Trade

Pistons receive:

• Chris Paul (18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 0.2 blocks, 2.1 steals)
• Emeka Okafor (10.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.7 steals)

Hornets receive:

• Tayshaun Prince (13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.7 steals)
• Rodney Stuckey (16.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.2 blocks, 1.4 steals)
• Greg Monroe (16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.2 steals)
• Austin Daye (5.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.4 steals)
• Chris Wilcox (4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.4 steals)
• 2012 first-round pick
• 2014 first-round pick
• 2011 Denver Nuggets second-round pick

Salaries

Data from ShamSports.com

Pistons receive:

Hornets receive:

• Player option/ early termination
• Team option
• Qualifying offer

Pistons’ perspective

Yes, just a couple months ago, I penned a post titled, “Pistons have NO chance of trading for Chris Paul.” A lot has changed since then. Mainly, Chris Paul has indicated a desire to leave New Orleans, and Detroit drafted Greg Monroe.

I still think the Pistons landing Paul is an extreme long shot, but let’s look at what it would take.

First off, would New Orleans even trade Paul? Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has the scoop on Paul’s meeting with the Hornets yesterday:

The Hornets are concentrating on Eastern Conference teams as trade partners in the event they decide it isn’t feasible to enter the 2010-11 season with their franchise player wanting out. And despite Monday’s optimistic spin, that is where things are headed, sources say.

Although Berger doesn’t mention the Pistons among the teams the Hornets are eyeing – and Paul didn’t include them on his list – they are in the Eastern Conference. So, that’s a plus.

The first move for Joe Dumars would be calling someone close to Chris Paul – as close as possible, to avoid Paul’s people squashing the idea based on Detroit’s reputation (the city’s, not the team’s) – and see if he would be receptive to joining the Pistons. I think winning is the biggest force behind Paul’s demands (although it may not be the biggest reason those close to him are pushing a trade, too), and Dumars could sell him on the fact that he already put together one championship team.

If Paul wouldn’t be content with a trade to Detroit, that’s the end of it. If he would be, Dumars should call the Hornets.

I think this a competitive offer the Hornets would have to take seriously if they’re actually willing to deal Paul.

Tayshaun Prince is a very good player, and Rodney Stuckey is already solid and still has potential to grow. Plus, both have expiring contracts, which would give New Orleans a lot of flexibility.

Greg Monroe and Austin Daye are talented players with skills in drove, and with a combined seven years left on their rookie contracts, they’re extremely affordable.

Chris Wilcox is 27, but talented enough that many believe he could still find his niche in the league. (For the record, I don’t.) Mostly, he’s there to make the numbers work, but for filler, he’s not bad.

Those two first-round picks could be valuable if Paul doesn’t help the Pistons win any more than he helped New Orleans. Even if he does, two picks are two picks.

Besides acquiring a player with a non-guaranteed contract (like Erick Dampier), this trade would save the Hornets about as much money this year as possible in a trade giving up only Paul and Okafor. And given Okafor’s hefty contract, the savings in future years would be significant, too.

By trading Paul, the Hornets would almost certainly be rebuilding. I doubt anyone will trade someone near Paul’s talent level to get him (meaning nobody like LeBron James, Dwight Howard or Kevin Durant will be on the move). This trade would give New Orleans a lot of young talent, draft picks and cap flexibility to start over.

But trading for Paul is tricky. Not only do you have to give up enough to satisfy the Hornets, you must have enough left to build a competitive team before Paul becomes a free agent in two years. I think this trade would give the Pistons a real shot doing that.

Check out this lineup:

• Paul
• Richard Hamilton/ Ben Gordon
• Jonas Jerebko
• Ben Wallace
• Emeka Okafor

For everyone who says Hamilton needs to play next to a traditional point guard, he’d get one. He and Gordon would be the team’s main scorers, and Paul would certainly help there, too.

The front line would do the dirty work/rebounding/etc. Plus, Paul could get those three their share of easy baskets.

Perhaps best of all, it would be a good group defensively. With a pair of athletic shot blocker in Wallace and Okafor, Hamilton could even play a fair share of his minutes at small forward.

The Pistons would have a solid reserves unit with Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, Will Bynum and the mid-level exception (Josh Howard?).

I think that’s the type of team that could make a run deep into the playoffs. That’s only a ‘could,’ though, and there are long-term questions.

What happens when Wallace retires? Maybe Jerebko could take over that role, but Wallace is a big reason I think that team could do damage. Those would be mighty big shoes to fill.

How big of a burden would Okafor’s contract be? He’s overpaid, no doubt. But he’s still productive and plays a critical position. Obviously, the salary cap has yet to be determined for future seasons (and it’s especially unpredictable given the Collective Bargaining Agreement is set to expire), but if the new CBA is similar to the current one, I think the Pistons could avoid paying the luxury tax – even with this trade.

How costly will giving up those draft picks be? I designed the offer with 2012 and 2014 picks because those are the years Paul and Okafor will likely be free agents. If there are any years the Pistons would rather have the extra cap room than the picks, it would be those. So, the risk is still there, but I think it’d be hedged a little bit.

And of course, the big question: What if Paul leaves in 2012? That’s the risk I think you take to get a player whom I think has a good shot at becoming the second-best point guard of all time.

Hornets’ perspective

Ryan Schwan of Hornets247.com solicited Chris Paul trade ideas from several TrueHoop Network members and ranked them in reverse order. Guess which offer he listed last – or to be clear, won the competition. Yup, this one.

