More importantly, that set in motion his agent getting a big head, and any reasonable amount short of that was hard for KCP's side to swallow. Gores forced that situation for no apparent reason, it was stupid and bad business for a supposed business man.

2. Gores has regularly let his personal relationship with Drummond color how Drummond should be handled. It became painfully clear how much they talk when Drummond said he knows he isn't going anywhere now that SVG has been canned... you don't run a team that way unless the dude you're talking about is a super star!

3. His invisible hand was ALL over the Blake Griffin trade! Yeah SVG went along, he probably shouldn't because the results are the same, he got canned.

4. Even prior to all of this, he made Joe make silly trades in an all out effort to get into the playoffs, moves that cost us long term, like Knight and Middleton for Jennings. I don't know if he had anything to do with Moose walking, but who knows. 

The one thing that was consistent with this management team was the inability to cut deals with players to get something back instead of letting them walk.

I went on and on about this, but the reality of this behavior is hat it exposes how they can't plan well enough to solve problems that are solved routinely in the NBA every year without this happening!

The bottom line is that this management team stinks from the head(Gores), as all bad management teams do!

[BallinD]

Time Ia Now For Pistons Article

@Sparma: Vince Ellis has stepped his game up with a nice feature on Casey and the hiring process.  It definitely answers a few questions about the organization.  Tellem, Stefanski, Casey are clarified a bit, but to me Gores remains the mystery man.

Why he chose oldster Stefanski, is a mystery.  Why he is soooo slow, is a mystery.  What he wants to see in a basketball product is a mystery.  And why he has not expressed interest in Piston Legends is a mystery.

From the article, it appears he may begin to view Casey as a partner, and from what I have heard already, he has a better and more flexible basketball mind than SVG.  Time will tell.

Casey keeps talking about health, and for SJ, RJ and Blake, that is crucial.  Maybe Casey can convince Gores to spend some money there for a trainer in the (Arnie Kander) department of training and injury prevention (recuperation) why cant we become world class in that area like the Dubs.

Maybe SJ just needs health and a coach who believes in him and can coach to his strengths.

Also, why can't Pistons explore buying a first round pick like the Dubs did last year and got Jordan Bell, one of the best college defnenders, who as a rookie, started in the finals due to injury to Iguadala.  Come on Pistons...try to win, will ya!

Ellis: "Ed Stefanski could have senior adviser title removed and is named GM/POBO." (with Malik Rose and Brent Berry still as strong candidates for Assistant GM.

Well, well.  The process's been a bit dubious, but as with Casey I'm strongly inclined to judge performance by results.

Pinning things down more/ revising a bit from an earlier post (beginning next year and into the foreseeable future):

39 or fewer wins: Trouble, except that a disastrous injury situation buys you time.

40-45 wins, maybe a 1st round win or at least close: Maybe a light pat on the back: you helped the team improve beyond last year's record [but not beyond SVG with a healthy Reggie J]  so you deserve some credit.  But you haven't guided the team beyond where I expected it to be next year anyway.  I'm skeptical that this could count as genuine success for the new regime, certainly not beyond this year.

46-55 wins & playoff success beyond the 1st round: Good job, especially as we move  into the 50s.  You took the team beyond my present expectations.

Beyond 55 wins & getting to the conference championship, maybe even to the Finals in a flukish run: Excellent.  You've exceeded where I thought the team could go.

Regularly in or near the NBA Finals or a Championship: Incredible job, you're magicians.  

I understand that you could set the standards differently, but that's where I'm at.  In Stefanski's case, I know so little about him that judging (at once) by results seems like the only way to go.

[Oracle]

Glad to hear we're roughly on the same page with expectations/ standards of evaluation, Oracle.

I've thought up some responses to Wise, but am going to hold off now. I will say that having such high expectations sounds like a recipe for misery, Wise. In an athlete, or in a front office, super high expectations might be what you're looking for though.

Unrealistic expectations are exactly how we got here!

