Archive → September, 2011
Austin Daye is No. 217 in the ESPN #NBARank
Austin Daye is the latest Piston listed in ESPN’s list of the top 500 players and incoming rookies in the NBA right now. All in all, that’s not a bad ranking for Daye, who has yet to prove he can be a mainstay in a rotation.
His summer, though, gives great hope that he has the work ethic to gain some consistency and become an important contributor for the Pistons next season. I would be shocked to see him leap several of the players who will be unveiled ahead of him in these rankings by the end of the season.
Other Pistons unveiled in the rankings are: Ben Wallace (227), Jason Maxiell (239), Brandon Knight (267), Chris Wilcox (330), Kyle Singler (446), Terrico White (472) and Vernon Macklin (498).
If you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow along. The @NBAonESPN account is unveiling the names and picking the best comments that use the #NBARank hashtag for retweets and also featuring some on ESPN.com.
From Chevette to Corvette: A definitive hierarchy of every season in Detroit Pistons history
One of the interesting things I didn’t consider when I started writing about the Pistons is how the era you grew up watching and following Pistons basketball seriously affects the prism through which you always view the team.
I became a basketball fan by watching the Bad Boys, but I’m not quite old enough to have watched the entire 1980s era, when that team was coming of age, struggling to join the elite of the Eastern Conference and, ultimately, become champions. In a lot of ways, watching those years prior to the championships was probably more rewarding to fans than the championships were. Those people got to come of age with the Pistons, got to watch Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer grow into the leaders they became, watch as smart drafting and ballsy trades continuously added pieces to the roster. I’m reminded of the value of that any time I get into a debate with a reader or fan who lived through those moments. After all, I just happened to come along and start being a fan towards the tail end. I entered my basketball fandom with a ready-made contender, I didn’t have to go through the struggle.
And now, I understand the struggle. Although I became a fan during the end of the Bad Boys era, I became obsessed with the Pistons and the NBA during the 1990s, an almost forgotten era that saw the Pistons land a perennial All-Star in Grant Hill and never succeed in putting a good supporting cast around him. I saw the team betray its roots and connection to the Bad Boys era by foolishly re-branding itself, changing its logo and color scheme. I saw Hill get fed up and leave, and the team seemingly hit bottom with no identity, no star and a bleak outlook before a championship team came together piece by piece. I learned, watching those teal era teams, what it’s like to grow up with a team, what it’s like to get attached to players like Cliff Robinson or Chucky Atkins for their roles in helping the team become good but also realizing trading them was a necessary price to pay for progress. The 2004 championship was amazing, but in many ways, I’m more attached to the teams preceding that championship. I get what all those adults lecturing me about not understanding the full meaning of the Bad Boys’ championships were talking about now.
As we speak, young fans are growing up in the struggle right now, with the Pistons near the bottom once again, trying to re-tool and find a combination that is again good enough to compete for titles. As strange as it sounds, some people became Pistons fans for the first time watching this team last season.
It was with this in mind that Dan and I are unveiling our latest series at PistonPowered, ‘From Chevette to Corvette.’ Basically, we’re ranking all 63 seasons in Pistons history (including when the team was in Fort Wayne). The first one in the countdown will be posted tomorrow. As for the name of the series, well, Pistons are a part of cars (I think … I’m no car expert). Chevettes are bad cars. Corvettes are good cars. So the series will go from the very worst Pistons’ season to the very best.
I know it has been really interesting to write these, especially researching the teams from the days way before I was born, and hopefully they provide the same thing for readers who may not be as familiar with all the eras of Pistons basketball. As always, feedback is welcome throughout in the comments.
Rick Adelman wants $25 million from the Minnesota Timberwolves
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis StarTribune:
Rick Adelman still looks like the favorite, but here’s the tricky part: I hear he wants at least $5 million a year, and five years — not four — guaranteed. Do the math and that’s at least $25 million, sports fans.
That might have something to do with the Pistons largely ignoring Adelman, despite his credentials.
Tom Gores a pro-revenue sharing hawk
The way the NBA tells it, all 30 owners are perfectly united, on every issue from hard caps to revenue sharing.
Of course, it cannot be so. Human nature dictates some owners are doves — eager to play the upcoming season — while others are hawks, who would risk ditching a season in the name of a new collective bargaining agreement that strongly favors owners.
Abbott has a nifty chart sizing up each of the 30 owners. Here’s what he wrote about Tom Gores:
HAWK: The Pistons were once a good business. Gores — an L.A. based private equity investor — is intent to run the team like a business and wants all the help he can get from a new CBA.
Abbott also explains Gores revenue-sharing thoughts:
Tom Gores plays his cards close to his chest, but the armchair analysis is that his team would likely be in a beneficiary in most systems.
Ben Wallace is No. 227 in ESPN’s #NBARank
ESPN’s rankings of the top 500 NBA players and incoming rookies continues with Ben Wallace coming in at No. 227.
It’s unfortunate these rankings didn’t come out after Wallace’s mini-resurgence in the 2009-10 season, he would’ve easily beat that ranking. But Wallace dealt with injuries and off-court personal tragedies last season and couldn’t match that 09-10 impact. Hopefully, post-lockout, he has one more productive season before retiring to pursue his ambitious post-basketball goals.
Other Pistons unveiled in the rankings are: Jason Maxiell (239), Brandon Knight (267), Chris Wilcox (330), Kyle Singler (446), Terrico White (472) and Vernon Macklin (498).
