Comments on: The two steps for building a contender, and how Joe Dumars does it backward

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:12:42 +0000

"iverson was washed up.

history has proven that to be true and anyone who watched him play would have known that when the trade was made. i saw plenty of denver games with iverson and he was not an elite player anymore, no matter what the numbers may have said." Why do you supposed Iverson posted such strong numbers his last year in Denver if he was so clearly washed up?

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:09:42 +0000

Johnson is an excellent pick-and-roll defender, which doesn’t necessarily show up in his own stats.

By: Dan Feldman

Dan Feldman — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:09:01 +0000

I certainly agree that Wallace was a supreme talent, but the Pistons didn’t learn to win as he grew into his role. They added a bunch of players already capable of winning.

By: Murph

Murph — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:47:44 +0000

@Max…why do you say that? In 2009, Lee signed with the Knicks for 1 year at $8 million. The Knicks didn’t want Lee long term. He was Isiah’s pick. The Knicks wanted to move on.

If the Pistons wanted him, they could have gotten him. But it’s probably best they did not sign Lee.

By: Max

Max — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:23:47 +0000

He was only obtainable in a sign and trade though so the Pistons would have had to send back 10 million in contracts and possible draft picks and there would have had to be something attractive to the Knicks included.

By: Murph

Murph — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:03:08 +0000

The Knicks never wanted Lee long term. The Knicks were all about bidding for Lebron in the 2010 off season, and so they didn’t want to tie up a lot of cap space on Lee, long term in the 2009 off season. (Ultimately the Knicks missed out on Lebron and had to settle for Amare.) But the point is, David Lee could have been signed in 2009 by anyone who was willing of offer Lee a reasonable long term contract.

Now, a valid question is whether or not Lee is worth what he eventually recieved from Golden State. It appears the Warriors badly over-paid for Lee when he was given $80 million over 6 years in a sign and trade…for a guy who’s a defensive liability.

Nevertheless, Lee was definitely attainable, in the 2009 off season, had the Pistons persued him. In the end, it’s probably best the Pistons missed out on Lee. Lee would have made the Pistons just good enough to miss out on drafting Monroe, but not good enough to contend.

By: Dynamizer

Dynamizer — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:53:14 +0000

@Frankie D

And I quote “everyone “cherrypicks” evidence in order to make a point or present an argument.”

Have a good night.

By: Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:40:16 +0000

Great post, Feldman! I’ve been trying to encapsulate many of these points in various Pistons discussions with people for the past several years. Dumars definitely has a plan, it’s just not a plan that I’ve agreed with for the most part. The hardest part of being a Detroit sports fan over the past 15 years for me has been that even when the teams (primarily Pistons and Tigers) have success, they’re still usually built on philosophies that drive me nuts.

With that said, this post was a great reminder of what I enjoyed so much about the 01-02 and 02-03 Pistons, which were probably my most favorite Pistons teams to watch in my adult life. I remember getting excited over all of those little moves and watched as Trader Joe kept moving pieces until he had finally built a championship team.

By: Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:29:35 +0000

Don’t ever change, Frankie!

By: apa8ren9

apa8ren9 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:26:03 +0000

@Patrick, I agree with you. I fall in the Dumars camp because I believe he can do it again. That doesnt mean that I will blindly follow everything he does. He did fail and the moves didnt work. But I mean really there has been a long string of success. An ownership change and a rebuilding phase. People are acting like these are things that have only happened to the Pistons and no other team in the league. Forgetting that we are the ONLY team that has pulled off the anti-superstar method and won 3 championships IN THE LAST 30+ years. He got it done and that is worth something. He has messed it up the last 3 years, but you have to tell the whole story not just the parts that justify your rage towards him. This is a great topic and I love hearing all of the viewpoints of the posters. Its interesting to see how others interpret the exact things that we all viewed over the last 10 years of Dumars’ tenure