Comments on: Richard Hamilton returns as HOAM to help the Pistons roll the Milwaukee Bucks

By: Fennis

Fennis — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:45:29 +0000

I’d agree with this. FA is not a smart way to build a winner. Exhibit A – Aaron Afflalo. Hard to believe that he might be a more valuable commodity than BG or Charlie V.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:36:41 +0000

Mike, you couldn’t be more spot on with your last two comments! You cannot build a core in Free Agency, a Miami heat style situation happens once in a lifetime..

One can try to justify the BG/Charlie V signings all they want – but the fact is Dumars clearly didn’t think things through. Again, im much less angry about Villanueva, I can at least see what Dumars was thinking in signing him. BUT, the BG situation was such a lack of judgement, it makes me sick. After the Iverson/Rip debacle the year prior, why in the world he thought it be smart to throw millions at another Shooting Guard, with sketchy defensive ability is completely beyond me..

I think Joe D realized we needed a 3-point shooter, with Chauncey no longer on the team. But, to throw 12 million a year to a guy known for basically JUST that – it makes no sense.

I like Gordon, and I would LOVE to have him on this team at a reasonable contract. On an MLE deal, he would be a great compliment off the bench to come in and put up quick points. But to pay him like an allstar was simply a bad move on Dumars part, and i don’t think we have to wait any longer to “See how things play out” I think it’s already pretty clear…

By: Mike Payne

Mike Payne — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 07:45:51 +0000

@Fennis:
“the Pistons are not in a position to land the Big Fish in free agency.”
If I were the owner of this team, I would mandate that the GM rarely, if ever spend more than the MLE on the free agent market, other than to extend players he’s already acquired. With the exception of the Miami Heat, who are too soon to judge in this light, what championship team in recent years has been built of core pieces acquired in free agency?
The Boston Celtics drafted Rondo, Pierce and Perkins, and traded for Allen and Garnett.
The Los Angeles Lakers trade/drafted Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum and traded for Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol.
The Spurs drafted Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.
While the Pistons traded for Wallace, Wallace and Rip and drafted Tayshaun, Chauncey makes them the exception, except that Billups was picked up for the MLE. He wasn’t at all a “big fish” in free agency.
The last time a big fish free agent led to a championship was Shaquille O’Neal in Los Angeles in 2002. Teams with cores who are built in free agency rarely dominate, and they generally still revolve more around their draft/trade-acquired players. Rose and Noah are more important to Chicago than Boozer will ever be.
Look at the standings, see if you can find a contender whose most important player was signed as a free agent. LeBron is the exception, and the fact that Wade and Bosh are around him forces that anomaly.
Winners are nearly always built in trades and the draft, trades and the draft, trades and the draft. And think about it– every time Joe has deviated from this, spending more than the MLE on a free agent, it has resulted in failure. Dude either lost his marbles in November of 2008… or Hammond stole them when he left.

By: Fennis

Fennis — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 05:00:35 +0000

Feldman, I’m with you on this one. I definitely hear Payne’s point, but Dumars’ challenge as the Pistons GM is to build a championship team in a location that isn’t a “hot spot.” I love Detroit as do a lot of our players, but Joe D has a much more difficult job than Pat Riley, Donnie Walsch, Mitch Kupchack, and even Danny Ainge. My point is that Joe’s strategy of picking up assets on the free market and then reshuffling those assets over the course of three or four years to create a title contender is good one imo because the Pistons are not in a position to land the Big Fish in free agency.

But I agree that Gordon and CV were inexcusable misfires. I still don’t understand why you would sign BG after a full year of turmoil playing both Iverson and Rip at the point. And what is BG if not a lesser version of Iverson in his prime? CV – great guy with amazing talent who simply has a horrible feel for the game. I think Joe assumed CV would mature or “get it” and it’s not unreasonable to think that the jury is still out. Personally, once I realized that neither player would ever be even an above average defender, I concluded that they would never be the core of a championship team and at least one if not both should be traded. You can have one of those guys in a championship rotation, but two is too many.

