Comments on: Greg Monroe, Jose Calderon, Will Bynum and more impress in win over Wizards

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:14:05 +0000

Ugh. So we solve the salary problem by getting even thinner? Roy’s contract isn’t that bad BTW, they owe him $5.3 mil next year & that’s it. I’m pretty sure they have an amnesty clause available if they want to use it. Anyway, the point of putting Maxiell in the trade instead of Jerebko is Jerebko’s contract would tie them up for a few years while Maxiell is expiring. The only way they take on Jonas is if they really liked him, which seems improbable.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:07:56 +0000

I think you have it backwards. If you don’t overpay somebody, you end up with nobody. At least in Detroit you end up with nobody. I agree, you have to find bargains, but you have to mix that in with shelling out a little for some talent. The top 5-10 free agents available this summer aren’t cutting Detroit any special prices to play for the Pistons.

Everybody seems to be a afraid of possibly overpaying somebody because the last time we did that, the 2 somebodies sucked. If Ben Gordon had come here and did the same thing he did in 2009, nobody would be complaining. He’d still be overpaid, but you’d say it’s worth it for the 18 ppg he put up. The over-payment part wasn’t the problem, it was player evaluation that was the problem.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:51:46 +0000

You are correct, I don’t play fantasy basketball. You realize you’re making my case, right?

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:10:21 +0000

That’s why those things were maybes. The main point would be to get out from under Roy’s contract. Maxiell or Jerebko would be Minny’s choice depending on whether they like JJ. Losing Singler would hurt Detroit, but he is pretty replaceable. It’d be more than worth it to get Love. Avoiding the tax is a concern, but I’m assuming someone like Bynum could be flipped elsewhere for basically no salary in return.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:55:01 +0000

Those are fair arguments. I can see where you are coming form. I just think that typically, to contend in this league, you need a superstar. Unfortunately, those are hard to come by, so the other way to contend is to get really good players at bargain prices (this is how the Pistons made their last string of contending years).

So I’m not interested in paying Calderon what he is worth. Most offseasons, someone goes at a bargain rate. Try to get everyone at a bargain rate and maybe you’ll get one to sign. If you pay everyone what they are worth and you spend up to the cap, you will have a mediocre team at best.

By: tarsier

tarsier — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:49:36 +0000

I’m gonna have to assume you don’t play fantasy basketball. Because if you do, you’d be aware that for years, Nash was one of the worst in the league for TOs.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:19:18 +0000

@tarsier I disagree with you about Josh Smith. I don’t think he helps as much as you do. Grantland did an article not that long ago about the worst shooters from certain zones, and Josh Smith was the worst in a couple. Add to that his attitude problem.

I had a couple problems with you saying pay Josh Smith $13 mil. First was that Josh Smith wants a max contract. He’s not going to take the same money he’s making now, he’s going to want $18-$20 million. Secondly, I don’t think he’s a very good fit for the Pistons. I think $13 mil is a good price for him, I’d even go $15 million, but I think it’ll take a lot more to sign him.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:42:42 +0000

I trade the trade you suggested, Monroe-Stuckey-Jerebko-Singler for Love-Roy. It worked, but I see 2 problems with it. First, it doesn’t actually give MIN less salary, it gives more. Swapping Jerebko for Maxiell means MIN is taking 3 years at $4.5/yr in Jerebko instead of a $5 mil expiring deal in Maxiell.

Second, this deal isn’t really that good for either team. Depth is really a problem for Detroit, and you’d essentially be trading 4 players for 1. We’d get the best guy in the deal, but then who’d play SF? Middleton? On Minnesota’s side, they get a lot of young guys, but the only draw is Monroe. Stuckey is just bad, Jerebko doesn’t look as promising as he did a couple years ago, and Singler really should be coming off the bench in the NBA, he just starts because we don’t have anybody.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:32:49 +0000

They’d have to take back that much salary for the trade to work. The Pistons won’t have the flexibility to take on a ton of extra salary in a trade until all those contracts expire. In the Monroe-Stuckey-Maxiell option, MIN gets a $5 mil expiring deal, and Stuckey’s deal which expires next year.

By: G

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:29:18 +0000

Let me break it down for you – Stuckey got $8.5 because that’s what a guy who averages 16 ppg in this league should get. He’s not earning it right now, but the thinking was he would improve, and then it would be a good contract.

Calderon is making $11 million, and I think he’s worth it. I’m up for paying Calderon and avg of $8.5/yr over a 3yr contract because that’s what I think he’ll be worth over the life of the contract, assuming a slight decline in his level of play.

Again, let’s compare with Steve Nash, because I like to do that. Nash signed a contract with LA this off season, 3 years at $27 million. He’s 39 and making $8.9 million this year, averaging 11.8 points and 7.4 assists, 2.6 TO and shooting 50/40/90. Calderon averages 11.1 points (although that’ll go up since he’s taking more of a scoring role here), 7.4 assists, 1.7 TO and shooting 47/43/90. And he’s 8 YEARS YOUNGER.