Comments on: Pistons show some toughness (just a bit) against handsy Memphis Grizzlies

By: frankie d

frankie d — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:55:56 +0000

oh…smith makes less than a million dollars per year.

By: frankie d

frankie d — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:48:24 +0000

i’ll give you one player who makes a lot less and would be much more valuable.
we saw him last night: craig smith. 10 points, 5 rebounds, shooting over .500, which he does every year. he brings toughness, rebounding and low post scoring. i’m sure he is sorry about jj’s busted lip.
this guy has been out there for years as a free agent, he’s making less than a million dollars now, and he is a great example of a role player who get paid peanuts who can still add a lot to a team.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:58:58 +0000

Last season was the only season of Maxiell’s career other than his rookie season when is PER was under 14 whereas league average is 15.
His PER for his career is 14.2 which makes him almost exactly an average NBA player and 5 million was the average salary last year which is what he makes.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:49:59 +0000

Monroe and Stuckey are already better in my mind and I don’t think it’s any big leap to think Knight will be better than Prince next year. The longer odds regard the draft pick but the Pistons happen to be bad during a very good year to get exactly what they need so overall the odds really aren’t that long. Most years, you can say you are one player away, but there does not exist the specter of players considered highly likely to be franchise players in the draft but this year is loaded.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:43:52 +0000

I don’t think coming up with a list of best bargains within a given year does much to address a player’s value who signed a long term contract.
Maxiell had the best numbers of his career two seasons ago actually, had a great game tonight and I would only admit that he did have one sub-par disappointing season in his entire career and that was last year.
He also happens to be the Pistons best above rim player in certain ways this season.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:37:31 +0000

I’m suggesting that the Pistons can benefit more by draft and trade then they can by free agency and that they probably should never pay a free agent more than the midlevel exception.
Further, none of their contracts other than maybe BG or Charlie V would be that difficult to move as they have not paid anyone grossly above market value.
If the average player in the league makes 5 million, what do you think the average starter makes?
BG is obviously making above average money for a starter and Charlie V is obviously making above average money for a bench player but other than those two, who exactly is being overpaid to the extent that a team would blink over taking in their contract.
Added to all of this, the Pistons can use the amnesty next summer, after making a draft pick and being able to take a hard look at BG and Charlie V so by next year, the Pistons could realistically only be carrying a single bad contract and a lot of national pundits said the Pistons paid below market value for Stuckey.
If you want to say Tay is being overpaid, I would ask again, how many established veteran starters who are not operating under the auspices of a rookie contract and were retained by their own teams are making less than Prince?

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:27:50 +0000

"Maxiell is an average player receiving an average salary"

His salary wouldn't be an issue if he were, in fact, an average player. He hasn't been even an average player for about three seasons now. That's why his contract and the contracts of others on the team are a problem. It's not that they are paid outrageously by NBA standards. They are paid outrageously relative to their own production.

Using Maxiell as an example, off the top of my head, I can name probably 15 big men who make the veteran's minimum or close to it and are much, much more productive than him.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:25:51 +0000

Yes, if every young player on the roster realizes his full potential and if the Pistons end up with a draft pick who is an immediate star, they will be a lot better team. No one denies this. The problem is it is leaving a lot up to fate. How many young players realize the full potential they come into the league with?

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:24:16 +0000

"I think the roster just needs one great big man"

One great big man would make a lot of bad or below average teams into good teams. How many great big men do you see hanging around that are available? They don't grow on trees.

By: Patrick Hayes

Patrick Hayes — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:23:17 +0000

"I don’t know why you guys are acting like such accountants and judging each contract as if the Pistons could ever benefit from being under the cap."

Most teams that rebuild do so by getting under the cap. This allows them to either be players on the free agent market or take back more salary in a trade then they send out. Being under the cap in itself doesn't do a lot, but it offers you much more flexibility when you are trying to add talent than being capped out to a 3-13 team does.

Are you suggesting that paying above market value to limited veterans is the better way to go about rebuilding a roster?