Comments on: Detroit Pistons take one-on-one basketball to a whole new level in loss to Grizzlies http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/ Your Go-To Source For Pistons Coverage Wed, 22 May 2013 20:25:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Laser http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11136 Laser Fri, 26 Nov 2010 23:39:50 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11136 one more element to add: salary. stuckey's about to be an expensive player, no matter where he ends up. he probably lands a long-term deal starting at somewhere around $7 million, at the cheapest. with what we've already committed to gordon and rip, that's too much to pay for a good backcourt. and we've all seen enough of these three to know they're not a winning combination.   i don't know who the new owner will be or their willingness to spend money, but the pistons under bill davidson (widely considered one of the best owners in professional sports) were constantly just under the tax line. right now that's around $71 million. we just plain can't afford to commit half our payroll to three shooting guards, even if they played well together. and these three obviously don't. one more element to add: salary. stuckey’s about to be an expensive player, no matter where he ends up. he probably lands a long-term deal starting at somewhere around $7 million, at the cheapest. with what we’ve already committed to gordon and rip, that’s too much to pay for a good backcourt. and we’ve all seen enough of these three to know they’re not a winning combination.
 
i don’t know who the new owner will be or their willingness to spend money, but the pistons under bill davidson (widely considered one of the best owners in professional sports) were constantly just under the tax line. right now that’s around $71 million. we just plain can’t afford to commit half our payroll to three shooting guards, even if they played well together. and these three obviously don’t.

]]> By: Patrick Hayes http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11135 Patrick Hayes Fri, 26 Nov 2010 23:36:47 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11135 @Laser: "and stuckey would net <strong>by far</strong> the greatest return." I don't get the reasoning. Stuckey is still on his rookie deal, so I don't think a one-for-one trade with Stuckey nets them much. I can't see any team giving away a big on his rookie deal (which would suggest he probably still has some upside) for Stuckey. There's always the potential to include Stuckey in a bigger deal, which might help the Pistons get an impact player in return or entice a team to take on a bad contract, but that seems doubtful too. I think the perimeter player who would fetch the biggest return talent-wise right now is Daye. He has by far the greatest upside, but like Stuckey, would have to bring back another guy on a small deal if it's a one-for-one trade. @Laser:
“and stuckey would net by far the greatest return.”
I don’t get the reasoning. Stuckey is still on his rookie deal, so I don’t think a one-for-one trade with Stuckey nets them much. I can’t see any team giving away a big on his rookie deal (which would suggest he probably still has some upside) for Stuckey. There’s always the potential to include Stuckey in a bigger deal, which might help the Pistons get an impact player in return or entice a team to take on a bad contract, but that seems doubtful too.
I think the perimeter player who would fetch the biggest return talent-wise right now is Daye. He has by far the greatest upside, but like Stuckey, would have to bring back another guy on a small deal if it’s a one-for-one trade.

]]> By: Laser http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11134 Laser Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:05:43 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11134 uh, "some" very nice dump off passes in the lane and some good kick outs? sure. like FIVE of each in his career, and he's in his fourth year. and i wish this was an outrageous exaggeration, but it isn't. he had ONE (1) game this season where he dumped it off and kicked it out multiple times in the same game, and i was actually a bit optimistic that he'd decided to change his ways. but that was 4-6 games ago, and it was an aberration.   you say it would be a "mistake" to trade stuckey, but a bigger mistake BY A MILE would be to keep rip, gordon and stuckey together. minnesota moved al jefferson for some bad draft picks just so kevin love would be able to shine. we MUST make a similar deal (if we can't get more than bad draft picks) so that two of these guys AT MOST is on the roster. this town just isn't big enough for the three of them. and stuckey would net <strong>by far</strong> the greatest return. these guys aren't getting better, and we've seen more than enough of the three of them for ten lifetimes. one of them has to go ASAP. rip would be the ideal choice, but if we can't get rid of that contract, we need to unload one of the other two.   and stuckey doesn't need to "play uptempo" fore the team to succeed; hell, he's not good enough decision maker to run an offense at a SLOW pace. what he needs is to play off the ball. he'd be an excellent #1 or #2 scoring option as a shooting guard or maybe even instant offense off the bench. but he's bogged down in this offense by having to make decisions with the ball. the only decision he knows how to make is "score," and everyone else has to create their own shots.   GOOD point guards like rondo and nash and chris paul treat their teammates as weapons. this thought has never occurred to stuckey once. he has one weapon and it's himself. that's not a point guard; that's a scorer. the only time i ever liked the guy was when he was playing the two and carrying the offense along with charlie v early last year. we tore off five straight wins, some in games we should have lost, and it was largely on the strength of his scoring ability. the heat moved wade (the guy stuckey modeled his game after) off the ball and he became one of the best scorers in the league. after ONE season the kings made the determination that tyreke evans (another player much like stuckey) would better serve the team as a shooting guard, and he's probably a better playmaker than stuckey is now. joe locked up two other shooting guards, and we can't just ignore that for the sake of keeping a player around who is an asset on paper but a liability on the floor.   i can't stand when people say stuff like, "if joe can turn player X, Y and Z into a solid big man, we'll be a great team!" because joe's been gabbing about turning his perimeter depth into front line help forever now, and he's done NOTHING. it's like a fat chick saying, "once i lose 50 pounds i could finally be a supermodel." i'll believe it when i see it. lose the damn 50 pounds and we'll see if you're right, but if all you're doing is talking about it, it's a hollow promise. if joe can't make these moves (and god knows how rip, who's a significant liability on the books, max or wilcox could net us anything positive), we're still just one of the worst teams in the league.   i never said the cupboard is bare, and if joe could magically turn our liabilities into assets, fine. god bless him. but he hasn't done sh*t yet, besides talk and make empty promises. you may have limitless faith in him, but i don't. let's see who turns out right. tayshaun should get us a good return, but will it be enough? no matter what the roster looks like, stuckey rip and gordon can't coexist on a very good team. period.   i think if we're looking towards the future, as we should be right now and should have been since last season rather than trying to scratch out meaningless wins with a rubbish team, we should target players, assign them roles and see what holes/roles need filling. here's a good start: a nine man core rotation. PG, backup PG, two SGs, SF, PF, backup SF/PF, C, backup PF/C. how's that look? we can fill a good number of those needs, too. bynum or stuckey could be our backup PG. two of rip, gordon or stuckey could be our SGs (meaning one of these four absolutely must go, and it's not as easy as saying "ok so dump bynum because he's the worst" because you must consider what you're getting back for him. if stuckey gets you a JUICY draft pick or young project big man and bynum gets you nothing, you gotta consider what you'd rather have). daye can be our SF, monroe our PF, and jonas our backup SF/PF based on matchups. ben would start at C for now, but we need to find his replacement. maybe it's monroe and we need to find another PF, but either way we need a good big man. and no matter how you slice it, i think max would be a decent backup PF/C. he's a good player, his contract is fair, and i don't think he would really get you anything in return. so you have...   PG: ???/bynum or stuckey SG: rip/gordon SF: daye reserve PF/SF: jonas PF: monroe reserve PF/C: max C: big ben   i think that's a reasonable formula for a team that, if not spectacular, can compete most nights. but there are two GAPING holes, and they're at the most important spots. point guard and another big man. stuckey is probably the only movable piece on the entire roster who can get us pieces to fill those holes. (i'm not counting daye, jonas or monroe as "movable," since moving them would create even more holes to fill). so the cupboard's far from bare, but until we can get these pieces moved, we are one of the absolute worst teams in the league.   at some point you've got to look at stuckey and realize he is who he is by now. he's 23, a four year veteran, and he's been the picture of consistency: he looks to score. now's the time to pull the plug on this point guard experiment/disaster, while he's still on his rookie contract and could fetch us even more than his fair market value in return. certainly more than his value on this particular roster, where we've got all the scoring guards we need and then some. you can't have your cake and eat it too. uh, “some” very nice dump off passes in the lane and some good kick outs? sure. like FIVE of each in his career, and he’s in his fourth year. and i wish this was an outrageous exaggeration, but it isn’t. he had ONE (1) game this season where he dumped it off and kicked it out multiple times in the same game, and i was actually a bit optimistic that he’d decided to change his ways. but that was 4-6 games ago, and it was an aberration.
 
you say it would be a “mistake” to trade stuckey, but a bigger mistake BY A MILE would be to keep rip, gordon and stuckey together. minnesota moved al jefferson for some bad draft picks just so kevin love would be able to shine. we MUST make a similar deal (if we can’t get more than bad draft picks) so that two of these guys AT MOST is on the roster. this town just isn’t big enough for the three of them. and stuckey would net by far the greatest return. these guys aren’t getting better, and we’ve seen more than enough of the three of them for ten lifetimes. one of them has to go ASAP. rip would be the ideal choice, but if we can’t get rid of that contract, we need to unload one of the other two.
 
and stuckey doesn’t need to “play uptempo” fore the team to succeed; hell, he’s not good enough decision maker to run an offense at a SLOW pace. what he needs is to play off the ball. he’d be an excellent #1 or #2 scoring option as a shooting guard or maybe even instant offense off the bench. but he’s bogged down in this offense by having to make decisions with the ball. the only decision he knows how to make is “score,” and everyone else has to create their own shots.
 
GOOD point guards like rondo and nash and chris paul treat their teammates as weapons. this thought has never occurred to stuckey once. he has one weapon and it’s himself. that’s not a point guard; that’s a scorer. the only time i ever liked the guy was when he was playing the two and carrying the offense along with charlie v early last year. we tore off five straight wins, some in games we should have lost, and it was largely on the strength of his scoring ability. the heat moved wade (the guy stuckey modeled his game after) off the ball and he became one of the best scorers in the league. after ONE season the kings made the determination that tyreke evans (another player much like stuckey) would better serve the team as a shooting guard, and he’s probably a better playmaker than stuckey is now. joe locked up two other shooting guards, and we can’t just ignore that for the sake of keeping a player around who is an asset on paper but a liability on the floor.
 
i can’t stand when people say stuff like, “if joe can turn player X, Y and Z into a solid big man, we’ll be a great team!” because joe’s been gabbing about turning his perimeter depth into front line help forever now, and he’s done NOTHING. it’s like a fat chick saying, “once i lose 50 pounds i could finally be a supermodel.” i’ll believe it when i see it. lose the damn 50 pounds and we’ll see if you’re right, but if all you’re doing is talking about it, it’s a hollow promise. if joe can’t make these moves (and god knows how rip, who’s a significant liability on the books, max or wilcox could net us anything positive), we’re still just one of the worst teams in the league.
 
i never said the cupboard is bare, and if joe could magically turn our liabilities into assets, fine. god bless him. but he hasn’t done sh*t yet, besides talk and make empty promises. you may have limitless faith in him, but i don’t. let’s see who turns out right. tayshaun should get us a good return, but will it be enough? no matter what the roster looks like, stuckey rip and gordon can’t coexist on a very good team. period.
 
i think if we’re looking towards the future, as we should be right now and should have been since last season rather than trying to scratch out meaningless wins with a rubbish team, we should target players, assign them roles and see what holes/roles need filling. here’s a good start: a nine man core rotation. PG, backup PG, two SGs, SF, PF, backup SF/PF, C, backup PF/C. how’s that look? we can fill a good number of those needs, too. bynum or stuckey could be our backup PG. two of rip, gordon or stuckey could be our SGs (meaning one of these four absolutely must go, and it’s not as easy as saying “ok so dump bynum because he’s the worst” because you must consider what you’re getting back for him. if stuckey gets you a JUICY draft pick or young project big man and bynum gets you nothing, you gotta consider what you’d rather have). daye can be our SF, monroe our PF, and jonas our backup SF/PF based on matchups. ben would start at C for now, but we need to find his replacement. maybe it’s monroe and we need to find another PF, but either way we need a good big man. and no matter how you slice it, i think max would be a decent backup PF/C. he’s a good player, his contract is fair, and i don’t think he would really get you anything in return. so you have…
 
