Comments on: Tyler Zeller to Pistons in Sports Illustrated mock draft

By: Tyrone

Tyrone — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 14:01:00 +0000

Grodon and Daye for one of Houston’s 1st round pick would be a GREAT move for DETROIT BASKETBALL!!!

By: Tyrone

Tyrone — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 02:36:48 +0000

Mark, I understand your point but IMO the Team needs someone to play next to Greg in the front court and not a project at the 1, 2 or 3 spot. We need size up front in a bad way. Max is in the last year of his deal and could opt out if he chooses. He had a good year this year but Max is not the feature for the Pistons. PJ3 is a interesting pick but with the log jam on the roster at the small forward now he is not the right pick IMO. With Zeller and Monroe on the floor they can play who ever they match up against best. This will also allow Jonas to move back to the 3 spot. I could see the Pistons playing an up tempo style with Knight, Stuckey, Jonas, Monroe, and Zeller.

I’m just saying the proven “safe” pick just may be what this team needs to take the next step in this rebuilding process.

By: MarkS

MarkS — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:35:53 +0000

I think the Pistons would be better off taking a guy with huge upside rather than a safer pick like Zeller. Teams picking in the late lottery usually hope to find a player who will at least be a solid rotation player, but since this is likely the last year we will see the Pistons in the lottery they should go for the home run.
After a terrible 4-20 start, the Pistons played .500 basketball the rest of the way. Even if you take this years lotto pick out of the picture, this team stands to improve as their core is young. People disagree on what exactly Brandon Knight’s ceiling will be, but with his intangibles and work ethic, I have no doubt he will max out his potential, whatever it is.
My point is I believe the Pistons are a team who can afford to take a chance on a younger/riskier player with more upside. A guy like Leonard would likely play 10 mpg off the bench his first year but could allow the Pistons to slide Monroe over to his natural 4 position down the line. Perry Jones is another guy they should take a long look at, despite the motor concerns (Patrick Hayes comments on PJ3 were spot-on). His talent is unquestionable and he could be well worth the risk.
I would rather not see this team become the next Milwaukee Bucks. Making the playoffs as the 7 or 8 seed every year and losing in the first round of the playoffs does not appeal to me. To avoid being stuck in mediocrity, Dumars should look to draft upside in a few weeks.

By: Coach_Ackley

Coach_Ackley — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 00:43:41 +0000

I can see Zeller turning into a Chris Kaman type of player and that really ain’t all that bad……

By: Tyrone

Tyrone — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:44:42 +0000

I hope that we drafe Zeller @ 9… IMO, Zeller and Monroe will be a good balanced front court. I think that both players can play C & PF. Monroe has a hard time playing athlitice bigs at C and PF. This IMO is where Zeller will fit in good with our team. Also Zeller runs the floor well so when Stuckey, and Knight are pushing the ball up court Zeller and Jebko are good options to run the floor with them. I dont think that Zeller will turn into an all star but I do feel that he is the right fit for our team and a proven product.

By: acr

acr — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:49:43 +0000

this^^

By: LetCharlieGo

LetCharlieGo — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:11:07 +0000

Fab Melo would be huge on defense, he is only projected late first round because he hated class and did not play in March. Raw talent, freak wingspan, and huge upside.

By: RussellC

RussellC — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 21:40:57 +0000

Best case scenario with the combo of above average to elite defender like Smith and above average scorer like Gay is a poor man’s Garnett who can guard all three frontcourt positions at times while playing all three on offense at times. One of the things they talk about with Jones is his hands, his first step and handle, and his length on defense which can be bothersome to the other team since he can move out on the perimeter. IF he can develop even half of the intensity of Garnett which I am not sure of he can be a star. Otherwise he is a complementary player who would be happy to be second or third option, and be an above average defender. We had a guy like that in Rasheed. Not comparing the two skill sets, just the basketball demeanor.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:06:13 +0000

Ford has Detroit getting PJ3. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story?id=8009612&_slug_=nba-mock-draft-version-6&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fdraft2012%2fstory%3fid%3d8009612%26_slug_%3dnba-mock-draft-version-6

By: oats

oats — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:15:49 +0000

I’m saying much more than that. I’m saying I don’t get why Perry Jones is supposed to be that good. I hate to use this point, but guys in the know are wrong all the time. If we just agree with draft day consensus then Darko is awesome, James Harden was drafted too high, and Ben Wallace isn’t an NBA player. A couple good games don’t really tell us much about Perry Jones. Johnny Flynn scored 50 points in the NBA, and he isn’t anyone I’d want on my team either.

What it all comes down to is this, he has a ton of warning signs. He disappears frequently, his numbers are kind of blah, he’s a bit of a tweener, and he does many things okay but not anything really well. To me that is the resume of a guy who will never be a star player. I’d bet against Leonard being more than a serviceable pro, but I’d make the same bet with PJ3 (not with actual money, I’m not really a gambler). I get that PJ3′s supposed ceiling is higher, but I really think the odds of him hitting it are much lower than Leonard’s odds of hitting his ceiling. Leonard’s ceiling is a pretty good starter, and I like his odds of getting to that point almost as much as I like Jones’ odds of being a good starter. Since Leonard’s skills are harder to find than the skills possessed by PJ3, it makes more sense to me to bet on Leonard. What’s more, I get what Leonard brings to the table. I don’t understand what Jones is giving me. How do you build a team around a guy without even knowing what you think he will be giving you? I don’t get it. I see vague talk of Jones’ talent, or his athleticism, or comparisons to guys who are different than him because they can actually shoot a bit. Draft Express says his best case is Rudy Gay meets Josh Smith. What the hell is that supposed to tell me? Josh Smith is an athletic PF who scores effectively, rebounds, and blocks shots. Jones is athletic. Rudy Gay is an athletic wing player with a decent jump shot and the ability to score in bunches. Perry Jones is athletic. Gay is a SF, and Smith is a PF. I don’t know what Jones is. I struggle to conceptualize what a Gay/Smith combo is, and I can’t understand what that guy does for any team. It also says his worst case is Yi Jianlian. I think he’s probably going to end up much closer to Yi than Gay/Smith. I doubt Jones will ever be a top 20 player in his position, none the less anywhere close to a star player.

I should probably mention I much prefer Henson to either Leonard or Gay. I kind of get why the team would take Henson at 9. When it comes to PJ3 or Leonard, I’d much rather trade down and pick up something else for the trouble. I don’t have significantly different grades on Leonard or PJ3 than I do on guys like Fab Melo, Royce White, Andrew Nicholson, or Arnett Moultrie. Leonard and Jones don’t represent good value to me when I can get the same caliber of player much later while adding something else. I pointed out Leonard more to make the case about how little I care for Jones. I don’t understand why Jones is supposed to be good, I’ve yet to hear one convincing argument that doesn’t involve high school, flashes, potential, or a couple pretty good games. Kwame Brown had all of those things. Do you remember when Brown put up a 30 and 19 against Sacramento? That was his second year in the league. I just don’t get why Jones is so special, I don’t see it.