OK, the Pistons were 1B of the two teams in the “Let’s talk Business” group. The Magic were 1A – on the condition the Hornets could flip Jameer Nelson and Vince Carter. I think that’s much easier said than done, so I’m declaring the Pistons the winner.

Schwan on this offer:

It’s freakish that I’m picking the Pistons offer as one of the best ones.  I didn’t think they’d have enough talent to swing it, honestly.  Still – Monroe fills the hole at center, Prince/Daye fill the hole at the 3, and Stuckey is the perfect combo guard behind Collison and Thornton.  Oh – and since what’s left in Detroit won’t be world-shaking, the picks they are offering should at least still be mid-rounders.

My response

It surprised me, too, that the Pistons could be in position to land Paul. Even if the trade isn’t made, it’s just further evidence Monroe was an excellent draft pick. Without him, Detroit wouldn’t be in the discussion.

I’m not stunned by Schwan’s lack of confidence in a post-trade Pistons team. They’d be far from a sure thing. But like I said above, I think the players would complement each other well

A Hornets partisan believes this offer deserves consideration. That’s a good sign. Dumars, get on the phone.

Verdict

Make no mistake: this trade wouldn’t put the Pistons out of the woods yet. Paul can become a free agent in two years, and whoever acquires him must spend that time convincing him to stay. There is no guarantee the Pistons can do that.

Because they don’t play in a destination city, the Pistons must show Paul they can win a title with him. And even then, it might not be enough.

This trades calls for the Pistons to give up a huge amount of young, affordable talent – plus draft picks and taking Emeka Okafor’s contract. If Paul leaves in two years or decides he doesn’t want to be in Detroit a year from now, the trade could set the Pistons back nearly a decade.

But I think Henry Abbott of TrueHoop said it best:

Here’s a rule of thumb I’ve developed to help you through it: If you’re getting Chris Paul, it’s a good deal.

Summers had his strongest game so far, but the Pistons shot the ball miserably to fall to 2-2.

There wasn’t much to note. Terrico White played a lot more off the ball in this game with Edgar Sosa getting a start, and he happened to have his worst game. Greg Monroe had his best game, although the critics who keep complaining about his motor were likely not appeased. The big man had some lapses in the middle of the game, but did unveil a couple nice counter-moves to get off hook shots in the post. He also finished the game stronger than he has been, showing that maybe his stamina is improving. (Side note: I’m not that worried about Monroe’s motor if he’s going to be on the court with Ben Wallace and/or Jerebko a lot during the season. He’s playing right now with sometimes four guys who have questionable motors. He’ll look better when he’s playing next to better players).

But I won’t just leave you with a few sentences of analysis. I’m long-winded. Let’s look at the non-Pistons on the Summer League roster. It’s doubtful any will make the team, but are they legit NBA prospects? Here’s my breakdown:

Edgar Sosa – Eventually

Edgar Sosa’s had a few nice flashes in the Summer League, and the fact that he’s a four-year PG who played four years at a Big East school will only help, since there is a dearth of quality PGs in the NBA. He’s a streaky shooter and wasn’t a great distributor or defender at Louisville. He also landed in Rick Pitino’s doghouse a couple times. Sosa will be a very good professional player somewhere next year, but not the NBA. His game needs some refining, but it’s conceivable he could spend a couple years overseas and then win a job in the NBA.

Mac Koshowal – Yes

Mac Koshowal already looks the part with his frame, and he’s had such good energy and proven to be a good enough rebounder this summer that it wouldn’t completely shock me if he makes the team, given the current state of big men. If the Pistons find another big via trade or free agency, his chances become non-existent, but he has the most upside of any non-roster guy on the Pistons summer team.

Marquez Haynes – Maybe

Marquez Haynes has been solid in limited minutes. Every time he comes into the game, the pace picks up, he’s quick, he gets people involved, he can finish (although he missed, he got up pretty high on a lob from A.J. Slaughter last night) and he has a nice looking jumper. He would put up numbers in the D-League and, like Sosa, with his point guard skills, if he refines his passing and defense, he could find himself in the league.

Jared Reiner – No

Jared Reiner, unlike the other guys, has a decent amount of NBA experience. He’s put up great numbers in the D-League, but he just doesn’t look physically strong enough to me to hold up in the NBA as a reliable rotation big. He’s 7-feet and plays hard, so he could easily find himself on the end of a bench somewhere, but he’s also not really a prospect anymore, so a team might be more inclined to keep a big with more upside. I was excited to see Reiner on the Pistons summer roster, but in hindsight, it would’ve been nice if they looked at a beefier D-League alum, like Garret Siler, who had a nice game for the Heat last night.

Jordan Egleseder – No

This one’s not really hard. Jordan Egleseder just isn’t strong enough or athletic enough to play in the NBA, and he can’t stay on the court very long even in Summer League games because opposing bigs really exploit that. He has nice range for such a big man and is skilled enough that he could be a good player in Europe, but right now he’s just too passive.

Elijah Milsap – No

Elijah Milsap plays really hard, sometimes too hard. He makes ill-advised drives into traffic, but he’s not a great finisher because he’s not quite athletic enough to go inside and dunk over people and doesn’t really seem to have the finesse to adjust or double-pump to get his shot off from different angles. He’s pretty strong for a guard, and at 6-foot-6, has good size, but his future is at guard, and unfortunately his skillset is more like a forward. He does have a pretty nice jumper though.

Patrick Christopher – Incomplete

Patrick Christopher has barely played, which is probably a bad sign for his NBA hopes. But giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s also a wing player on a summer league team loaded with wing guys. I’d say probably no, but I’ll withhold judgment until the end of the summer league just in case he gets some extended minutes.

A.J. Slaughter – Maybe

The Pistons liked A.J. Slaughter, and he has shown a nice shooting touch. He was a shooting guard in college but he’s listed at (a generous) 6-foot-3, so if he can play the point, it would be advantageous for him. Small school guys like Slaughter have a chance to go overseas, work on some things, and resurface as solid players (see: Anthony Parker, Charlie Bell).

Austin Daye

• Austin Daye’s sore hip and hamstring hurt his speed, he told Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. Well, I’ll give Daye a pass for being slower, but that didn’t look like too much of his problem.
• Daye was frustrated by the Kings’ physical defense, and he let it take over his game. He shot two airballs. He forced shots. He committed a bunch of sloppy fouls. And his body langue looked terrible.
• Sebastian Pruiti of NBA Playbook noticed Daye did a much better job of turning and facing amid contact in his first two Summer League games than he did last year. Against the Kings, that wasn’t the case.
• Playing physical doesn’t come naturally to Daye. At times, when defending on the wing, he tried to be physical. But he was so obvious about it, he was called for a foul.
• Daye is still too weak to provide help defense inside.
• He had a nice crossover to beat his man and draw a foul. A good dribbler, Daye could probably do that more often.
• Ryan Thompson dribbled right past Daye to start second half.

Greg Monroe

• Greg Monroe was tired in the fourth quarter again.
• He had a strong roll on a pick and roll for a basket and went up strong on a putback. Those are two reasons I don’t overly question Monroe’s motor. I just question his endurance.
• He set another blatant illegal screen. His illegal screen against the Lakers was so ridiculous, I chalked it up to nerves, slipping or something like that. Now, Monroe’s inability to set a good pick has become a real concern.
• He runs the break better than I thought he could, especially without the ball. But he’s a little out of control when he has the ball and is leading the break.
• Monroe had some trouble dribbling with his back to the basket.
• DeMarcus Cousins abused him in the post. And Monroe didn’t use his strength advantage over Hassan Whiteside inside either. Monroe won’t have the strength advantage over a lot of big men yet, but I think his frame will allow him to gain a lot of strength. I’m troubled he doesn’t have the technique to take advantage of the situations where he’s already stronger.
• He showed nice awareness, jumping in front of and stealing an entry pass to Cousins. That came a possession after Monroe was called for offensive foul, and he looked geared up. I’d like to see him that interested in every defensive possession.

Terrico White

• Terrico White’s offensive moves look excellent when he’s looking for his shot. In particular, there was one play where he brought the ball up, the defender sagged too far, and White drained a beautiful-looking 19-foot jumper. But he was thinking shot the moment he crossed half-court.
• The question becomes, can he score when not looking for his own shot? I don’t think he’s a good enough scorer to play shooting guard in this league regularly, and if he’s playing point guard, he can’t think shot first at all times.
• Let’s stop the Rodney Stuckey comparisons. Both are athletic combo guards, but they play very differently. Stuckey attacks the rim much better than White, and White has a better jumper.
• White showed good point-guard skills on the fastbreak.
• White showed poor point-guard skills in the half-court, particularly entry passes.
• He extended his off arm on a drive and was called for an offensive foul. He looked uncomfortable in that situation, and you can see why he didn’t get to the free-throw line more at Mississippi.
• White showed his supreme jumping ability on a pair of alley-oop attempts. One, he caught almost as high as I’ve ever seen a guard go up and dunked. The other, the fumbled in the air.

DaJuan Summers

• DaJuan Summers’ jumper continues to look good.
• He does a nice job of using his body to bump guys off and create room to shoot.
• He’s also a bit of a ball hog. I’m not sure he’s good at anything besides scoring.
• Although to be fair, I’m not sure he’s really bad at anything.
• On the other hand, he lit up the Summer League last year, too. I think Rob Mahoney’s thoughts on Donté Greene might apply to Summers:

"It’s entirely possible that Donté Greene was put on this planet purely to thrive in Summer League games. His ball-handling skills and decision-making aren’t exposed against the inferior competition, and he essentially has license to fire at will. As a result, Greene reveals the flashes that made him such an intriguing prospect coming out of Syracuse. Yet that’s part of the problem. Greene is so athletic and so talented for a 6-foot-11 player, but he’s more or less the same talent he was a year ago or the year before that. Donté manages to catch lightning in a bottle in Vegas, but in the big leagues? He still has a fair way to go."

The Detroit roster not only can’t compete with that pedigree, but the Pistons’ most accomplished player, Jonas Jerebko, didn’t play. Consequently, we saw an overmatched team get blown out. There was little to take away from the game, other than it was hopefully a learning experience for the young players, who faced some pretty good NBA rotation players.

The other night, I gave some notes on individual players. Today, I’ll talk a little about some of the matchups instead.

Austin Daye vs. Omri Casspi

Austin Daye, through two games, looked confident and ready to step into the rotation after having a short leash all of last season. But playing primarily against a rookie (Devin Ebanks) in game one and a guy who spent part of last season in the D-League (Reggie Williams) in game two, Daye had his first real test in Casspi, a strong wing player who gave Daye the business a bit last year. Here’s what Dan Feldman wrote before the game:

Like Sebastian Pruiti, I’m looking forward to the Austin Daye-Omri Casspi matchup. Daye has been much more aggressive in Las Vegas, but part of me thinks that’s only because he knows he should own this lesser competition.

