With ten days until the trade deadline, Piston trade rumors are at fever pitch. They're a team on the decline, and the contenders wait patiently in the shadows to poach the remaining talent.
Scanning the Piston roster, who would they really want?
Coming in to the season, I was certain Joe D would trade Rip Hamilton, since Dumars signed fellow shooting guard Ben Gordon to a $50million contract. It was a no-brainer. Yet, the Pistons are now 50 games into the season, and both players remain. Joe D is spending $21million on the shooting guard position this year. That number will continue to increase for the next four years!
For $21million, Joe D should be getting a Kobe-level talent. At least a Monta Ellis-level (Ellis, by the way, makes $11million). Nope. Instead, Joe got 56 missed games between them. To make matters worse, the Stones played their best ball with Stuckey at the 2. Ouch. Can't say I'm terribly surprised, though. Joe D attacked last offseason with the passion of Mark Cuban but the foresight of Matt Millen. He landed the best scorer of the bunch (Gordon), as well as the best offensive big man (Charlie V). Yet, neither player can crack the starting lineup on a 17-32 team.
Part of the problem is chemistry. With a team chock full 'o shooting guards, who couldn't see that coming? From my count, the Pistons' backcourt consists of three shooting guards (Hamilton, Stuckey, Gordon) and a point guard whose top talent is to shoot (Bynum). Dumars drafted three small forwards (Daye, Jerebko, and Summers) to back-up Tayshaun, though Jerebko currently mans the power forward position. The front court consists of two defensively-challenged finesse players (Villanueva and Wilcox), a 6'5 power forward (Maxiell), and Big Ben. It's not a recipe for success. Joe D likely hoped the competition for playing time would bring out the best in his players, but instead it brought a rash of injuries.
With the pared-down rotation, the Pistons showed potential. There was balance. It's likely that Joe D noticed this too. My hope is that he'll focus on adding some complementary pieces. That may be a rotation player (Udonis Haslem) or a true Center (Al Jefferson).
If it doesn't happen at the trade deadline, he'll for sure make some waves this summer, right? Right?!
Well, its nice to see Tayshaun becoming Tayshaun again. He's actually making shots and not flinching on defense. And he's been playing in some games...where they've WON!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like Dombrowski and Dumars have the same problem...success too early. Now everyone is scratching their heads at the deals they've made recently. But this is their job...they're the best at this, right?
I think in both Joe D's and DD's case, they got a bit lucky. Especially Joe D. He had no idea Ben Wallace would bring so much to the table when he picked him up as a throw-in in the Grant Hill trade.
ReplyDeleteNo Ben, no title. Simple as that.
Of course, Joe D was every bit as UNlucky with the '03 draft. He had a 4 in 5 shot of getting a superstar. He happened to pick the 1 dud. And he's still paying the price.
What I still dont understand about JoeD is why he extended Rip's contract and then went out and got BG? and DD...why did he get a hurt pitcher last year during the stretch? I mean, we take a used car to the mechanic before we buy it...a pitcher cost a TON more $$. DD's choices seem more puzzling as he seems to be rewarding players with cash for past performances (Nate). His gambles seem to be more costly where JoeD's seem to mess up the chemistry of the team entirely.
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