It has been some time since I wrote about basketball, what with a job search, and Nadal, there has not been enough going on in Pistons Nation to write anything about, outside of the emergence of Stuckey, the stellar draft of last year, and the upcoming off-season, but now that this year's draft is a matter of weeks away, i felt compelled to write about what i see happening, and its not much different than the things i was saying in the beginning of the season:
trade Rip and/or Tay, and re-sign Stuck to a multi-year deal, and let him run the team, let the youngsters take charge, and look for a steal in the draft at #7, no need to go get Cousins unless its part of a package for Hamilton or Prince, and then maybe you shoot-the-moon on an under-developed Kentucky project, but not for anything else, not for Stuck, Not for Jerebko, not even for Daye, its too much up-side to all three not to bet on them for the future....
If CV31 ever gets going, and Gordon returns from injury, then the Pistons are right back in the mix, but they have to do a deal to get value for their two remaining pieces from the run, not counting B. Wallace who is here to stay until retirement, the Pistons look good, i would not want to be a GM anywhere else, everyone is in flux, but Joe D. has this team well positioned, and they are going to be better next year. The only question is how to trade.
Do you go for Boozer? What about Kaman? What about giving Kwame a starting job, and build from the perimeter in? Lots of questions, and no easy answers so it will be a wait-and-see kind of NBA off-season, but that does not mean that every team is not in the same position. Lakers have to replace Fisher, the Celtics have to replace KG, the Cavs probably have to replace LBJ, the Hawks will be without Joe Johnson, and every other team in the league from Phoenix to San Antonio to Miami to Orlando and Chicago have question marks hanging over them....the rest of the league is un-proven, so anything, absolutely anything can happen this off-season and next year....
The Pistons have the luxury of a legit guard in Stuck, a legit forward situation in Jerebko and Daye, and Gordon will be alright, their coach is good enough, and the up-side is much more likely than a downslide. The only remaining question is ownership, and here is where there is an opportunity to split the difference, keep the team in Michigan and play some home games in Grand Rapids, by selling intra-state to a family company that can absorb the cost, and has a presence throughout the state: Meijer....
nothing I have not said before, but it would do more to kick-start the franchise than anything else, with new ownership, and a broadened market outside of Detroit, it would help alleviate any risks of slipping to second tier, look at OKC, in a small environment, is thriving, so thats my state of the Pistons, hopefully more to come....