Such a prophetic guy, that Feldman. Casspi was a step quicker all night, beating Daye on cuts to the basket, beating him down the floor and, on defense, forcing Daye consistently into spots on the floor where he’s not comfortable. Daye finished 0-for-7, had terrible body language and no energy. A hallmark of Daye’s season a year ago were momentary flashes followed by prolonged disappearances. How he rebounds in the Pistons next game should say a lot about whether he’s worked at the mental side of the game this offseason.

Greg Monroe vs. DeMarcus Cousins

Pistons fans didn’t hide the fact that Cousins was the guy they overwhelmingly wanted in the NBA Draft, and although Greg Monroe may very well prove to be a nice consolation prize, Cousins is clearly a top-three talent in this draft. Monroe wasn’t the only Piston to guard him, particularly early, but Cousins basically had his way with every Pistons big.

Like the others, Monroe struggled to prevent Cousins from establishing the position he wanted around the basket. He bit on Cousins’ post moves. Monroe committed a couple silly offensive fouls trying to push Cousins out of his way and clear space. He clearly was frustrated, and his energy level suffered as a result in the second half.

There was one sequence where Monroe displayed a little feistiness, which was a good sign. Cousins had just bullied his way inside for a bucket, then forced Monroe to commit one of his aforementioned offensive fouls. Cousins was giving it to Monroe a bit on the way back down the court, and it seemed to wake Monroe up for a second. Cousins immediately tried to post him up again and went about it a bit lazily. Monroe fought him for the position and showed nice quickness slipping around Cousins and intercepting the entry pass.

It’s really hard to gauge Monroe. When he plays within himself and doesn’t force things, he looks like a really nice player. But he’s pressed often this summer, inexplicably pushing the ball up-court when he should be finding his PG and instead running the floor himself. Summer League is not always conducive to passing, because it’s kind of a get-mine exhibition, but we haven’t really seen much of the court vision Monroe was known for at Georgetown. I’m not worried by any means, but I’m less sure that Monroe is going to be an immediate contributor this season. I think he’ll be in the rotation and get every chance to stay there, but he looks like he’s a bit shocked by the speed of the game compared to some other rookies, which is a little surprising considering he came from a really good basketball conference.

Everyone vs. Hassan Whiteside

Whiteside had five blocks in 27 minutes. He’s a good shot blocker, and I get that he’s a rookie, but that was basically the only elite skill he possessed heading into the draft. A few Pistons, apparently, didn’t get the scouting report. Whiteside got Monroe twice and Daye once early, and all three attempts were pretty weak considering a presence like Whiteside was lurking inside.

Non-roster guys vs. Non-roster guys

So far, there doesn’t appear to be a non-roster guy on the Pistons Summer League team that can help them, even in an end-of-the-bench role. I was intrigued by Jared Reiner, a guy with NBA experience who put up big numbers in the D-League. He got solid minutes in the first half, but got pushed around.

Mac Kowshwal has a NBA body and motor, and athletically, he looks like a rotation big. I just don’t know if he’s ready yet, despite some productive games. He’s a very good offensive rebounder and finishes well enough around the basket, but he frequently — even more so than Monroe — attempts to do things that are nowhere close to being in his skill-set. Of all the non-roster players, if any are going to make the team, I’d bet on him, but I still don’t think any will end up winning a job.

I like the pace Marquez Haynes plays at, but unless he can improbably and decisively out-play Terrico White this preseason, or unless the Pistons unload a couple guards in a trade, it’s just far-fetched to think he’ll make the roster.

Edgar Sosa is a true PG, but like a lot of solid college PGs (Mateen Cleaves, what?), doesn’t shoot the ball well enough to play the position in the NBA. Elijah Milsap got extended minutes and was aggressive, often to his own detriment — three of his drives were blocked at the rim.

Jordan Eglseder played a handful of minutes and despite his size, is not strong enough or athletic enough right now to compete against NBA bigs.

Highlights

White had a couple for the Pistons, finishing an nice lob from Austin Daye with a dunk. He also showed something he has in each game, a nice ability to pull up off the dribble, have good balance and elevation and knock down a jumper. He’s not as good a player as Rodney Stuckey, but he’s a better shooter right now.

Kowshawl had a double-double, with 10 points and 12 rebounds (five offensive). He and White were easily the best Pistons on the court.

I think Austin Daye’s length will allow him to be successful in the midpost area, along the baseline.  Daye’s arms are so long that he makes it so easy to enter the ball into him in that position.  Daye can then face up, keeping the ball high and either penetrate or hit attempt a step back jumper (something Austin Daye seems pretty effective at doing).  The problem with playing in this area (and while playing with his back to the basket) is that it invites contact.  This is one of the reasons why he didn’t work the midpost area too much last year.

Check out the entire post, which includes video analysis. Pruiti gets this stuff, and it’s always a treat when he writes about the Pistons.

Terrico White

• Terrico White had a nice, sharp pass early, but Marquez Haynes played a lot of point guard with White at off-guard.
• His court vision has room to improve. During one drive, he missed Monroe for an easy drop-off, and Monroe was pretty obviously open.
• He was extremely rattled when the Lakers showed on pick and rolls.
• His defensive awareness wasn’t great, but his athleticism helped him make some really nice plays on that end.
• He had a smooth jumper – both off the dribble and on catch and shoots.