What really disappoints me about the FA signings is that neither of these guys plays Pistons basketball. They’re solid guys personally, but their games don’t mesh well into a team dynamic. Joe had probably one of the greatest runs as a GM in the last 30 years and the core philosophy of that run was defense. I remember at the presser for the CV and BG signings, Joe insisted that the league was turning in a different direction with the new defensive rules, and that it was critical to have talented offensive wing players. He unquestionably miscalculated, and he acknowledged as much in the off-season in interviews with Langlois. I think (and hope) Joe is back to his Pistons principles. You can’t win titles with players who don’t play defense and have trouble with team play/chemistry.

Say what you want about Joe D, but I don’t see anyone complaining now about Austin Daye, Greg Monroe, and Jonas Jerebko. Monroe was pretty close to a no-brainer, but as I recall most Pistons fans hated the AD pick, and didn’t know a thing about Jonas. And for all the obsessive complaining about Stuckey, it’s hard to make a case that he wasn’t a steal in his draft. Take a look at the players that went in front of him. Jianlian, Corey Brewer, Brendan Wright, Spencer Hawes, Acie Law, Julian Wright, Al Thorton, Thaddeus Young. You might take one of those guys, but probably not twol I’d go with Stuck myself.

Joe should be criticized for his mistakes, and they are numerous. But I can’t help but think that those that want him canned were too young to appreciate the glorious eight year run he took us on. I’m not even sure the bad boys contended for that long a period… If he brings in another highly-paid one-dimensional flop, I’ll join the bandwagon, but I truly believe Joe realizes his mistakes and will turn the corner with this team within the next year.

By: BIG MARV

BIG MARV — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:47:59 +0000

I mean as far as benching him it dont even matter no more, because when rip do have a decent game Kuester still benches him. The question will be will rip continue to play when Rodney stuckey comes back from injury, and imma say no. Hopefull for rip sake he will be traded by the deadline. If not they will find another excuse to give him a dnp-cd mabey this time they will send him home via eddie curry.

By: gmehl1977

gmehl1977 — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 00:02:36 +0000

I am with Laser on this subject. We can’t have this much money just wasting away on the bench. Either play Gordon & CV or trade them for guys that are going to play.

By: gmehl1977

gmehl1977 — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 23:49:14 +0000

So what you are saying is keep a paper bag near :-)

By: Laser

Laser — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:31:29 +0000

feldman, your patience with this team is absurd. it should not take until this summer to realize which players fit well together and should be a part of the future, which are both movable and expendable, etc. this team’s problems have been evident for AGES, and the result of leaving these problems alone instead of addressing them has been dwindling ticket sales, dwindling interest in the team, the complete and total ruination of individual player values (which greatly affects trade flexibility), and the value of the franchise in free fall. waiting this long to make moves has been a terrible mistake, and it only gets worse the longer joe waits.

By: Laser

Laser — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:23:49 +0000

men on BG. joe has been an unqualified disaster since trading chauncey. everything he’s touched has turned to sh*t, and all he’s done is talk about the changes he’s going to make to get pistons basketball back on track. stuckey obviously isn’t a PG, he and gordon and rip can’t coexist, villanueva’s been a flop so far, max is our fifth highest paid player and completely out of the rotation. the team keeps losing, and every trade deadline or summer joe’s talking some big game about analyzing the team and doing “what needs to be done.”

apparently his definition of that is to keep the team entirely intact, because that’s what he’s done. he obviously wants to keep gordon and stuckey and trade rip, but that doesn’t seem to be possible. so what does he do? stubbornly stand pat or admit his mistake and trade one of the other SGs? time will tell, but i have a hunch…

By: Mike Payne

Mike Payne — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 22:22:11 +0000

I’m still waiting on an apology for the Afflalo trade…