PG: ???/bynum or stuckey
SG: rip/gordon
SF: daye
reserve PF/SF: jonas
PF: monroe
reserve PF/C: max
C: big ben
 
i think that’s a reasonable formula for a team that, if not spectacular, can compete most nights. but there are two GAPING holes, and they’re at the most important spots. point guard and another big man. stuckey is probably the only movable piece on the entire roster who can get us pieces to fill those holes. (i’m not counting daye, jonas or monroe as “movable,” since moving them would create even more holes to fill). so the cupboard’s far from bare, but until we can get these pieces moved, we are one of the absolute worst teams in the league.
 
at some point you’ve got to look at stuckey and realize he is who he is by now. he’s 23, a four year veteran, and he’s been the picture of consistency: he looks to score. now’s the time to pull the plug on this point guard experiment/disaster, while he’s still on his rookie contract and could fetch us even more than his fair market value in return. certainly more than his value on this particular roster, where we’ve got all the scoring guards we need and then some. you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

]]> By: detroitpcb http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11132 detroitpcb Fri, 26 Nov 2010 13:01:42 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11132 @laser Stuckey can pass the ball. I have seen him make some very nice dump off passes in the lane and some good kick outs. The problem is that he is a one man break. Nobody on that starting five pushes tempo with him. It would be a mistake to trade Styckey. He needs to play uptempo. Isn't it the coach's job to evaluate talent and put players in a position to maximize their skills? Q is the worst coach in the league. We need to dump the vets and give the young guys the team. The starting lineup should be Stuck, Gordon, Daye, CV, and Ben. If Joe can convert Tay, Rip, Max, Wilcox into a frontline player who can either score in the paint and rebound or intimidte, block shots, and rebound - we will be fine. Monroe is going to be a good NBA player. JJ, if he comes back from injury the same as before, is going to be a good NBA player. The cupboard is not bare like you claim.   @laser

Stuckey can pass the ball. I have seen him make some very nice dump off passes in the lane and some good kick outs. The problem is that he is a one man break. Nobody on that starting five pushes tempo with him.
It would be a mistake to trade Styckey. He needs to play uptempo. Isn’t it the coach’s job to evaluate talent and put players in a position to maximize their skills? Q is the worst coach in the league.
We need to dump the vets and give the young guys the team. The starting lineup should be Stuck, Gordon, Daye, CV, and Ben. If Joe can convert Tay, Rip, Max, Wilcox into a frontline player who can either score in the paint and rebound or intimidte, block shots, and rebound – we will be fine. Monroe is going to be a good NBA player. JJ, if he comes back from injury the same as before, is going to be a good NBA player. The cupboard is not bare like you claim.  

]]> By: Laser http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11123 Laser Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:46:34 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11123 @pcb: 1) yes he pushed the ball, and had an unusual number of opportunities to try to score in transition, but it would be nice to see him actually run the offense. all he does is score and i'm f***ing sick of it. you say, "who's he supposed to pass it to with this starting lineup?" but do you realize what you're saying here? that he's the only guy who can put the ball in the basket; rip's "streaky" because he's constantly forced to create his own shot, and it's not my fault someone thinks max and ben are a good starting front court. i'd start gordon and villa, too. but you can't criticize our starters' offense without taking into account our shoot-first, shoot-second, pass-never point guard. 2) i most certainly will not let joe off the hook. until he turns tay and max into randolph (or something similar, and only a serious homer would convince himself that makes us a 4 seed), we've got one of the worst teams i've ever seen. 3) rip for big baby doesn't come CLOSE to working under the cap, smart guy. don't fancy yourself such an expert and waste your breath on garbage ideas like that.   @hayes: i actually noticed the "keep it brief" bit and considered excising it. but i was referring to my postgame analysis, which was only three paragraphs. that's restraint for me! as for darko, he was a larry brown rookie/sophomore. i was new to basketball at that time, so i didn't pay attention to "little" things like player development, but he never stood a chance here playing behind all-stars for a coach who paid less attention to player development than i did.   @nuetes: sorry, wilcox is out of the rotation at the moment. kuester has spoken, and i'm sure he knows what's best. "stay the course!" and, yes, darko would be a massive upgrade right now.   @odeh: john kuester is the worst person on the planet after joe dumars, and i'd defend hitler and child molesters before i'd defend him. his rotation, rotation<strong><em>S</em></strong>, and minutes distribution have all been deplorable, and even though he could never turn this team into a winner, he may have absolutely minimized the talent he has to work with. but it's tough to pick apart the distribution of minutes in this kind of blowout. criticize his distribution of minutes in all the close games we played.   @jason: yeah i've made some references to kuester's reputation as an offensive guru. what a joke. i have never seen a worse NBA offense in my life. and i don't care if we had tim f***ing duncan on the floor, i don't see stuckey "feeding" anyone. make him a shooting guard, instant offense off the bench, or trade him.   also, happy thanksgiving, all. @pcb: 1) yes he pushed the ball, and had an unusual number of opportunities to try to score in transition, but it would be nice to see him actually run the offense. all he does is score and i’m f***ing sick of it. you say, “who’s he supposed to pass it to with this starting lineup?” but do you realize what you’re saying here? that he’s the only guy who can put the ball in the basket; rip’s “streaky” because he’s constantly forced to create his own shot, and it’s not my fault someone thinks max and ben are a good starting front court. i’d start gordon and villa, too. but you can’t criticize our starters’ offense without taking into account our shoot-first, shoot-second, pass-never point guard. 2) i most certainly will not let joe off the hook. until he turns tay and max into randolph (or something similar, and only a serious homer would convince himself that makes us a 4 seed), we’ve got one of the worst teams i’ve ever seen. 3) rip for big baby doesn’t come CLOSE to working under the cap, smart guy. don’t fancy yourself such an expert and waste your breath on garbage ideas like that.
 
@hayes: i actually noticed the “keep it brief” bit and considered excising it. but i was referring to my postgame analysis, which was only three paragraphs. that’s restraint for me! as for darko, he was a larry brown rookie/sophomore. i was new to basketball at that time, so i didn’t pay attention to “little” things like player development, but he never stood a chance here playing behind all-stars for a coach who paid less attention to player development than i did.
 
@nuetes: sorry, wilcox is out of the rotation at the moment. kuester has spoken, and i’m sure he knows what’s best. “stay the course!” and, yes, darko would be a massive upgrade right now.
 
@odeh: john kuester is the worst person on the planet after joe dumars, and i’d defend hitler and child molesters before i’d defend him. his rotation, rotationS, and minutes distribution have all been deplorable, and even though he could never turn this team into a winner, he may have absolutely minimized the talent he has to work with. but it’s tough to pick apart the distribution of minutes in this kind of blowout. criticize his distribution of minutes in all the close games we played.
 
@jason: yeah i’ve made some references to kuester’s reputation as an offensive guru. what a joke. i have never seen a worse NBA offense in my life. and i don’t care if we had tim f***ing duncan on the floor, i don’t see stuckey “feeding” anyone. make him a shooting guard, instant offense off the bench, or trade him.
 
also, happy thanksgiving, all.