If you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow along. The @NBAonESPN account is unveiling the names and picking the best comments that use the #NBARank hashtag for retweets and also featuring some on ESPN.com.
Terrico White, not Tayshaun Prince, to play in “Lockout League” in Las Vegas
Terrico White will play in Impact Basketball’s “Lockout League” in Las Vegas from Sept. 12-23. If any of his games are streaming, I want to watch. White missed the season with a broken foot, so Pistons fans haven’t gotten to see him play much. Particularly because his contract is sort of up in the air, I want a better chance to evaluate him before the Pistons must decide on him.
Contrary to previous reports, Tayshaun Prince isn’t listed by Zach Lowe of The Point Forward among the players participating. Of course, plans for events like these often change on the fly, and it wouldn’t surprised me to see Prince still participate. But facing what might be his last meaningful free agency, especially considering his body has begun to show signs of age the last two years, Prince might be better off sitting out and avoiding injury.
Austin Daye, a noted Joe Abunassar devotee, will play in the league, of course.
Brandon Knight projected as the 55th-best NBA player in 2015
I linked to SB Nation’s continuing countdown of who writers Tom Ziller, Andrew Sharp and Mike Prada think will be the top 99 players in 2015 and our second Piston has arrived on the list, Brandon Knight at No. 55:
Brandon Knight was 4.0 student in high school. Brandon Knight became the go-to scorer in crunch time for Kentucky last season, and carried his team to the FInal Four. Brandon Knight looked pissed on draft night. He may not have the skills and/or athleticism to crack the top 25 of this list, but Brandon Knight will be really good, and along with Greg Monroe, he’ll bring the Pistons back from the dead over the next few years. — Sharp
PRADA: Brandon Knight also committed five gazillion turnovers last season in the SEC.
ZILLER: I think Knight’s NBA potential depends completely on his jumper. It fell regularly enough at Kentucky that I think this ranking is fair. And besides, at least he’s not Rodney Stuckey! (Who Sharp picked in these very rankings, I might add.)
My guess is Monroe will be the only other Piston to make their list, but with Rodney Stuckey getting chosen at the 82nd spot on their list, I think the Pistons would take having three of the 99 best players in the league in 2015. It’s certainly an improvement over what they have now, and on top of that, many of the players the SB Nation guys are listing are current high school and college players, so perhaps with a little lottery luck, the Pistons add another impact player to that mix.
Jason Maxiell comes in at No. 239 in the ESPN #NBARank
Surprisingly, Jason Maxiell made it all the way to No. 239 in ESPN’s rankings of the top 500 current NBA players and incoming rookies. The surprise, for me at least, is that Maxiell finished where he did yet Chris Wilcox, a much better player last season, finished nearly 100 spots lower at No. 330.
I believe Maxiell’s ranking is mainly a product of people remembering his highlight reel plays and energy he became known for a few years ago and not realizing that statistically, his production has fallen off a cliff over the last two seasons. James Herbert at Hardwood Paroxysm recently discussed the Maxiell phenomenon:
Go to YouTube and type in his name. You’ll love him.
K, now go to Basketball-Reference. Same thing. Yeah, see that 2010-2011 season? Do you still love Jason Maxiell? He’s the worst.
You can and should still love Maxiell’s dunks and blocks, but let’s be realistic about his prospects as a rotation player. Aside from highlights plays, screen-setting, and baby-eating, you’re not getting anything from him. He could never shoot, pass, or dribble. He’s regressed in a big way on the boards. Last year was the third straight season that his production has dropped and this time he found himself out of the rotation for long stretches. It’s sad when the undersized overachiever stops overachieving.
Maxiell earned his spot in a NBA rotation because, despite being undersized, he had amazing athleticism which allowed him to rebound well, block some shots and finish strong around the basket. But guys whose games are predicated on athleticism don’t always have a long shelf life. Maxiell got a little older. He got a little heavier (hey, it happens to the best of us as we age). And his other basketball skills, as Herbert pointed out, just didn’t develop enough for him to add new wrinkles to his game as he aged.
Like many Pistons who have big contracts and who have underperformed, I still maintain hope that Maxiell can get back to his old form. But unfortunately, based on his last two seasons, he’s ranked much too high in the ESPN rankings.
Other Pistons unveiled in the rankings are: Brandon Knight (267), Chris Wilcox (330), Kyle Singler (446), Terrico White (472) and Vernon Macklin (498).
If you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow along. The @NBAonESPN account is unveiling the names and picking the best comments that use the #NBARank hashtag for retweets and also featuring some on ESPN.com.
Nets assistant John Loyer given permission to interview with Pistons
Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star Ledger reports:
Assistant coach John Loyer has been given permission to talk to the Detroit Pistons about joining new head coach Lawrence Frank’s staff and he is expected to decide in the next day or two whether he will be leaving the Nets, according to a person familiar with the Pistons’ interest in Loyer. The person requested not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak for Loyer or the Pistons.
Loyer is the third name reportedly drawing interest from Frank. Former D-League coach Dee Brown and former Celtics assistant Roy Rogers are also in the mix.
Austin Daye highlights from Goodman League-Melo League game
I already wrote about Austin Daye’s performance in last week’s Goodman League-Melo League game, and now Lockouthoops.com has video highlights. Keep in mind, these are only highlights and don’t include any of Daye’s mistakes, but, man, that jumper looks smooth:
