Comments on: The Big Answer?: Rodney Stuckey

By: Tim Thielke

Tim Thielke — Sat, 14 May 2011 03:09:46 +0000

Furthermore, whenever you are a non-contending team, there is the alternative of waiting until a reasonably

By: Tim Thielke

Tim Thielke — Sat, 14 May 2011 03:04:16 +0000

“At some point a franchise has to start over”
You are absolutely right about that. But the point is most definitely not when they are a perennial conference finalist. Even if they have fallen from strong contender to darkhorse contender status, you don’t blow it up until you are not a contender at all. That said, the Billups trade was still not a stupid move, just an unfortunate one. Stuckey was not handed the keys to the franchise when Billups left–Iverson was. And it was probably a 50/50 shot that Iverson would outperform Billups. Stuckey was given the keys to the franchise when a) Iverson didn’t pan out and b) Dumars threw all his money at Gordon/Villanueva.
Ultimately though, with a contender on his hands, Joe D should have traded promising young players (some combo of Stuckey, Amir Johnson, Afflalo, Maxiell, draft picks) for immediate help. The Pistons may well not have gotten another title. But they also might have gotten one. And they would certainly have been better for fans the past couple years.

By: Tim Thielke

Tim Thielke — Sat, 14 May 2011 02:56:20 +0000

Drafting Stuckey was not a mistake. But overvaluing him, prematurely making him the golden boy/franchise player, and making him the one sacred cow on the roster were all mistakes. So yes Stuckey was a mistake, not from day one, but from year two. Although there is still a chance that he is a redeemable error.

By: travis

travis — Sat, 14 May 2011 00:53:33 +0000

marvin you hit the nail on the head. stuckey is just less athletic than those 2. their athleticism allows some finishes that stuckey just barely misses. i think everyone who even remotely thinks stuckey is negative for the team is just looking for a scapegoat. stuckey is better than a mediocre player. if he is not an all star or considered a snub next year. then ill finally give up on him. but until then he is a good player in my eyes and i see basketball with good depth.

By: gordbrown

gordbrown — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:49:49 +0000

The whole problem of Stuckey’s season is summed up in Patrick’s second “now.” Early in the season Stuckey was ordered to play slow and when he finally rebelled, he was punished. There were significant moments after that and before the final stretch run, but somehow Kuester (well with help from food poisoning and Carmelo Anthony’s criminality) managed to crush them before they helped the team significantly. That is all you need to know about Stuckey’s season. What that means for him this off season, however, then becomes the question …

By: The Point Forward » Posts Court Vision: The latest around the league «

The Point Forward » Posts Court Vision: The latest around the league « — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:56:40 +0000

[...] • Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey is set to be a restricted free agent, so this was a big season for him. Here’s one assessment of how he did. [...]

By: Marvin Jones

Marvin Jones — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:22:22 +0000

The Pistons were going nowhere with Billups and at some point a franchise has to start over, trading Billups was the start of that. I would argue that the lack of a good coach has been more of a problem than “handing the keys of the franchise to Stuckey”. The reality is that Rose and Westbrook are shoot first guards just like Stuckey. Unlike Stuckey, they have better teamates and better coaching. Obviously being more athletic helps cover a multitude of sins. If you’ve noticed a lot of the talk of this postseason has been centered on Rose and Westbrook taking too many shots and that’s because they look for their offense first, just like Stuckey. I cant count how many times Rose or Westbrook have lowered their heads and drove in 1 on 4, just like Stuckey. Westbrook leads the postseason in turnovers for gods sake. I’m not saying that Stuckey’s great but he’s more than mediocre. Stuckey is a keeper just get a good coach and keep getting better players and we’ll be fine. Ask yourself, how may lottery picks are Rose and Westbrook playing with.

By: brgulker

brgulker — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:11:27 +0000

The alternative to overpaying Stuckey is to let the fairly-payed Will Bynum play PG. The reality is that we won’t be competitive next year, regardless of which of those two plays PG. And in my view, it would make more sense to let WB play (while the team struggles) than to overpay to keep Stuckey (while the team still struggles).

Honestly, the last thing this team needs is another mediocre guard on a bloated contract.

By: brgulker

brgulker — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:08:58 +0000

To mention Stuckey in the same breath as Westbrook and Rose is to deny reality. Stuckey is a useful player, sure, and he’s the best guard currently employed by the Pistons (after McGrady leaves).

But if you think trading Billups to give the keys of the franchise to Stuckey wasn’t a “mistake,” well, you’re just kidding yourself.

By: neutes

neutes — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:34:14 +0000

Stuckey happens to be the best guard on the roster, which isn’t saying much, but I’m sure Dumars will look at it as what’s the alternative? And I’m not sure there is a better alternative other than winning the lotto and drafting Irving. The downside is that he’ll most likely overpay to keep a mediocre player. Best case scenario is that Stuckey accepts the qualifying offer obviously. That buys one more year to figure something out vs. locking yourself into him for the foreseeable future.

Looking around the league though I’m not sure how much interest there would be in Stuckey this offseason, and if the MLE is eliminated it would really help the Pistons otherwise they’d probably have to match an MLE offer. Without the MLE there won’t be many teams to contend with. Of course it’s not like Dumars had any competition for Gordon and he went bonkers there.