Hoping for Vin Baker

Vin Baker
Poor Piston fans.

What few there are left.

Not only does the team stink. Not only did they embarrass the city with their petulant, selfish, immature antics this season. But they can't even lose correctly. For, despite the most dreadful season in Piston history, the team still won too many games. They didn't get enough balls in the lottery and, to add insult to injury, the Cavs bumped them down a spot to 8th.

The only silver lining in this scenario is that the draft stinks anyway. Picking 7th or 8th really doesn't matter. NBA scouts agree that this draft has two marquee players - Kyrie Irving, a point guard out of Duke, and Derrick Williams, a small forward from Arizona. After that, it's a total crap shoot. The player the Piston fans most covet is Bismack Biyombo, a Congalese freakshow with a 7'7 wingspan. This guy shot up the draft charts after a stellar Nike Hoop Summit earlier this year. Against top American high schoolers, Biyombo notched a triple double. On paper, he fits the teams' needs perfectly. He'd be a massive presence in the paint with his blocking and rebounding prowess, a good complement to Greg Monroe. Yet, as a raw, unseasoned 6'9 PF out of Congo, doesn't he sound more like a 2nd round project? Or a late first rounder? Not this year. With the looming lockout, many top college prospects opted to stay in school. That weakened an already weak class. So an unknown like Biyombo will be a lottery pick. At this point, the Pistons would be lucky to get him.

Historically, the 8th pick usually delivers meager returns:

2010: Al-Farouq Aminu (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg)

2009: Jordan Hill (5.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg)

2008: Joe Alexander (0.5 ppg, 0.6 rpg)

2007: Brandan Wright (3.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg)

2006: Rudy Gay (19.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg)

2005: Channing Frye (12.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg)

2004: Rafael Araujo (2.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

2003: TJ Ford (5.4 rpg, 3.4 apg)

2002: Chris Wilcox (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg)

2001: DeSagana Diop (1.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg)

For lottery picks, that's a sad group. It just goes to show how the talent drops precipitously after the first 3 picks. In that list, only Rudy Gay is a legitimate NBA starter. The jury is still out on Aminu and Jordan Hill, but the others are a sad lot. Channing Frye is a fine rotation player, and Chris Wilcox might find minutes. But the others? Ouch. And these are the 8th picks in the draft! They're supposed to be good.

Digging a little deeper into the 90s, I found two solid #8 picks. The crown jewel is Vin Baker, who had an excellent NBA career, making four All-star teams. He could've made more if not for his addiction to alcohol. Baker's numbers dropped precipitously after a trade to Seattle, and he struggled with alcoholism and a ballooning weight in his later years. The other is Andre Miller - still an active and effective point guard. He's shuttled around to five different teams. I've long thought he was unappreciated due to his size (6'2). But he stays healthy, and posts career averages of 14.5 ppg and 7.5 apg. Those numbers make Miller, Baker, and Rudy Gay the preeminent #8 picks. That's three players out of 20. So the chances of the Pistons finding an effective starter at #8 is 15%. Unfortunately, the dropoff after those top 3 is pretty steep. The remaining 17 aren't even rotation players. In the 90s, guys like Bo Kimble and Shawn Respert barely saw the floor.

If I was the Pistons, I'd entertain offers to trade down.

While the NFL lockout dominates the news, the NBA faces a similar crisis. While it's a backward way to do business, a lockout may greatly benefit the Pistons. If the NBA lockout is like the NHL lockout, where the owners really socked it to the players, the Pistons may get to shed some salary. I doubt they'd be able to dump an albatross like Ben Gordon's $36million remaining, but they may get some reprieve. I hate to say it, but Piston fans should pull for a lockout. This team ain't going anywhere in the near future. At least a lockout may help them get to ground zero.