Austin Daye

• Austin Daye had an unnecessary one-handed rebound early, but rebounded well later.
• Daye grabbed one rebound, Derrick Caracter hip-checked him. Daye was barely phased. Those extra 10 pounds are paying off.
• He was soft with help defense on inside drivers.
• He’s still too slow to play opponents tight on the perimeter, which gives them room to take jumpers. It’s not as big a deal in Las Vegas, but NBA players will take the easy jumper consistently, especially if he’s playing guard. On the plus side of that, with his long arms and unconventional positioning, Daye deflects passes most players aren’t in position to.
• He’s more comfortable scoring on the move than spotting up. That appeared to be the case during last season, too. Although, he hit two 3-pointers standing still, including one while he was fouled.

DaJuan Summers

• DaJuan Summers scored 15 points, but he didn’t overly impress me.
• A couple questionable calls sent him to the line.
• He scores in a variety of ways, and many teams are looking for specialists in the Summer League who can do one thing well. Maybe Summers is adept at adjusting his game for whoever is guarding him. That doesn’t fly in the NBA, where more players can do many things.
• His shooting stroke, especially behind the arc, was excellent.

Jonas Jerebko

• Jonas Jerebko didn’t seem like he cared too much about this game until late. I’m not going to beat him up about it. He was – by far – the most accomplished player in the game.
• He had weak defense in the post, missed a couple of box outs and was careless with the ball. Again, I’m not really concerned.
• He looked smarter on offense, using the rim to avoid a defender and get a shot off inside.

Greg Monroe

• Greg Monroe really looked winded in the fourth quarter. He has a long way to go before he can play starter’s minutes in the NBA.
• He has nice touch in the post. His turnaround was sweet, and although he missed the one hook shot I saw him take, that looked good, too.
• His jumpers while facing were his worst-looking shots, but they weren’t that bad.
• He was flat-footed on defense at times.
• He rebounded in traffic fairly well.
• He charged while leading a fastbreak. He moves well, but he still seems best-suited for the half-court.
• He also set most blatant illegal screen I’ve ever seen.

Others

• I was pretty impressed with how Marquez Haynes balanced shooting and distributing while playing point guard. He’s still a long shot to make the team, though.
• Mike Abdenour is awesome.

Austin Daye was getting abused by Lakers rookie Devin Ebanks. Jerebko was stuck, looking a bit too slow to consistently stay in front of guys on the perimeter and not quite strong enough to keep the Lakers’ bigs from establishing position on the block. DaJuan Summers would make a decent play then disappear for the next three minutes or so.

But, unlike last year, the team toughened up as the game went on, and by the last four minutes, had the appearance of a tough, aggressive defensive unit and made some opportunistic plays at the offensive end, finishing the game on a 14-0 run and erasing what was a double digit lead for from about the mid-second quarter on.

Here’s a quick take on each player’s highs and lows from the game:

Austin Daye

Austin Daye was arguably the best player on the court for either team. He had 22 points, hitting 7-of-12 from the field. My main beef with Daye offensively last year was the fact that there were many times when he just didn’t look for his shot when he was on the floor. Tonight, he had no such issue. He hit from three (and other than maybe Ben Gordon, Daye has the most perfect stroke of anyone on the team), he got to the line and, most important to his game, he used his go-to move extensively. Daye is not a great ball-handler, but he does have a really good first step. He doesn’t handle well enough to use that first-step to get all the way to the rim, but his one-dribble/floater move that he used a few times last season looked like a real weapon in this game. He’s long enough to get that shot off over virtually any SG/SF who will guard him during the season.

Strength is still an issue for him. Ebanks, who had 21, got off early with Daye guarding him. But Daye didn’t lose confidence like he did last season. He used his body as well as he could, and maybe it was the fact that he gets to wear a t-shirt under his jersey in the Summer League, but he really did look like he added a little bit of muscle to his frame since the season ended.

Greg Monroe

While live-chatting during the NBA Draft, a handful, uh, misguided commenters at MLive were pretty insistent on comparing Greg Monroe to David Robinson. I hope those people watch Monroe as soon as possible. They’re both left-handed centers. And that’s it.

Monroe didn’t have a great game against the Lakers, shooting 4-of-13 with 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. He only has average athleticism, and while he did a nice job keeping guys who were trying to back him down from establishing position, he will struggle defensively against athletic bigs capable of putting the ball on the floor.

Offensively, he’s very crafty and very skilled. We all knew about his passing — well, I should say everyone but Ted Kulfan did. (Seriously Ted? You didn’t read this or this or this or this or any of these?).

He’s drawn Brad Miller comparisons for the passing skills, but a dimension he has that Miller doesn’t is his ability to handle the ball. Inexplicably, both because he’s a big man and because he’s not particularly quick in other facets, Monroe appears to be really comfortable handling the ball in the open court. Twice against the Lakers, he grabbed rebounds and immediately turned up-court to initiate the break. Both times, he hit the correct person with passes and the Pistons eventually scored on both possessions.

While his numbers weren’t great, Monroe’s abilities look like he’ll fit quite nicely in the grind-it-out halfcourt offense John Kuester seemed to prefer last season.

Terrico White

I think I’m one of only a few Pistons fans who is excited about the Terrico White pick, and his first Summer League game reinforced my belief that he’ll be a very solid NBA player.

White looked comfortable as a point guard. He didn’t force things, he only had one turnover in 28 minutes and he was 6-of-8 shooting. He showed good elusiveness and, although Dan Feldman pointed out that he didn’t get to the line much for a slasher in college, he shot six free throws against LA, which is decent for a guy who didn’t look for his own shot that often. He also showed that he can be a strong finisher — three times he got inside and drew significant contact, but still manged to get shot attempts up after double clutching. None went in, but they were all legitimate enough attempts to suggest that he’s strong enough to do that consistently.