]]> By: Jason http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11121 Jason Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:06:36 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11121 This article is extremely well written, and sums up the Pistons night perfectly. Of course defense, rebounding and interior points are crucial, and are holding us back each and every game. But, creating plays on offense is just as important for this squad. We are NOT and should NOT be an ISO team. We have no one who can truly play ISO ball, aside from Ben Gordon - which when he's matched up against a bigger SG, he's going to have a tough time. We need to create offense, and with the lineups we've been putting together, we simply aren't utilizing the strengths of our players. Stuckey has played better this year, but he cannot be our leading scorer every night, unless he has 10 assists to go along with it. For a starting PG in this league to finish a game with 1 assist, is just unbelievable. It should NEVER happen. This team needs some help, and needs it fast. I can't put all the blame on Stuck, because Kuester clearly needs to create some offensive plays. Can't believe this guy was supposedly "Known for his offensive schemes".. Maybe for Cleveland, when your offense consists of giving the ball to Lebron, and letting him ISO. No wonder we've become an ISO team, unfortunately we have no Lebron on our team!!!! If we can pull off a trade, and get a legitimate PF for Stuckey to feed down low, for Kuester to design plays for, we can make progress.. But with this team as is, we are heading for lottery... This article is extremely well written, and sums up the Pistons night perfectly.
Of course defense, rebounding and interior points are crucial, and are holding us back each and every game. But, creating plays on offense is just as important for this squad.
We are NOT and should NOT be an ISO team. We have no one who can truly play ISO ball, aside from Ben Gordon – which when he’s matched up against a bigger SG, he’s going to have a tough time.
We need to create offense, and with the lineups we’ve been putting together, we simply aren’t utilizing the strengths of our players. Stuckey has played better this year, but he cannot be our leading scorer every night, unless he has 10 assists to go along with it. For a starting PG in this league to finish a game with 1 assist, is just unbelievable. It should NEVER happen.
This team needs some help, and needs it fast. I can’t put all the blame on Stuck, because Kuester clearly needs to create some offensive plays. Can’t believe this guy was supposedly “Known for his offensive schemes”.. Maybe for Cleveland, when your offense consists of giving the ball to Lebron, and letting him ISO. No wonder we’ve become an ISO team, unfortunately we have no Lebron on our team!!!!
If we can pull off a trade, and get a legitimate PF for Stuckey to feed down low, for Kuester to design plays for, we can make progress.. But with this team as is, we are heading for lottery…

]]> By: Odeh http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11118 Odeh Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:18:56 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11118 I now hate John Kuester more than I hat Rich Rod.  I am not even going to call him a Coach because he does not deserve that title.  12 guys play. No one plays over 27 minutes.  Stuckey kills it in the first quarter but he is benched while he's hot instead of riding him out.  This iso heavy offense is the absolute worst offense to run with this talent.  Nuetes hit it on the head.  You need defined roles for any team and Kuester does the exact opposite by playing different combinations and inconsistent lineups.  I GUARANTEE he is not back next year.  Bring  in Marc Jackson! I now hate John Kuester more than I hat Rich Rod.  I am not even going to call him a Coach because he does not deserve that title.  12 guys play. No one plays over 27 minutes.  Stuckey kills it in the first quarter but he is benched while he’s hot instead of riding him out.  This iso heavy offense is the absolute worst offense to run with this talent.  Nuetes hit it on the head.  You need defined roles for any team and Kuester does the exact opposite by playing different combinations and inconsistent lineups.  I GUARANTEE he is not back next year.  Bring  in Marc Jackson!

]]> By: nuetes http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11117 nuetes Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:14:04 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11117 Oh wait somebody mentioned Darko, my favorite subject. I love me some Darko. Lets trade for him back right now. Prince for Darko. Prince and Stuckey for Darko, thats even better, Darko can play PG. He can do it all. He's like the new Chris Webber and whatnot.   No though Darko was 17 when we drafted him. 17! Looking back I feel bad for actually expecting him to perform when he got in a game. It was going to take him a few years no matter what. People were calling him a bust by the time he was 19. Thats insane. He's only a year older than Stuckey right now. And he was never given a good chance to develop or succeed until he got to Minnesota. He started off this year terribly as well, but it takes time. It looks like he's finally, just now, getting comfortable on the court. Maybe if he got playing time earlier or was nurtured a little better he would have developed earlier, but 25 is still fairly young. If he keeps it up he still has plenty of years left. Oh wait somebody mentioned Darko, my favorite subject. I love me some Darko. Lets trade for him back right now. Prince for Darko. Prince and Stuckey for Darko, thats even better, Darko can play PG. He can do it all. He’s like the new Chris Webber and whatnot.
 
No though Darko was 17 when we drafted him. 17! Looking back I feel bad for actually expecting him to perform when he got in a game. It was going to take him a few years no matter what. People were calling him a bust by the time he was 19. Thats insane. He’s only a year older than Stuckey right now. And he was never given a good chance to develop or succeed until he got to Minnesota. He started off this year terribly as well, but it takes time. It looks like he’s finally, just now, getting comfortable on the court. Maybe if he got playing time earlier or was nurtured a little better he would have developed earlier, but 25 is still fairly young. If he keeps it up he still has plenty of years left.

