“when it’s plainly obvious that the team (A) will not make the playoffs, and (B) can not have any measure of success looking anything like it does now, i’d rather win zero games than twenty-two. and i don’t see the benefit of the alternative. if you have a guess as to how this team improves outside of the draft i’d love to hear it.”
 
It’s not plainly obvious. It might be likely, but again, this team hasn’t really played together at full strength very long. If Gordon/Prince/Hamilton/Bynum have healthy seasons, they aren’t a 20 win team. I don’t think they’re a playoff team either, but there are certainly much worse rosters and situations in the East.

“how did you feel about the last six games of last season? were you excited to see the pistons take four of the and go out on a high note?”
 
Not particularly. But at the same time, I don’t root for them to lose. Teams that play for lottery balls end up like the Clippers – in the lottery every damn year. Once a team gets in the lottery, it gets very difficult to dig back out. Atlanta built through the draft and took a long time to get back to the playoffs. Golden State, the Clippers, Raptors, Grizzlies, Indiana, NY, Sacramento are all in the midst of major long-term rebuilding projects because they chose to get rid of all their players and start over. None of them, except maybe LA and NY, are really close to being good again. Building through the draft only works if you look and find a franchise player. And even then, it doesn’t always work – look at New Orleans with CP. They have a top five talent in the NBA who they drafted and they still don’t win. Building through the draft is not the can’t miss strategy people make it out to be.

“and before you try to chase me off these boards consider that you’re talking to someone who explains himself, presents coherent thoughts in full sentences, and makes way more sense than not.”
 
Who tried to chase you off? I’ve only chased one person off (The Rake … R.I.P). I just don’t subscribe to the philosophy that commenters are the only ones who run the comment section. If you’re talking about things I write, if you’re critical of things I write, then yeah, I’m gonna interact, and sometimes I’m gonna go hard at people I vehemently disagree with.
 
“plus what you just said to me about the length of my posts and how you won’t pick through them is absurd after the post you just slapped directly above it. and of all things, it was in response to an at-best vaguely coherent post from my new bff.”
 
Again, if it’s something addressed at me, as Lee’s post mostly was, I will go through it point-by-point, just like I’m doing with this post that was addressed mostly at me. I mean, I get the general thesis of most your posts. I don’t need to give them all the fine tooth comb treatment.

And don’t whine about context when I excerpt a line from a larger post. Your comment itself is the context. It’s not like I deleted your comment and then left a single sentence published and said “OMG … what an idiot!” If people cared about the context, they could simply scroll up and look.

@Adam I respect your opinion, but yuo can’t seriously say that Max and CV are better than JJ! Max has a good mid-range jumper, and can be a hustle type guy if needed to be, CV has a whole repertoire of offensive strategies, he’s just a bad player (my opinion!), Jerebko incorporates all of that: Solid mid-range jumper, consistent from beyond the arc, great defense, and is a low post scorer, he’s a hustle guy and is very energetic, Max and CV don’t come close to the skills he’s shown to have on the court. In my mind there are only two other players that can compete with him : Monroe and Daye, and I honestly hope Monroe gets the starting job.

@Patrick, Nuetes and Gabe I think we understand each other pretty well, and share the same ideas, I’ve been enjoying reading your comments.

@Laser Whats with all the negativity dude? I agree with you about Stuckey, Villanueva and T-Mac, but I see deep flaws in your reasoning and judgement, though I do respect your opinion I think you’re going a bit over the top don’t you think?

@Lee Seriously? You’re gonna blame the whole thing on Dumars? Sure he has had a lot of bad judgement the past few years and not everyone sees eye to eye with him, but do you know how hard it is to be the GM for a team? He made judgement calls, sure maybe he has poor judgement, but he did it for the sake of the team, not to piss everyone off and destroy the organistaion. Think about things before you type.

@Doctor Dave I can see where you’re coming from, but there is no way (at least in my mind) that CV is making the starters. No wayyyyyyyy. Monroe has more energy and hustle than CV, good passing skills and can finish close to the basket. My second choice would have to be Daye, he’s tall enough and is an average defender, he’ll get more minutes at PF than at SF or SG, and I think he would agree. Second of all: Gordon a SF? he’s a guard. He’d get absolutely smashed at SF. I wouldn’t mind seeing him be a PG, but there’s no way he’s a SF.

I’m keeping to my original (hopefully this’ll actually be it) roster with a couple of changes:

C- Wallace/Wilcox
PF- Monroe/Daye
SF- Prince/ T-Mac
SG- Hamilton/Gordon
PG- Bynum/Stuckey

Extras: Summers, Villanueva, Maxiell

I mean imagine the defensive capabilties! Big Ben, Monroe and Prince are probably the best defenders in the team and having them start would set the pace, a second unit of Wilcox, Daye and T-Mac would be pretty imposing as well, I’ve also found that Hamilton, Prince and Bynum have a good understanding of each other and complement each other well, and there’s your offense! With Wallace and Monroe picking up the slack post up. Gordon and Stuckey would be a good option as well, their scoring touch and agressive hustle would be interestong to watch. Though its true I’m not very fond of Stuckey and T-Mac, it is possible for them to contribute for the team, I mean its their best interest, since T-Mac wants to be noticed again and this is a contract year forStuckey for his extension… As far as Villanueva is concerned, he can soak up any left-over minutes, that is until he can prove to be an offensive threat and certified defender. I’d choose Wilcox and Max over CV any time.