But why I’m most excited about White is his defensive potential. Rodney Stuckey is already on his way to becoming a good defensive guard who can lock up two positions. White is in that mold, and because he’s even more athletic than Stuckey, he could potentially be an even better defender if he works at it. Twice against the Lakers, White blocked jumpers taken by taller players (one was called a foul, but replays clearly showed White had only ball and made no body contact with the shooter). With the players in front of him, there probably aren’t many minutes for White, especially if Will Bynum comes back. But he absolutely has the ability to become a helpful rotation player.

Jonas Jerebko

It’s hard to evaluate Jonas Jerebko. On the one hand, he has awkward footwork on offense, he’s kind of a tweener defensively (as I mentioned above), he doesn’t have a consistent shot from the perimeter and he’s so aggressive that he pretty regularly makes poor decisions. On the other, Jerebko’s energy, hustle and aggressiveness on defense was the main reason the Pistons locked down late in the game and put the Lakers on their heels.

Jerebko, as we saw last year, was all over the court. It’s going to be important for him to become a better three-point shooter, but he’s still going to fill up the stat sheet by simply beating people to spots, throwing his body around and he just finds the basketball around the offensive glass.

DaJuan Summers

DaJuan Summers was a major disappointment last season. He had a NBA-ready build and athleticism, moreso than Jerebko or Daye, and yet seemed to lack motivation.

Early on against the Lakers, he made a few good plays, particularly finding Monroe on a quick touch pass in the lane for a dunk. But then, as he often did the few times he got minutes in games early last season, he just kind of disappeared. Fortunately, though, it was short-lived. He had a great second half and his strength and quickness on the perimeter helped with the great defensive fourth quarter the Pistons had.

The knock on Summers, dating back to Georgetown, has been a lack of consistent effort. He has great tools — including a jumper that’s more reliable than Jerebko — and could very easily be in a NBA rotation, but it’s unclear if that rotation will  be the Pistons’.

The non-roster guys

Of all the non-roster guys, only guard Marquez Haynes got significant minutes, playing 17. He was very quick, pushing the pace and scoring nine points on 3-of-4 shooting when he was in the game. He’s a major longshot to make the roster, but he had a couple flashy plays.

The only others to play were A.J. Slaughter and Patrick Christopher, who didn’t do much, and Mac Koshwal, who was pushed around big time by Derrick Caracter when he was in the game.

Of the others, I’m interested to see center Jared Reiner. He was very good in the D-League last year and has NBA experience. If the Pistons don’t find a mid-level worthy big in free agency, Reiner could be a cheap alternative.

NO      PLAYER  POS     HT      WT      COLLEGE/COUNTRY D.O.B   YEARS PRO     NBDL EXP

26      Patrick Christopher     G       6-5     220     California      6/3/88  R       None
5       Austin Daye     F       6-11    190     Gonzaga 6/5/88  1       None
24      Jordan Eglseder C       7-0     280     Northern Iowa   7/27/88 R       None   
17      Marquez Haynes  G       6-3     185     UT Arlington    12/19/86        R       None
33      Jonas Jerebko   F       6-10    231     Kinna, Sweden   3/2/87  1       None
42      Mac Koshwal     F/C     6-10    255     DePaul  10/19/87        R       None   
18      Elijah Millsap  G/F     6-6     215     UAB     8/12/87 R       None
10      Greg Monroe     F/C     6-11    253     Georgetown      6/4/90  R       None
25      Jared Reiner    C       6-11    255     Iowa    4/8/82  2       2
8       A.J. Slaughter  G       6-3     180     Western Kentucky        8/3/87  R       None
35      DaJuan Summers  F       6-8     240     Georgetown      1/24/88 1       None
14      Edgar Sosa      G       6-1     175     Louisville      1/15/88 R       None
23      Terrico White   G       6-5     213     Mississippi     3/7/90  R       None

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club will participate in the NBA Summer League which is held in Las Vegas, NV.  The 23-team league consists of 22 NBA teams, 11 which participated in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, and one team compiled with NBA D-League stars. Games will be played from July 9-18 on the campus of UNLV at both the Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion.

Current Pistons’ players Austin Daye, Jonas Jerebko and DaJuan Summers are scheduled to play with the team.

Games featuring L.A. Lakers, Golden State, Sacramento, Miami and New York will be open to the media and general public.  For media credential information, please contact the Detroit Pistons Media Relations Department at (248) 377-0135.

A complete broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.

Following is the Pistons schedule for summer league:

DATE    GAME    TIME    _

July 9  Detroit vs. L.A. Lakers 5:00 p.m. PST 

July 10 Detroit vs. Golden State        5:00 p.m. PST 

July 12 Detroit vs. Sacramento  3:00 p.m. PST 

July 14 Detroit vs. Miami       7:30 p.m. PST 

July 16 Detroit vs. New York    1:00 p.m. PST

• Dave Pemberton, The Oakland Press
• Chris Iott, MLive.com/ Booth Newspapers
• Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press
• Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press
• Keith Langlois, True Blue Pistons
• Eli Zaret, Detroit Pistons
• Patrick Hayes, Full-Court Press
• Justin Rogers, Full-Court Press
• Natalie Sitto, Need4Sheed
• Brian Packey, Detroit Bad Boys
• Kevin Sawyer, Detroit Bad Boys
• Mike Payne, Detroit Bad Boys
• Jesse Murphy, Pistons Nation
• Jon Young, Flagrant2
• Dan Feldman, PistonPowered

I  want to thank everyone listed above for participating. I think this year’s roundtable has gone great and the bar is set very high for next year.