Gores demanded that Joe get to the playoffs or he was going to be canned. Last year, that fell on SVG, and launched the Blake Griffin sweepstakes. Even though the failed dealing with KCP caused the ultimate demise of the SVG era, because failure to handle that situation correctly caused us to lose him for nothing, move Morris for Bradley, which eventually forced us into moving Harris & Bradley for Griffin.

So in the blink of an eye, we lost KCP, Morris & Harris Bradley(error), 3/5 of the core that got us into the playoffs... what a bunch of dumb moves, but I digress.

55 wins as a floor for next year is ridiculous considering the competition, both east and west. It may be possible, but FORCING that level of result on a new coach and a team, yet to develop the chemistry required to get there would produce disastrous results.

[Sparma]

Glad to hear we're roughly on the same page with expectations/ standards of evaluation, Oracle.

I've thought up some responses to Wise, but am going to hold off now. I will say that having such high expectations sounds like a recipe for misery, Wise. In an athlete, or in a front office, super high expectations might be what you're looking for though.

"peace and prosperity again LMAO!!!!"

Yes...peace and prosperity again!  


And to extend the political metaphor, isn't blaming Casey for SVG's screw-ups like blaming Obama for GW Bush's screw-ups?

No one blaming Casey for SVG screw ups no more than any sensible person would blame Obama for GW's screw ups but both bare the responsibility of fixing the screw ups period.   This is part of the reason that Moral Compass gets all fucked up because the road to accountability always cluttered with disclaimers about what's the blame and who's to blame. Casey took on a job he now owns it just as Obama owned it after GW, just as SVG owned after it Joe and so on.   
You get hired to produce and fired for failing to produce what's so hard to understand about that?  Honestly I don't think it's unreasonable when you're getting paid millions to hold a coach accountable for what happens in the w/l column.  I certainly blamed SVG, like many blamed Flip in the past.  

Have you every went in to work and some **** needed to be fix now that some other worker fucked up but you're now charged with fixing it?  How many excuse of it's not my fault did you get as a disclaimer for not fixing it?   

Casey not being asked to fix the world, he's being asked to coach a winning team and really how hard is that because we all do it from this forum all season long.

[WTF]

"peace and prosperity again LMAO!!!!"

Yes...peace and prosperity again!  


And to extend the political metaphor, isn't blaming Casey for SVG's screw-ups like blaming Obama for GW Bush's screw-ups?

No one blaming Casey for SVG screw ups no more than any sensible person would blame Obama for GW's screw ups but both bare the responsibility of fixing the screw ups period.   This is part of the reason that Moral Compass gets all fucked up because the road to accountability always cluttered with disclaimers about what's the blame and who's to blame. Casey took on a job he now owns it just as Obama owned it after GW, just as SVG owned after it Joe and so on.   
You get hired to produce and fired for failing to produce what's so hard to understand about that?  Honestly I don't think it's unreasonable when you're getting paid millions to hold a coach accountable for what happens in the w/l column.  I certainly blamed SVG, like many blamed Flip in the past.  

Have you every went in to work and some **** needed to be fix now that some other worker fucked up but you're now charged with fixing it?  How many excuse of it's not my fault did you get as a disclaimer for not fixing it?   

Casey not being asked to fix the world, he's being asked to coach a winning team and really how hard is that because we all do it from this forum all season long.

[Murph]

"peace and prosperity again LMAO!!!!"

Yes...peace and prosperity again!  


And to extend the political metaphor, isn't blaming Casey for SVG's screw-ups like blaming Obama for GW Bush's screw-ups?

[WTF]

I am willing to forgive a lot of verbal gaffes for peace and prosperity.

Verbal gaffes LMAO!!!  peace and prosperity again LMAO!!!!  Seriously those gaffes (LOL) has caused more hatred and division than I care to witness.  Again the Moral Compass is FUBAR leading us far from the direction of any peace and prosperity.

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