]]> By: nuetes http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11115 nuetes Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:55:25 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11115 Hey I didn't even watch the game, but reading Hayes' recap I can see it all unfold before my eyes. The Pistons, like usual, get smoked in the 2nd half, ya know, when other teams actually care.   How about giving Wilcox some minutes? I don't know how though this team is too messed up. Max, CV, Wallace, and Monroe for the front court. Wilcox and Daye can't get minutes. What if Jerebko was healthy? Jeez.   I'm so sick of this team. If there is anything I've learned over the last 2 season of watching the Pistons it is that a team needs roles. A team needs player tiers. You can't have a team full of equally talented guys. You need a tier of good players and a tier of role players. That helps define the roles. The Pistons are a disaster. I'm asking for Chris freaking Wilcox to get minutes! And I can't even find him any because Jason freaking Maxiell already has them. Really? Blow this thing up. Hey I didn’t even watch the game, but reading Hayes’ recap I can see it all unfold before my eyes. The Pistons, like usual, get smoked in the 2nd half, ya know, when other teams actually care.
 
How about giving Wilcox some minutes? I don’t know how though this team is too messed up. Max, CV, Wallace, and Monroe for the front court. Wilcox and Daye can’t get minutes. What if Jerebko was healthy? Jeez.
 
I’m so sick of this team. If there is anything I’ve learned over the last 2 season of watching the Pistons it is that a team needs roles. A team needs player tiers. You can’t have a team full of equally talented guys. You need a tier of good players and a tier of role players. That helps define the roles. The Pistons are a disaster. I’m asking for Chris freaking Wilcox to get minutes! And I can’t even find him any because Jason freaking Maxiell already has them. Really? Blow this thing up.

]]> By: Patrick Hayes http://www.pistonpowered.com/2010/11/detroit-pistons-take-one-on-one-basketball-to-a-whole-new-level-in-loss-to-grizzlies/comment-page-1/#comment-11113 Patrick Hayes Thu, 25 Nov 2010 15:44:25 +0000 http://www.pistonpowered.com/?p=3838#comment-11113 <p>@PCB again:</p> <p>It's pointless to talk about Darko. If he finally finds the discipline and commitment to realize his potential, good on him. But it's like eight years since Detroit drafted him. They couldn't really sit around and wait for him to figure it out.</p> <p>Minnesota is a good situation for him. Since they gave away Al-Jeff, they had no option but to play Darko. And he has good big man mentors in Laimbeer and Kurt Rambis. But I don't fault Detroit for cutting ties. Also, Darko was in three other organization (Orlando, Memphis, NY) and couldn't figure it out. He was given consistent playing time in Orlando and didn't produce enough to justify staying on the court. Memphis signed him based on his potential and did everything they could to try and play him big minutes his first year there.</p> <p>I don't buy that he "just needed encouragement." Maybe that was part of it, but his biggest needs were maturity and a work ethic. He didn't have either of those things in Detroit. I'm glad he found it. It will be a great story if he ultimately takes his name out of the "greatest draft bust in history" conversation. But Detroit had to cut ties. He had plenty of chances to prove he was ready to play, and he didn't do it.</p> @PCB again:

It’s pointless to talk about Darko. If he finally finds the discipline and commitment to realize his potential, good on him. But it’s like eight years since Detroit drafted him. They couldn’t really sit around and wait for him to figure it out.

Minnesota is a good situation for him. Since they gave away Al-Jeff, they had no option but to play Darko. And he has good big man mentors in Laimbeer and Kurt Rambis. But I don’t fault Detroit for cutting ties. Also, Darko was in three other organization (Orlando, Memphis, NY) and couldn’t figure it out. He was given consistent playing time in Orlando and didn’t produce enough to justify staying on the court. Memphis signed him based on his potential and did everything they could to try and play him big minutes his first year there.

I don’t buy that he “just needed encouragement.” Maybe that was part of it, but his biggest needs were maturity and a work ethic. He didn’t have either of those things in Detroit. I’m glad he found it. It will be a great story if he ultimately takes his name out of the “greatest draft bust in history” conversation. But Detroit had to cut ties. He had plenty of chances to prove he was ready to play, and he didn’t do it.

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