For the final question, I ask each roundtable participant a separate question. So, please give your thoughts on the questions that interest you in the comments.

Dave Pemberton, The Oakland Press

A lot of Pistons fans want to draft Keith Benson. How do you evaluate his NBA potential? (Pemberton used to cover the Oakland men’s basketball team for The Oakland Press.

The two big knacks on Benson are strength and defense. Benson has to add strength to his 6-foot-11, 225-pound frame to be affective at the NBA level. Defensively, he can come up with the highlight-reel block, but has trouble defending stronger players one-on-one. He averaged 10.5 rebounds per game, but will have trouble getting in good position against NBA talent unless he adds strength.

Benson’s offensive game showed a lot of improvement this past season. He has good footwork and a nice touch around the basket. He has a solid mid-range game and shot 72.4 percent from the free-throw line. The one knack again is strength and being able to get good position against NBA talent.

Head-to-head against likely lottery pick Cole Aldrich of Kansas, Benson had 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks, while Aldrich had four points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The two were roommates at the Amar’e Stoudemire skills camp last summer.

My guess is Benson will return for his senior season, but if he comes out and is available in the second round he might prove to be a good pick. I don’t see him as an early lottery pick this season, which is where Detroit will be picking.

Chris Iott, MLive.com/ Booth Newspapers

What has surprised you most about your first season covering the Pistons?

It is shocking how good the chocolate chip cookies that get delivered each game to Rick Mahorn are, but I have had only one, so further testing is needed. The Pistons’ locker room is substantially smaller than I expected, especially when compared with the Tigers’ clubhouse. The officials yell at the coaches a lot more than I thought they did. Ben Wallace had a much bigger impact on the team than I thought he would.

Vince Ellis, Detroit Free Press

Which of the new Pistons is the best interview and why?

I actually like Ben Wallace. When he has something to say, he is very insightful and is a lot more gregarious than he lets on.

Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press

You’ve written that Pistons fans have become apathetic. Does it surprise you how disinterested they’ve been this year, and do you think their enthusiasm has room to go lower?

I’m not surprised. This was the convergence of a lot of different forces. The first and most obvious is the economy which has affected all of the local teams. The second is the long, sustained run of success that the team had. It was a terrific decade, but by the end, it had grown stale to the point where fans actually complained that the winning had gotten boring. Third was the wildly unpopular trade for Allen Iverson. Joe Dumars traded away the most popular player on the team (and maybe in the state) for a malcontent who submarined everything. And now we’re left with a bad team where the effort is easy to question on any given night. Can it go lower? I suppose anything is possible. What is there here to root for? There are no stars. There is no excitement. There is no trademark for the team. If ESPN were promoting a game, how would they do it? Come see Richard Hamilton and the Detroit Pistons? That won’t sell any seats.

Keith Langlois, Detroit Pistons

Who in the organization do you think has taken this season’s struggles the hardest?

Anybody who hates losing has absorbed the agony of this season, but John Kuester has to be the one who’s endured the most anguish. Veterans like Wallace, Prince and Hamilton haven’t experienced losing of this magnitude for years, if ever, but the success they’ve experienced has to mitigate this season’s disappointment to some degree. Joe Dumars knows the ebb and flow of the business. The rookies and young veterans have to focus as much on finding their niche as on the bigger picture of team success. But Kuester waited a long time for his shot at being a head coach and he knows this goes on his record. To have his shot undermined so thoroughly by injuries clearly has worn on him.

Eli Zaret, Detroit Pistons

Which current Piston do you think would make the best broadcaster after he retires and why?

Autin Daye wants to be a broadcaster and has a great grasp of the language; has an high basketball IQ and comes from a basketball family (Darren). He’s the obvious choice,seeing as he’s already doing man on the street interviews for the team website and in-arena show.

Patrick Hayes, Full-Court Press

As you’ve researched rookies for your Draft Dreams series, who has impressed you most compared to your initial impression and why?

Wall and Turner are obviously amazing and getting either of those guys could be potentially franchise-altering for Detroit. But there are a few less heralded players who I really like.

Feldman’s already made fun of me for this (I think it’s just the jilted UM fan inside him), so others will probably follow suit, but I love Ekpe Udoh. The knock on him as a prospect was the fact that his offensive game is not NBA ready. After watching about four Baylor games late in the season, including their tourney game against Duke, I think he’s much better offensively than people give him credit for. He’s a very good passer for a big man — Baylor was running their offense through him at times. He can turn and face up, put the ball on the floor a bit and he has range out to the college three-point line, something he didn’t have at Michigan. Udoh’s surged up draft projections as the season’s went on because of this.

Defensively, he’ll block shots. He needs to get stronger if he’s going to be the biggest player on a NBA team, but he’ll really help a team picking in the 10-15 range. The Big 12 was a good league for big men this year, and Udoh held his own.

I also love Georgetown’s Greg Monroe and Xavier Henry of Kansas. Monroe is one of the more polished bigs offensively in recent drafts and is a great passer. His defense is iffy, but he’s the most NBA-ready offensively of any college big.
Henry is raw, but he’s going to develop into an insanely good, physical and intense perimeter defender. He’s quick, he’s strong, he’s athletic and he’s competitive, all the traits in a lockdown defensive guy. I’m not as sold on his offense as his defense, but he’ll be a very good NBA player for a long time.
I like Patrick Patterson a lot as a late lottery/mid first round big who’s just solid in several facets of the game. Basically, I love everyone except Cole Aldrich.

Justin Rogers, Full-Court Press

Who will be a better defender with the Pistons, Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva?

This is a tough question to answer, but I’m leaning toward Gordon. He’s fairly strong for his size and he’s quick. If the Pistons offer solid help defense, Gordon’s deficiencies can be covered up. For his size and skill set it always surprises me how painfully slow Villanueva moves. His only serviceable defensive skill is the occasional blocked shot.

The number one thing I’d like to see both players work on is their pick-and-roll defense. Gordon has to be more physical working through screens and Villanueva has to be more efficient at both showing on the ball handler and recovering to his man.

Natalie Sitto, Need4Sheed

If you were going to reconstruct Sheed using elements of current Pistons, what traits would you take from whom?

I would rather focus on the Swede than Sheed right now, but here goes.

The new and improved Sheed would have:

• Jonas Jerebko’s heart and hustle.
• Ben Wallace’s shot blocking.
• Jason Maxiell’s ability to take on anyone and go after every board.
• Tayshaun’s wingspan.
• Will Bynum’s speed.
• Ben Gordon’s shot (from last season).
• Rip Hamilton’s training techniques.
• Austin Daye’s temperament.
• And nothing from Charlie Villanueva.

Brian Packey, Detroit Bad Boys

Your bio (on the left sidebar) says you took a charge from Shane Battier. What’s the story there?

There is no story – it’s just a joke. Battier went to my high school and was friends with my older brothers (he was a baseball teammate of one of my brothers). I played AAU basketball through ninth grade and attended the Duke basketball camp in 8th grade because Battier went there. We talked a lot and played one-on-one, but I never took a charge from him. In fact, I was terrified of him (6′8" vs. 5′10") and he blocked A LOT of my shots. I think I lost like 21-1. I know some people don’t like Duke very much, but there’s nothing to dislike about Battier – he’s an all-around class-act, a smart basketball player, and an even smarter person.

Kevin Sawyer, Detroit Bad Boys

You wrote at midseason, "I don’t think the Pistons are a playoff team with Jerebko playing 30 mpg." Do you still think that’s the case and why?

I do. First, I think he needs to grow into his role as a sort of enforcer on the defensive end. Second, I think he’s going to need those three fouls a game in order to maintain his effectiveness. He’s new to the league, so his profile could change, but I think he’s going to bring the bulk of his value at the defensive end. Again, I’ll cite Varejao as a comparison point.

Mike Payne, Detroit Bad Boys

Do you think Charlie Villanueva realizes how good he is inside? After writing that post, is it even more infuriating watching how he plays?

I think Charlie’s confidence has taken quite a hit, but I’m sure he realizes how good his inside game is (hey, he shared my article on Facebook).  Personally, I’m not bothered by Charlie’s offense.  Some may complain about his three point attempts, but this is as much a result of coaching as it is about Charlie’s preference on offense.  Pistons fans are still scarred from the Ways of Rasheed, and Charlie’s three point shots are not as welcome as a result.  If Kuester didn’t want Charlie taking perimeter shots, he’d draft plays accordingly.

The infuriating part about Charlie’s play is obviously his defense.  It’s absolutely painful to watch.  His non-existent D and bad fouls have led John Kuester to pull him out of the starting lineup and then limit him to less than 18 minutes a game.  Kuester’s philosophy with Charlie is that you can earn minutes and shot attempts by playing solid defense.  What’s ironic, however, is that Villanueva earned solid minutes under stern, defensive stalwart Scott Skiles.  Now, Villanueva has begun earning DNP-CDs and no one really notices.

I’m hoping, as he likely is as well, that Charlie can turn it around next year.  In a perfect world, Villanueva would spend the summer in Ben Wallace’s weight room, drinking Myoplex and guarding pick-and-rolls.  With our luck, he’ll likely end up in Sean May’s kitchen drinking mayo and eating dinner rolls.

Jesse Murphy, Pistons Nation

You always seem to enjoy highlighting former fringe Pistons. Who is your favorite and why?

Never thought about it that way. I guess more than anything I enjoy being a fan of Pistons basketball and the team’s history. It’s easy to root for players like Grant Hill, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, etc., but real fans know that the stars need guys to fill roles to help the team excel.

I don’t know if I can point to a clear favorite but one guy I feel that was pretty underrated that I enjoyed was Zeljko Rebraca. Zelly was a rugged low post player who had a nice touch down low. Plus he had that cool Silver Surfer tatt on his left arm.

Jon Young, Flagrant2

With a relatively new blog, what do you add to the Pistons blogosphere?

I do a weekly top-5 countdown on Mondays. It can range from anywhere to top 5 ugliest players to top-5 dunks, blocks etc. I mix it up and do something different every week. I try to have a recap of each game before the morning, and give insight to every game.

Previous

• How good would the Pistons have been this season if they weren’t hit with so many injuries?
• If you had to build a team around a current Piston besides Rodney Stuckey or Jonas Jerebko, whom would it be and why? (Please note if you’d rather build around this player than Stuckey or Jerebko.)
• Rodney Stuckey has been a key part of the Pistons’ long-term plans. Should that status change?
• If you were Joe Dumars, would you be on a one-year plan, two-year plan, three-year plan, etc.? What does your answer mean for this offseason?

Like with the other questions, please post your answers in the comments. I’d like this roundtable to involve everyone reading, too.